Question 1,312 of 1,446
PCDE Practice Question: Manage a solution that can span multiple database technologies
A startup is building a mobile application and needs a real-time database that automatically scales to handle sudden spikes in user traffic. They want to minimise operational overhead and only pay for the resources they use. Which Google Cloud database should they choose?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common misconception is that Cloud Spanner is always the best scalable database, but candidates overlook that Spanner requires provisioned capacity and is not serverless, while Firestore's auto-scaling and pay-per-use model directly address the startup's requirements for minimizing operational overhead and handling sudden spikes.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Firestore
Firestore is a fully managed, serverless NoSQL document database that automatically scales horizontally to handle sudden traffic spikes without manual intervention. It offers real-time data synchronization via listeners, and its pay-per-use billing model aligns with the startup's requirement to minimize operational overhead and only pay for consumed resources.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Firestore
Why this is correct
Firestore is serverless, auto-scaling, and pay-per-use, ideal for mobile apps.
- ✗
Cloud Spanner
Why it's wrong here
Spanner is powerful but overkill and more expensive for a simple mobile app.
- ✗
Cloud SQL
Why it's wrong here
Cloud SQL requires provisioning and managing instances; it does not auto-scale as seamlessly.
- ✗
Cloud Bigtable
Why it's wrong here
Bigtable is designed for large-scale analytical workloads, not typical mobile app backends.
Quick reference
Cloud Service Model Comparison
| Model | You Manage | Provider Manages | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| IaaS | OS, runtime, apps, data | Hardware, hypervisor, networking | EC2, Azure VMs, GCP Compute Engine |
| PaaS | Apps and data | OS, runtime, middleware, hardware | Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service |
| SaaS | Data and settings only | Everything else | Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Workday |
| FaaS / Serverless | Function code only | Infra, scaling, runtime | Lambda, Azure Functions, Cloud Run |
| CaaS | Containers and apps | Kubernetes, OS, hardware | EKS, AKS, GKE |
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on PCDE
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A startup is building a mobile app and needs a fully managed database that scales automatically for unpredictable workloads. They expect moderate read/write traffic with occasional spikes. They want minimal operational overhead and do not need global distribution. Which Google Cloud database is MOST appropriate?
easy- A.Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL with HA
- B.Cloud Spanner regional
- ✓ C.Cloud Firestore in native mode
- D.Cloud Bigtable
Why C: Cloud Firestore is fully managed, serverless, auto-scales, and ideal for mobile apps with moderate traffic. Cloud SQL requires manual scaling. Bigtable is overkill and complex for this workload. Spanner is designed for global scale and is more complex than needed.
Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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