Google and Splunk: Do they actually work together?

The question of whether Google and Splunk go hand in hand keeps coming up. After all, Splunk is a major player in log analysis, security, and observability, and Google operates one of the largest infrastructures on the planet. So, does Google actually use Splunk?

To answer this, you'll need the full story.

Google’s scale changes everything#

At Google’s scale, traditional enterprise tools often don’t cut it. Splunk is great for companies that need log aggregation, security monitoring, and analytics. But when you’re dealing with exabytes of data per day, off-the-shelf solutions struggle.

Google has built its own internal tools to handle:

• Logging and monitoring: Google relies on Borgmon (internally) and Cloud Operations (formerly Stackdriver) for observability.

• Security and threat detection: Custom security analytics tools help detect and mitigate threats at scale.

• Big data analysis: Instead of Splunk’s indexing, Google uses BigQuery, Dremel, and internal data pipelines for log storage and querying.

So while Google and Splunk serve similar purposes, Google prefers its homegrown solutions over third-party tools.

Splunk on Google Cloud: A different story#

While Google itself doesn’t heavily rely on Splunk, it does support Splunk integrations on Google Cloud (GCP). That means:

• Splunk can ingest logs from Google Cloud services like Compute Engine, Cloud Functions, and Kubernetes.

• Security teams can use Splunk for SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) while running workloads on GCP.

• Google Cloud now offers enhanced Splunk connectors, supporting read, write, update, and delete operations directly from GCP. These prebuilt connectors reduce manual setup and support more complex workflows.

So if you’re a company using both Google and Splunk, you can absolutely make them work together—just don’t expect Google itself to be a big customer.

Why doesn’t Google just use Splunk?#

Google isn’t against third-party tools, but at its scale, cost and efficiency are big concerns. Splunk’s pricing is based on data ingestion volume, which gets expensive fast. Google processes orders of magnitude more data than most enterprises, so building in-house solutions is often more cost-effective and scalable.

Here’s why Google builds its own tools:

• Better cost control – Splunk’s per-GB pricing model doesn’t scale well at Google’s data levels.

• More flexibility – Google engineers can fine-tune internal tools to meet their exact needs.

• Seamless integration – Google’s tools are built for its existing infrastructure, making them more efficient.

That’s why Google has Cloud Logging, BigQuery, and Chronicle (for security analytics)—to handle logs, security, and observability at Google scale.

How do Google’s logging and security tools compare to Splunk?#

While Google and Splunk both focus on log management, security monitoring, and analytics, they take different approaches.

Splunk’s strengths#

Splunk is widely used in enterprises for:

• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) – Detecting security threats and anomalies.

• Log aggregation and analysis – Searching logs across multiple systems.

• Custom dashboards and alerts – Creating visual reports on system health and security.

Google’s approach#

Google, on the other hand, has developed its own alternatives:

• Cloud Logging (formerly Stackdriver Logging): Google’s cloud-native log management tool.

• BigQuery: A high-speed, SQL-based analytics engine for massive datasets.

• Chronicle: A security operations platform that functions as Google’s alternative to Splunk’s SIEM.

While Splunk is highly customizable and supports hybrid-cloud environments, Google’s tools are built specifically for large-scale, cloud-first operations.

How enterprises use Splunk with Google Cloud#

Even though Google doesn’t use Splunk internally, many enterprises rely on Google Cloud + Splunk for their infrastructure. Here’s how:

• Cloud Logging to Splunk: Companies export logs from Google Cloud services into Splunk for centralized monitoring.

• Security analytics: Organizations running on Google Cloud use Splunk’s SIEM capabilities for compliance and threat detection.

• Hybrid deployments: Some enterprises run on-prem Splunk instances that analyze logs from both Google Cloud and legacy systems.

For businesses already invested in Splunk, integrating with Google Cloud is straightforward thanks to prebuilt connectors and APIs.

