Google Cloud Next takes place this week in San Francisco, and details have already emerged about several strategic programs and partnerships designed to help Google Cloud partners accelerate growth and drive customer success in 2017.
The event comes at a key time for Google and partners. The company hired VMware veteran Diane Greene (pictured) in November 2015 to overhaul Google's cloud strategy. Greene spent most of 2016 on that overhaul work, focusing the company's cloud on artificial intelligence, big data, IaaS price/performance and the rebranded Google G Suite (formerly Google Apps). The overarching goal: Differentiate from perceived public cloud market leaders Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
New Google Cloud Partner Programs
Fast forward to present day, and another round of partner enhancements has arrived. For instance, Google Cloud sales training and product development credits soon will span all products, according to a blog post from Bertrand Yansouni, Google Cloud's vice president of global partner sales and strategic alliances. Yansouni also indicated training and revenue goals to advance in the Google Cloud Partner Program now encompass:
- G Suite.
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
- Maps.
- Devices.
- Education.
In addition, Google Cloud will recognize partners with deep technical expertise via Google Cloud Partner specializations and the Authorized Training Partner Program.
Google Cloud Partner specializations verify customer success and technical proficiency in the following areas:
- App development.
- Data analytics.
- Infrastructure.
- Machine learning.
Meanwhile, Authorized Training Partners can offer hands-on labs and courses powered by Qwiklabs.
Google acquired Qwiklabs in November. Qwiklabs provides lab learning environments that help developers and IT professionals get hands-on experience with cloud technologies.
Announcing Google Cloud Partnerships and Product Launches
Many companies have announced Google Cloud partnerships and product launches at Google Cloud Next, including:
- Check Point: Released its vSec cloud security solution on GCP.
- Egnyte: Unveiled plans to integrate with Google Docs.
- Intel: Launched technology initiatives and market education efforts covering the Internet of Things (IoT), Kubernetes and TensorFlow.
- itopia: Became a Google Cloud workspace-as-a-service (WaaS) partner.
- Veritas: Extended its partnership with Google Cloud to cover GCP and G Suite.
Expect more Google Cloud partnerships and product launches in the days to come, along with additional Google Cloud Partner Program updates over the course of the year.
"Looking ahead, during 2017, we'll be introducing targeted programs for tech partners to aid not only their technical integrations, but also their business success," Yansouni noted.
