Which Google Cloud service is specifically designed for managed SQL databases?

The Google Cloud service specifically designed for managed SQL databases is Cloud SQL. This service provides a fully managed database solution for relational databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. With Cloud SQL, users benefit from automated backups, patch management, replication, and scalability, allowing for efficient database management without the need for in-depth administrative tasks.

This managed service simplifies the process of deploying and operating SQL databases in the cloud, making it easy to integrate with other Google Cloud services. Additionally, Cloud SQL offers features like connection pooling, read replicas, and automatic failover, enhancing the database's performance and reliability.

In contrast, other services like Cloud Spanner cater to horizontally scalable distributed databases rather than a traditional managed SQL format. Cloud Datastore is a NoSQL document database designed for applications requiring high availability and scalability, while BigQuery serves as a large-scale data warehouse optimized for analytics rather than a managed SQL database solution.