As the world increasingly relies on software, businesses have struggled to find enough developer talent to build and maintain their applications. IDC estimates the global shortage of software developers reached 1.4 million in 2021 and expects that number to balloon to 4 million by 2025.

Higher education is a great starting point to solve the software development skills shortage. One institution — Spokane Community College — has made strides in enhancing student learning and serving more students with the right mix of software development and IT education while saving educators time. 

Building a modern IT education platform

As a first step to improve computer science education and scale the number of students it could teach, Spokane Community College needed a platform that could help instructors more efficiently manage the teaching process. That’s where CourseMatix came in.

CourseMatix is an education platform that delivers the required tools, platforms, and frameworks such as automated grading, assignment tracking, and testing to save teachers time and enhance students’ learning. 

CourseMatix is entirely made up of microservices, with significant compute demands because it creates and runs a unique dedicated environment for each student. The platform is complex by nature as it supports a range of technologies that computer science professors need to teach varying coursework. This led to issues with scalability, reliability, and uptime when running on legacy infrastructure.

“We really wanted to no longer manage our infrastructure, leaving us to focus entirely on our platform,” says Aleks Korn, chief executive officer of CourseMatix. “We engaged Google Cloud partner CDW to see how we could simplify and improve our IT environment. The decision was quickly made to migrate to Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE).”

GKE provides CourseMatix with automatic horizontal and vertical scaling to minimize costs and downtime, while removing management and maintenance requirements. This enables CourseMatix to expand the reach of its platform at the lowest possible price and maintain a lean team. CDW helped CourseMatix make this decision to migrate to GKE, managed the migration, and provided guidance on a storage solution. 

Because CourseMatix has high data storage volume requirements (given the size of software development assignments) and needs to be fully reliable to ensure work is not lost, it also chose to work with NetApp. NetApp Cloud Volumes Service for Google Cloud perfectly complements GKE in its highly expandable, reliable, and user-friendly capabilities. The platform was now ready for its U.S. launch at Spokane Community College. 

Transforming software development education 

Spokane Community College needed a solution to address the challenges facing its professors, particularly with respect to time management.

“Each software development assignment can take an hour to grade,” says Bret Dickey, professor of software development at Spokane Community College. “When you have 100 students, you’re talking weeks of turnaround time to grade those projects. CourseMatix provides immediate feedback, which is a game changer for us as professors and our students.”

Students now complete and submit their assignments with real-world tools, using source control, creating branches to complete their work, and merging those branches to push up to the server where pipelines run the applications.

“It’s making our teaching better overall, including using real-world concepts to enhance teaching and outcomes,” says Dickey.

CourseMatix also provides the tooling to upskill on various programming languages and software packages required for coursework, helping Spokane Community College manage server-side frameworks and client-side languages that each have their own tools. 

“Students can access their cloud-based coding environment and all the tools they may need for an assignment are ready to go,” says Karmen Blake, another software development professor at Spokane Community College. “Having a central system for tooling within CourseMatix has been a huge time saver, meaning more time for learning and practice that prepares students for careers as professional software developers.”

Karmen and Dickey have seen marked improvements in their ability to teach and in student learning by using CourseMatix. For example, the platform provides automated hints and varying error messages based on the number of attempts a student has made to solve a problem to help each student along without making the assignment too easy or too difficult. 

As a cloud-based platform, CourseMatix also empowers students from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds to learn computer science. 

“As long as students can access the internet on their laptops, they have everything to complete their assignments,” says Karmen. “The cloud-based CourseMatix offering improves efficiency and equity across all students in our computer science programs.”

With a more fluid experience for students and immense amounts of time saved on grading, Spokane Community College is in a better position to increase enrollment in software development classes.

“Now that we have automated our grading and optimized our assignment processes, I am beginning to take on more students and teach more classes,” says Dickey. “I could not have imagined this outcome only a couple of years ago, and it’s all possible thanks to CourseMatix.”

