Google Cloud’s New Consumption Packs ‘to Streamline the Partner Process’

Google Cloud is on a tear. On Wednesday, the company unveiled nine “consumption packs,” specific to Deal Acceleration Funds and Partner Services Funds, that help channel partners get clients into the cloud — faster.

Managed service providers, system integrators, resellers, consultants and other partners authorized for the Partner Advantage Service Engagement Model are eligible for the packages. Those bundles comprise the following areas of specialty:

As for the reason Google Cloud is bringing the consumption packs to partners now? The answer speaks for itself.

Google’s Nina Harding

“Demand from organizations for cloud transformation is soaring,” Nina Harding, chief of global partner strategy and programs, told Channel Futures. “And these consumption packs will help our partners more quickly and effectively support these customers, and simplify their cloud journeys.”

To be clear, the consumption packs do not replace Google Cloud Partner Advantage, which handles custom projects. (The Partner Advantage program is nothing if not thorough. Members have to earn and prove competency in domains including application development, cloud migration, infrastructure, machine learning, security and more. As Jim Anderson, managing director, North America ecosystem and channels, told us earlier this year, “Our Partner Advantage program gives all our partners access to resources, funding, incentives and expertise to help them grow with Google Cloud and address soaring customer demand.”)

Partners still may use Partner Advantage capabilities, Harding wrote in an April 20 blog. However, in most cases, “consumption packs will greatly streamline the partner process and accelerate the customer journey to the cloud — all while following a predictable and simplified process from beginning to end.”

The Significance of Google Cloud’s Consumption Packs

So what does that mean? Well, for starters, partners now have Google Cloud-designed and tested plans and offers to put in front of customers. Each package features project templates and predetermined funding options for a range of deployment sizes and needs. Reflecting the nine consumption packs noted above, those installations can range from infrastructure assessment and workload identification to consumption planning and migration road map development.

“These consumption packs enable a standardized and scalable approach for partners to establish thorough application migration and modernization plans based on learnings and patterns observed over thousands of customer engagements,” Harding told Channel Futures. “Partners can now plan and execute customer projects much faster, with predictable and transparent funding.”

Speaking of funding, Google Cloud is supporting its new consumption packs with moolah for partners. Here’s how Harding positioned everything in her blog.

“Consumption Packs offer pre-approved templates, supporting documents, and assets that simplify and shorten the process for most common projects,” she wrote. “For Deal Acceleration Funds, packages include everything our partners need to conduct assessments, workshops and proofs-of-concept so they can quickly meet customers where they are on their journey to the cloud. For Partner Services Funds, packages are structured so that partners can develop customer consumption plans first. Partners desired this approach. And now have it.”

Finally, the packages also include migration options for priority workloads.

Google Cloud designed the new consumption packs (which it started piloting last year) with input from partners, end users, and its internal partner engineering and professional services teams. Contributions from the channel were key, according to Harding.

“Inspired by partner feedback, these new packages are designed to accelerate all stages of a customer’s journey to the cloud, and make it even easier and faster for partners to do business with us,” she told Channel Futures.

‘Partner Response and Demand’ Will Determine Future Consumption Packs

Google Cloud plans to add more consumption packs that cover other kinds of workloads, products, services and technology, “based on partner response and demand,” Harding said.

Partners may check out the nine consumption packs in the Partner Advantage portal.

Google Cloud remains the world’s third-largest public cloud provider, but it is not seeking to take over the world. Rather, the company is intent on differentiating itself through its platforms. In fact, one prominent MSP – SADA – is so keen on Google Cloud that it just committed to selling $2.5 billion worth of the company’s solutions by 2025.