Google Cloud Platform (GCP) revenues remain in growth mode, but CEO Sundar Pichai largely sidestepped questions about actual GCP revenue figures during an Alphabet call with financial analysts yesterday. Instead, he painted in broad strokes -- mentioning enterprise-oriented growth, and promising starts to cloud partnerships with Cisco Systems, SAP and Salesforce.
Google previously disclosed that GCP revenues surpassed $1 billion per quarter in 2017. But what about figures for Q1 2018? Without disclosing a specific figure, Pichai said:
"We are growing across the board and are also signing significantly larger, more strategic deals for cloud. Our security capabilities, the easy-to-use advanced data analytics and machine learning solutions and the secure and industry-leading collaboration platform, G Suite, are winning customers over. Google Cloud is growing well."
GPC: Momentum, Comptition
The statement comes as Google attempts to solidify its position as a Top 3 hyperscale cloud provider -- competing against both Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. Still, Google will need to leapfrog IBM and Oracle in the overall cloud revenue conversation, ZDnet notes in this graphic summarizing 2017 figures:
Later in the Alphabet earnings call yesterday, multiple financial analysts pressed Pichai for more information on the company's cloud services momentum. It was a playful chess match. The analysts never directly asked for the latest revenue figure. And Pichai didn't offer it up.
The only revenue clue surfaced when Google mentioned that it's "other" revenues -- involving cloud, hardware and Play lumped together -- were $4.4 billion, up 36 percent year-over-year.
Google Cloud Platform: Cisco, SAP, Salesforce Partnerships
In terms of market trends, Pichai mentioned growing momentum between G Suite and cloud. Plus, he pointed to go-to-market programs that include SAP, Cisco Systems and Salesforce relationships. "I think we are beginning to see early results from , and hopefully, that translates into more momentum going forward."
The Cisco relationship surfaced in November 2017, when Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene surfaced at Cisco Partner Summit to describe a hybrid IT services partnership that was a "year in the making."
It's a safe bet those relationships, and more, will take center stage when the Google Cloud Next 2018 conference kicks off in late July.
