Google Cloud Digital Leader Practice Exam

For real-time analytics on streaming data, which Google Cloud service would be the most suitable?

1. Cloud Functions

2. Cloud Run

3. Dataflow

4. Bigtable

The correct answer is: Dataflow

Dataflow is specifically designed for processing and analyzing both streaming and batch data in real time. It offers a fully managed service that allows you to build data pipelines that can handle large volumes of streaming data efficiently. With its ability to scale horizontally, Dataflow can automatically adjust resources based on the workload, making it an ideal choice for real-time analytics. Dataflow supports various data processing patterns, including event time processing, windowing, and triggers, which are crucial for dealing with streaming data. Additionally, it integrates well with other Google Cloud services, such as BigQuery for analytics and Pub/Sub for message ingestion, providing a comprehensive solution for real-time data processing. In contrast, while Cloud Functions and Cloud Run can be used in conjunction with streaming data, they are primarily designed for executing specific tasks or microservices rather than managing data pipelines. Bigtable, on the other hand, is optimized for large-scale NoSQL database needs, allowing for fast reads and writes but does not specifically cater to the real-time analytics of streaming data. Thus, Dataflow stands out as the most suitable option for this purpose.