Pronouncing Cloud Vendor Terms

GCP is an initialism, always spelled out: "G-C-P" /dʒiː siː piː/. So "deploy to G-C-P", "a G-C-P project", "the G-C-P console." Never compress it into a word like "gee-sip." The "G" is "jee" /dʒiː/, the "C" is "see" /siː/, the "P" is "pee" /piː/. Compare with Azure, which IS said as a word, and AWS, which like GCP is always spelled out. In speech: "we run on G-C-P."

Azure is pronounced "AY-zhur" /ˈeɪʒər/ — two syllables, stress on the first, ending in the voiced "zh" /ʒ/ (like the "s" in "measure") plus a weak /ər/. It matches the English adjective "azure" (sky blue). So "Microsoft AY-zhur", "deploy to AY-zhur." Do not say "az-YOOR" (wrong stress) or "ah-ZURE." The middle consonant is voiced /ʒ/, not a plain /z/.

Kubernetes is pronounced "koo-ber-NET-eez" /ˌkuːbərˈnɛtiːz/ — four syllables, primary stress on "NET," ending in /iːz/. It is Greek for "helmsman." The short form "K8s" (K, eight middle letters, s) is read "kay-eights" /keɪ eɪts/ or informally "koobs." So "deploy to koo-ber-NET-eez", "the kay-eights cluster." Do not say "kuh-BERN-ets" or stress the first syllable strongly. The "kubectl" CLI is separately "kube-control."

Heroku is pronounced "huh-ROH-koo" /həˈroʊkuː/ — three syllables, stress on the middle "ROH." The name is a portmanteau of "heroic" and "haiku." So "deploy to huh-ROH-koo", "a huh-ROH-koo dyno." Do not stress the first syllable as if it were the word "hero" ("HERO-koo"). The middle syllable carries the stress and has the /oʊ/ vowel as in "go." The final "ku" is /kuː/ with a long "oo."

Cloudflare is pronounced "CLOUD-flair" /ˈklaʊdflɛər/ — a compound of "cloud" + "flare," with primary stress on "CLOUD." Note the spelling drops the "e" of "flare," but the pronunciation keeps the "flair" sound (rhyming with "air" / "hair"). So "behind CLOUD-flair", "CLOUD-flair Workers", "the CLOUD-flair CDN." Do not add a French ending ("cloud-FLAR-ay"). It is two everyday English words joined: cloud + flare.