16.3. What is BigQuery?

A preferred solution for many reasons

BigQuery is not the only solution for large-scale data management, as there are other options like Amazon Redshift and Microsoft Azure. However, it has become a popular choice due to its compatibility with other Google tools and its scalability.

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Part of the Google Cloud Platform

BigQuery is a part of the Google Cloud Platform (GCP), which offers a wide range of tools for storage, computing, machine learning, and big data processing. Among these tools, BigQuery stands out as an ideal option for petabyte-scale data warehousing.

Advantages of BigQuery

Fully managed and scalable

You don't need to worry about setting up hardware or maintaining infrastructure when using BigQuery. It's fully managed by Google and scales effortlessly based on your usage.

Cost-efficient

With BigQuery, you only pay for what you use. Plus, there's a generous free quota that allows you to work with your data without incurring additional costs.

Reliable and secure

BigQuery runs on Google's infrastructure, ensuring reliability and security. Additionally, you can control access with granularity and audit user activities.

Benefits of using BigQuery with Looker Studio

Full data ownership

Storing your data in BigQuery gives your organization complete ownership over it. You can retain it as long as needed and analyze it without any limitations.

Flexible pricing model

You pay only for the amount of data stored in BigQuery and the amount processed during analysis or queries. To learn more about pricing details, visit our BigQuery pricing lesson.