Google Cloud has run into contract hurdles involving channel partners that sell non-Google solutions, according to The Information, a media site focused on Silicon Valley.
The problem stems from Google’s long-running failure to enforce certain rules governing the way channel partners help Google sell third-party software to customers through Google Cloud Marketplace, the report indicated.
Google Cloud Marketplace: Can MSPs Resell Third-Party Marketplace Software?
The five-part issue, according to The Information, looks like this:
- Google’s terms of service, which have been in place since it launched its cloud marketplace in 2018, prohibit partners from reselling third-party software.
- Yet for years Google’s partners sold third-party software through the cloud marketplace anyway.
- In recent months, Google Cloud has tweaked its sales systems to automatically prevent such transactions from happening in the cloud marketplace.
- Google’s crackdown has so far disrupted or delayed at least several hundred million dollars of pending deals involving partners and third-party software
- Google Cloud’s salespeople have since taken over some of the deals directly, leaving out partners who were racing to close deals and meet annual goals, the report suggested.
Google Cloud Marketplace vs AWS and Azure: Advantage Amazon and Microsoft?
The crackdown puts Google at a disadvantage relative to its rivals, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, both of which have formal programs to let partners sell third-party software in addition to AWS and Azure services, the report noted.
Google doesn't seem to be disputing The Information's report: “We’re committed to making it very easy for customers to deploy and consume services from the Google Cloud Marketplace. We’ll always work with our partners and customers to ensure that all use of Marketplace falls within our terms of service,” a Google Cloud spokesperson told The Information.
