Google Cloud Assured Workloads
A service that helps organizations ensure regulatory compliance and data residency in cloud environments by applying specific control packages to Google Cloud folders.
| Category | Compliance & Governance |
|---|---|
| This page updated | a month ago |
| Pricing Details | Pricing varies based on the selected control packages and usage. |
| Target Audience | Organizations needing to comply with regulations like FedRAMP, HIPAA, or ITAR. |
Google Cloud's Assured Workloads manages ensuring regulatory compliance and data residency in cloud environments. This service allows organizations to apply specific control packages to folders within their Google Cloud setup, ensuring that only approved services and regions are used.
Technically, Assured Workloads operates by creating regulated boundaries within Google Cloud through the use of Organization Policy and Access Transparency. When setting up Assured Workloads, you must create a new folder and select a control package that aligns with your compliance requirements, such as FedRAMP, HIPAA, or ITAR. This configuration restricts the available Google Cloud products and regions to those that meet the selected compliance standards, preventing data from being stored in non-compliant locations.
Key operational considerations include the need to create new folders, as Assured Workloads cannot be applied to existing ones. Additionally, specific IAM roles such as Access Transparency Admin and Assured Workloads Admin are required to set up and manage these environments. The service also integrates with Google Cloud's encryption services, ensuring that data at rest and in transit is encrypted according to the chosen compliance program, often using FIPS-140-2 compliant keys.
Operational limitations include the potential complexity of managing multiple compliance regimes and the need for careful planning to ensure that all resources within the Assured Workloads folder comply with the selected controls. Moreover, enabling Assured Workloads may limit the availability of certain Google Cloud services and regions, which can impact application design and deployment. The monitoring system provides real-time alerts for compliance violations, but managing these alerts and ensuring continuous compliance can add to the operational overhead.