Google Cloud Compute, often referred to as Google Compute Engine (GCE), is a component of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) that provides scalable and flexible virtual machine computing capabilities in the cloud. It allows users to run their applications on Google’s infrastructure, offering a variety of machine types, operating systems, and configurations.

Here are some key features of Google Cloud Compute:

1. Virtual Machines: Offers a range of pre-defined virtual machine configurations, as well as the ability to customize machine types according to specific needs.

2. Global Infrastructure: Runs on Google’s global infrastructure, which includes data centers around the world, providing low-latency and high-reliability services.

3. Scalability and Flexibility: Easily scales to handle increases in traffic, and users can choose when to scale up or down.

4. Live Migration of VMs: Unique capability to perform live migration of virtual machines to keep them running during maintenance.

5. Security: Integrated with Google’s security model, providing robust security and compliance measures.

6. Pricing: Competitive and flexible pricing options, including sustained use discounts and custom machine types for more efficient pricing.

7. Networking: Offers powerful networking capabilities, including load balancing, IPv6 support, and integration with Google’s high-speed private network.

8. Integration with Other Google Cloud Services: Seamlessly integrates with other services in the Google Cloud Platform, like Google Cloud Storage, BigQuery, and Dataflow, enabling a wide range of applications from web hosting to data analysis.

9. Support for Various Operating Systems: Supports various operating systems, including Linux and Windows, and provides options for Bring Your Own License (BYOL) for maximum flexibility.

10. Managed Services: Offers managed services like Google Kubernetes Engine for running containerized applications, Cloud SQL for managed database services, and more.

Google Cloud Compute is widely used for various applications, such as web and application hosting, data and analytics, cloud-native applications, and more. It is popular among businesses for its reliability, scalability, and integration capabilities with the broader suite of Google Cloud services.