Google Cloud Workflows

Google Cloud Workflows lets you orchestrate services across Google Cloud Platform using either YAML or JSON syntax, skipping the visual designer for code-first orchestration. You define workflows declaratively, and the runtime handles retries, error handling, and state management automatically. It's lightweight and deeply integrated with Compute Engine, Pub/Sub, Cloud Functions, BigQuery, and other GCP services.

Pick Workflows if you're building on Google Cloud and want orchestration without adopting a separate platform. It's particularly appealing for data engineering teams orchestrating ELT pipelines and analytics workflows. The pay-per-step pricing is economical for batch processes that don't run constantly, and the native GCP integration means fewer external API calls and better data locality.

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