To learn more about how partners help organizations make the most of Google Cloud, you can visit our partner page.

Database disaster recovery (DR) planning is an important component of a bigger DR plan, and for enterprises using Microsoft SQL Server on Compute Engine, it often involves critical data.

When you’re architecting a disaster recovery solution with Microsoft SQL Server running on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), you have some decisions to make to build an effective, comprehensive plan. 

Microsoft SQL Server includes a variety of disaster recovery strategies and features, such as Always On availability groups or Failover Cluster Instances.

And Google Cloud is designed from the start for resilience and availability. There are several types of data centers available within GCP where you can map SQL Server’s availability features based on your specific requirements: zones and regions. Zones are autonomous data centers co-located within a GCP region. These regions are available in different geographies such as North America or APAC. 

However, there is no single disaster recovery strategy to map Microsoft SQL Server DR features to Google Cloud’s data center topology that satisfies every possible combination of disaster recovery requirements.

As a database architect, you have to design a custom disaster recovery strategy based on your specific use cases and requirements.

Our new Disaster Recovery for Microsoft SQL Server solution provides information on Microsoft’s SQL Server disaster recovery strategies, and shows how you can map them to zones and regions in GCP based on your business’s particular criteria and requirements. One example is deploying an availability group within a region across three zones (shown in the diagram below). 

For successful DR planning, you should have a clear conceptual model and established terminology in place. In this solution, you’ll find a base set of concepts and terms in context of Google Cloud DR. This includes defining terms like primary database, secondary database, failover, switchover, and fallback.

You’ll also find details on recovery point objective, recovery time objective and single point of failure domain, since those are key drivers for developing a specific disaster recovery solution.

Building a DR solution with Microsoft SQL Server in GCP regions
To get started with implementing the availability features of Microsoft SQL Server in the context of Google Cloud, take a look at this diagram, which shows the implementation of an Always On availability group in a GCP region, using several zones:

In the new solution, you’ll see other availability features, like log shipping, along with how they map to GCP. In addition, features in Microsoft SQL Server that are not deemed availability features—like server replication and backup file shipping—can actually be used for disaster recovery, so those are included as well. 

Disaster recovery features of Microsoft SQL Server do not have to be used in isolation and can be combined for more complex and demanding use cases. For example, you can set up availability groups in two regions with log shipping as the transfer mechanism between the regions.

Disaster Recovery for Microsoft SQL Server also describes the disaster recovery process itself, how to test and verify a defined disaster recovery solution, and outlines a basic approach, step-by-step. 

In the competitive world of consumer goods, sustainability matters more than ever. In recent Google survey, 82% of consumers said sustainability is more top of mind now than it was before COVID-19¹ and 78% said that big businesses have a role to play in helping to fight climate change.² As well as delivering on customers’ heightened expectations, sustainable business practices can help organizations reduce waste and lower operational costs and even help attract top talent.

Not only is sustainability good for business performance and the bottom line, it’s great for the planet, too. And it’s something we care deeply about at Google. Since our earliest days, we have focused on developing services that significantly improve the lives of billions of people while operating our business in an environmentally sustainable way. In 2007, we were the first major company to become carbon neutral, and in 2017 we were the first to achieve 100% renewable energy. Today, we proudly operate the cleanest cloud in the industry. We’ve also been powering humanitarian, scientific, and environmental initiatives studying geospatial information and making it available for analysis via Google Earth Engine. 

Powering the future of responsible sourcing 

How does all this relate to CPG supply chains? The world relies on raw materials like palm oil, soy, and cocoa to produce the items we consume every day—such as coffee, chocolate, frozen foods, shampoo, toothpaste, cosmetics, and even household cleaning products. Yet as demand for these materials continues to grow, forests are under threat. Change is needed.