Will Google ever use Splunk?#

It’s unlikely that Google will ever fully adopt Splunk for its internal operations. However, Google and Splunk continue to collaborate on integrations for enterprise customers.

That means:

• Splunk will remain a popular choice for enterprises running on Google Cloud.

• Google will keep evolving its own observability and security tools for internal and external users.

• Hybrid setups (Google Cloud + Splunk) will continue to be a strong option for large organizations.

Unless Splunk dramatically changes its pricing or technology, Google is likely to stick with its own homegrown solutions.

The role of BigQuery in observability#

BigQuery isn’t just a data warehouse—it’s central to Google’s observability strategy. It enables:

• Fast querying of massive datasets without indexing overhead.

• Real-time insights by integrating with Dataflow and Pub/Sub.

• Custom monitoring through SQL-based dashboards.

For enterprises comparing Google and Splunk solutions, BigQuery can replicate many Splunk use cases with fewer scaling concerns.

Chronicle vs. Splunk for security operations#

Chronicle, a Google Cloud product, is often viewed as a direct competitor to Splunk’s SIEM. Key differences include:

• Chronicle uses a flat-rate pricing model, which avoids ingestion-based surprises.

• It’s built for petabyte-scale analytics, using Google infrastructure.

• Chronicle normalizes and enriches security data, helping analysts get actionable insights faster.

• That said, Splunk still leads in market share and ecosystem maturity. As of 2025, Splunk holds a 9.5% mindshare in the SIEM category, while Chronicle is growing steadily with a 3.6% share.

While Splunk is broader in its integration ecosystem, Chronicle is rapidly evolving as a cloud-native alternative.

Use cases where Google and Splunk align#

Although they’re often compared, Google and Splunk can work side by side in several use cases:

• Multi-cloud observability: Splunk helps visualize data from Google Cloud Platform (GCP), AWS, and Azure together.

• Compliance reporting: Splunk’s reporting capabilities complement Google’s raw logging data.

• Incident response: Security teams may use Google’s Chronicle for detection and Splunk for response workflows.

• Workflow automation: Thanks to expanded integration APIs and Terraform modules, Google Cloud + Splunk setups can now support end-to-end observability pipelines with minimal manual intervention.

The key is matching the right tool to the job rather than picking one over the other entirely.

Training and certification paths#

If your organization relies on both Google and Splunk, building skills across both platforms can be valuable:

• Splunk certifications: Admin, Power User, and Security certifications are highly respected.

• Google Cloud training: Courses in operations, Cloud Logging, and BigQuery provide strong foundations.

• Hybrid-focused roles: Many enterprises now hire specifically for engineers who can bridge the gap between Google Cloud and Splunk.

Upskilling in both systems positions you well for roles in DevOps, SecOps, and platform engineering.

Google and Splunk for DevOps teams#

For DevOps engineers, using Google Cloud and Splunk together provides visibility into:

• Application performance (via Google Cloud’s APM tools).

• Infrastructure health (via logs sent to Splunk).

• CI/CD pipeline insights (via Google Cloud Build + custom log routing).

This combination helps teams identify performance regressions, monitor deployments, and manage incidents more effectively.

Developer tools and APIs for integration#

Google Cloud and Splunk both offer robust APIs for developers looking to integrate services:

• Google Cloud Logging API allows log routing and export.

• Splunk HTTP Event Collector (HEC) makes it easy to ingest logs at scale.

• Terraform modules exist for automating Google + Splunk configurations.

These developer tools make it easy to build custom workflows, automate infrastructure, and ensure observability is built into your stack.

Final thoughts#

So, is Google using Splunk? Not really, at least not in a major way. Instead, Google has built custom tools to handle logging, security, and analytics. However, if you’re using Google and Splunk together—especially on Google Cloud—there are plenty of integration options available.

What do you think? Have you worked with Splunk on Google Cloud? Drop a comment—we’d love to hear your experience!