Workload Manager is a rule-based validation service for workloads running on Google Cloud. It automates configuration checks, simplifies deployment, and improves system visibility - particularly for enterprise workloads such as SAP, Oracle Database, SQL Server, MySQL, Redis, and OpenShift.
What is Workload Manager?
Google describes Workload Manager as a service that helps you manage and optimize your workloads running on Google Cloud by automating configuration checks, simplifying deployment, and enhancing system visibility. Its core concept is the evaluation: the service scans workloads to detect deviations from standards, rules, and best practices.
The focus is on business-critical enterprise workloads. The documentation lists evaluations for SAP - including S/4HANA applications - as well as Oracle Database, SQL Server, MySQL, Redis, and OpenShift. For requirements beyond the bundled rule sets, custom rules can be defined in the Rego policy language.
Beyond validation, Workload Manager provides Guided Deployment Automation for configuring and deploying SAP systems on Google Cloud, along with observability dashboards designed for SAP workloads. Customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) can be enabled for evaluation data.
Billing is based on resource evaluations per billing account each month. A resource evaluation is the validation of a single resource - for example a VM instance, persistent disk, or VPC - against a single best-practice rule defined in a policy. According to the pricing page, the first 5,000 resource evaluations each month are free, with graduated pricing above that. For regional availability and SLA values, refer to the official Google Cloud pages.
Core Features
- Rule-based evaluations: Automated comparison of workloads against standards, rules, and best practices.
- Enterprise workloads: Prebuilt rule sets for SAP, Oracle Database, SQL Server, MySQL, Redis, and OpenShift.
- Custom rules: Your own validation rules in the Rego policy language.
- Guided Deployment Automation: Guided configuration and deployment of SAP systems on Google Cloud.
- SAP observability: Dashboards for monitoring SAP workloads.
- CMEK: Encryption of evaluation data with customer-managed keys.
Typical Use Cases
Validating an SAP landscape against best practices
An SAP Basis team regularly validates the configuration of its S/4HANA systems against the rule sets provided by Google and receives findings on deviations before they surface in operations.
Securing database workloads
Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, and Redis instances are evaluated on a regular schedule so that configuration drift is detected early.
Enforcing your own governance requirements
A cloud center of excellence encodes organization-specific requirements as Rego rules and makes compliance measurable.
Assessing OpenShift environments
Teams running OpenShift clusters on Google Cloud use the available evaluations to uncover deviations from recommended configurations.
Deploying new SAP systems
When building new systems, Guided Deployment Automation helps roll out SAP landscapes on Google Cloud according to defined patterns.
Benefits
- Repeatable checks: Configuration reviews run automatically instead of manually.
- Enterprise workload focus: Prebuilt rule sets for SAP and common databases rather than generic checks.
- Extensible: Custom Rego rules cover organization-specific requirements.
- Cost control: A free monthly allowance and graduated pricing make adoption predictable.
- Data protection options: CMEK for evaluation data supports your own key management.
Integration with innFactory
As a certified Google Cloud Partner, innFactory supports you in using Workload Manager: selecting suitable evaluations, building custom Rego rule sets, integrating results into your operational processes, and supporting SAP and database workloads on Google Cloud.
Contact us for a consultation on Workload Manager and Google Cloud.
Typical Use Cases
Technical Specifications
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Workload Manager?
According to the Google documentation, Workload Manager is a rule-based validation service for evaluating workloads running on Google Cloud. It scans workloads to detect deviations from standards, rules, and best practices in order to improve system quality, reliability, and performance.
Which workloads can Workload Manager evaluate?
The documentation lists evaluations for SAP, Oracle Database, SQL Server, MySQL, Redis, and OpenShift. In addition, custom rules can be defined in the Rego policy language to check organization-specific requirements.
How is Workload Manager billed?
Billing is based on the number of resource evaluations performed per billing account each month. A resource evaluation is the validation of a single resource - such as a VM instance, persistent disk, or VPC - against a single best-practice rule. Validating 10 VM instances against 10 rules therefore equals 100 resource evaluations.
Is there a free tier?
Yes. According to the pricing page, the first 5,000 resource evaluations each month are free. Graduated pricing applies above that, and the total volume resets on the first of every month. Refer to the official pricing page for the current tier values.
Does Workload Manager do more than validation?
Yes. Google also describes Guided Deployment Automation for configuring and deploying SAP systems on Google Cloud, as well as observability dashboards designed specifically for monitoring SAP workloads.
Note: All product information on this page has been compiled with care, but is provided without guarantee and may be outdated or incomplete. Cloud services evolve rapidly — features, pricing, SLAs, and availability change frequently. Authoritative and up-to-date information can only be found on the official product page of Google Cloud (official documentation). This page does not represent an offer by Google Cloud.