As sustainability moves further into the spotlight, in-demand crops face increased supplier scrutiny. Environmentally conscious companies want to know what percentage of their raw materials is sourced from deforestation-free suppliers—and how they can improve that number. Until recently, many CPG brands have found it hard to get real-time, reliable visibility into operations at a local supplier level, globally. 

Google Cloud, in partnership with NGIS, is helping brands gain a deeper understanding of raw material sourcing practices across supplier networks, so they can improve supplier performance and compliance in the fight against deforestation. The TraceMark solution, developed by NGIS, uses Google Earth Engine and BigQuery to analyze and visualize how suppliers behave over time. 

Google Earth Engine is the world’s largest archive of open Earth data. It combines a multi-petabyte catalog of satellite imagery and geospatial datasets with planetary-scale analysis capabilities to help people detect changes, map trends, and quantify differences on the Earth’s surface.With Earth Engine, organizations can analyze the potential social, and environmental impacts of the decision they make. 

Together, TraceMark, Google Earth Engine and BigQuery help companies visualize, monitor, and measure the impact of suppliers’ farming practices. The process starts with Earth Engine, which aggregates and harmonizes planetary data into images that it has been collecting for decades. Then, boundary maps for different suppliers are created and NGIS applies climate data science and machine learning to turn pixels into insights. Finally, BigQuery and Vertex AI -Google Cloud’s unified artificial intelligence platform are used to produce supplier scoring, which is integrated into downstream ERP and procurement systems to support more informed decision-making.

These efforts support the responsible sourcing of raw materials by making supply chains more agile, transparent and traceable.

“NGIS is thrilled to work with Google Cloud and its partners to enable business accountability for sustainable practices at all levels of their supply chain,” said Nathan Eaton, Executive Director, NGIS. “Google Earth Engine provides unique geospatial capability that [gives] leaders visibility and control over their environmental footprint and that of their suppliers in a way that was not previously possible.” 

Unilever commits to working towards a deforestation-free supply chain 

Unilever is a great example of a company committed to using technology in the quest to become more sustainable. Since 2020, Unilever has partnered with Google Cloud to use data for eco-friendly decision-making, particularly when it comes to sustainable commodity sourcing. 

By combining the power of cloud computing with satellite imagery and AI, we’re helping Unilever build a more holistic view of the forests, water cycles, and biodiversity that intersect its supply chain. By gaining a complete picture of these ecosystems, Unilever can detect deforestation while simultaneously prioritizing critical areas of forest and habitats in need of protection.

The cleanest cloud for your sustainable transformation

We are excited to bring Google Earth Engine and NGIS to our CPG customers to help them meet their sustainability goals. Looking ahead, we’re committed to furthering our own ambitious sustainability goals and empowering CPG brands with the technology to do more for our environment and our shared future. 

Contact your cloud seller to learn more about Tracemark sustainable sourcing solutions and how Google Cloud can help you advance your sustainability initiatives.

Explore TraceMark on the Google Cloud Marketplace

To know more about how we are helping CPGs transform digitally read this ebook

<sup>1. Google/C Space, BR, FR, DE, IN, MX, U.K., U.S., qualitative survey activity, n = 528, Nov. 24–Nov. 26, 2020.
2. Google/Ipsos, Google Sustainability, BR, FR, DE, IN, JP, U.K., U.S., n=16,959 online population 18–70, July 2021.</sup>

How will your organization manage this year’s data growth and business requirements? Your actions and strategies involving data and AI will improve or undermine your organization’s competitiveness in the months and years to come. Our teams at Google Cloud have an eye on the future as we evolve our strategies to protect technology choice, simplify data integration, increase AI adoption, deliver needed information on demand, and meet security requirements. 

Google Cloud worked with* IDC on multiple studies involving global organizations across industries in order to explore how data leaders are successfully addressing key data and AI challenges. We compiled the results in our 2023 Data and AI Trends report. In it, you’ll find the metrics-rich research behind the top five data and AI trends, along with tips and customer examples for incorporating them into your plans. 

