Generate Storage Insights with Gemini in Google Cloud

In this presentation, Manjul Sahay, a Group Product Manager at Google Cloud, introduces a new feature designed to provide valuable insights into cloud storage using the Gemini Cloud Assist portfolio. He highlights the unique challenges faced by customers managing vast amounts of data across numerous projects and buckets, often handled by a small team of administrators. The traditional approach involves extensive manual effort to export metadata, build data pipelines, and develop automation, which can be time-consuming and complex. To address this, Google Cloud has developed a set of features that simplify the analysis and management of storage at scale, focusing on ease of use and operational efficiency.

Sahay explains that the new feature, introduced at Cloud Next, leverages storage insights datasets and BigQuery to provide daily snapshots of object metadata. This data is then processed using Gemini to generate actionable insights through natural language queries, eliminating the need for specialized SQL knowledge or complex data pipelines. The feature allows users to type in questions in plain language and receive accurate, verified answers, making it accessible to both administrators and general users. Pre-curated prompts cover common queries related to usage, savings, security, and data discovery, ensuring high accuracy and reliability. The demo showcased how users can quickly identify storage distribution across regions, check for public access vulnerabilities, and manage cost by locating and addressing orphaned or unnecessary data.

The presentation also addresses the potential for future enhancements, such as integrating more advanced security and access control features. While the current focus is on reading and understanding metadata, Sahay hints at the possibility of expanding these capabilities to include more complex operations and other storage services. He emphasizes the importance of AI in accelerating analysis and providing deeper insights, while cautioning against fully automated actions without human oversight. The feature is currently in experimental preview, with plans for general availability in the coming months, promising to significantly improve storage management for Google Cloud customers by reducing complexity and enhancing operational efficiency.