1: Show data silos the door

Given the increasing volumes of data we’re all managing, it’s no surprise that siloed transactional databases and warehousing strategies can’t meet modern demands. Organizations want to improve how they store, manage, analyze, and govern all their data, while reducing costs. They also want to eliminate conflicting insights from replicated data and empower everyone with fresh data.

A unified data cloud enables the integration of data and insights into transformative digital experiences and better decision making.

Andi Gutmans, GM and VP of Engineering for Databases, Google Cloud

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In the report, you can learn how to adopt a unified data cloud that supports every stage of the data lifecycle so that you can improve data usage, accessibility, and governance. Inform your strategy by drawing on organizations’ examples such as a data fabric that improves customer experiences by connecting more than 80 data silos, as well as other unified data clouds that save money and simplify growth. 

2: Usher in the age of the open data ecosystem

Data is the key to unlocking AI, speeding up development cycles, and increasing ROI. To protect against data and technology lock-in, more organizations are adopting open source software and open APIs.

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Understand how you can simplify data integration, facilitate multicloud analytics, and use the technologies you want with an open data ecosystem, as described in the report. Learn from metrics about global open source adoption and public dataset usage. And explore how global companies adopted open data ecosystems to improve patient outcomes, increase website traffic by 25%, and cut operating costs by 90%.

3: Embrace the AI tipping point

Pulling useful information out of data is easier with AI and ML. Not only can you identify patterns and answer questions faster but the technologies also make it easier to solve problems at scale.

We’ve reached the AI tipping point. Whether people realize it or not, we’re already using applications powered by AI—every day. Social media platforms, voice assistants, and driving services are easy examples.

June Yang, VP, Cloud AI and Industry Solutions, Google Cloud

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Organizations share how they’re reaching their goals using AI and ML by empowering “citizen data scientists” and having them focus on small wins first. Gain tips from Yang and other experts for developing your AI strategy. And read how organizations achieve outcomes such as a reduction of 7,400 tons per year in carbon emissions and a more than 200% increase in ROI from ad spend by using pattern recognition and other AI capabilities. 

4: Infuse insights everywhere

Yesterday’s BI solutions have led to outdated insights and user fatigue with the status quo, based on generic metrics and old information. Research shows that as new tools come online, expectations for BI are changing, with companies revising their strategies to improve decision making, speed up the development of new revenue streams, and increase customer acquisition and retention by providing individuals with needed information on demand.

Organizations are equipping business decision-makers with the tools they need to incorporate required insights into their everyday workflows.

Kate Wright, Senior Director, Product Management, Google Cloud

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In the report, you’ll discover why and how data leaders are rethinking their BI analytics strategies and applications to improve users’ trust and use of data in automated workflows, customizable dashboards, and on-demand reports. Global companies also share how they improve decision making with self-service BI, customer experiences with IoT analysis, and threat mitigation with embedded analytics.

5: Get to know your unknown data

Increasing data volumes can make it harder to know where and what data they store, which may create risk. Case in point: If a customer unexpectedly shares personally identifiable information during a recorded customer support call or chat session, that data might require specialized governance, which the standardized storage process may not provide.

If you don’t know what data you have, you cannot know that it’s accurately secured. You also don’t know what security risks you are incurring, or what security measures you need to take.

Anton Chuvakin, Senior Staff Security Consultant, Google Cloud

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Check out the report to learn about data security risks that are often overlooked and how to develop proactive governance strategies for your sensitive data. You can also read how global organizations have increased customer trust and productivity by improving how they discover, classify, and manage their structured and unstructured data.  

Be ready for what’s next

What’s exciting about these trends is that they’re enabling organizations across industries to realize very different goals using their choice of technologies. And although all the trends depend on each other, research shows you can realize measurable benefits whether you adopt one or all five.

Review the report yourself and learn how you can refine your organization’s data and AI strategies by drawing on the collective insights, experiences, and successes of more than 800 global organizations.