Big Changes Coming Next Month to Google Cloud Partner Advantage
"Things are about to get a whole lot more exciting,” one consultancy tells Channel Futures.
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Google Cloud is doubling down on its intent to bring partners ever closer to every aspect of the customer life cycle. After announcing a series of new certifications (“Premier badges”) in January, the cloud provider is taking its channel program to the next level.
On Aug. 1, the premier designations will take effect within Partner Advantage. As a refresher, the structure now goes across three engagement models: Sell, Service and Build. They apply to Google Cloud, Google Workspace and Chrome. Partners may specialize in one or all domains.
As a side note, Google Cloud partners already have earned “greater than 180% more certifications” in the first half of this year than they did compared to the same period a year earlier, Bronwyn Hastings, vice president, ISV ecosystem and channels at Google Cloud, told us.
“The partners are on the journey with us and they’re increasing their overall investment in that specialization domain so that they can actually be represented as strong in the market,” she added.
From there, Google Cloud also is changing up things for partners in three key ways.
For the first shift, partners will validate their “deep, deep product expertise and proven experience” by earning one or more of the aforementioned badges, Hastings said.
Second, Google Cloud will reward partners “who are actually driving and delivering that customer success,” Hastings said. That includes encouraging consumption of Google Cloud services and capacity.
Finally, Google Cloud will deliver “unique resources, tools, ways of actually engaging the partner to get those competencies and make sure that the feedback loops are there, so that it’s not us telling the story, it’s also the customer telling the story,” as Hastings put it.
What do those resources look like?
The Delivery Readiness Index, launched last year to measure partner readiness, capacity and services delivery capabilities; lab environments; and Net Promoter Score access. Each of these items is intended as “an enabler, not punitive,” Hastings explained. “It’s meant to actually support the partner in what they’re meant to do.”
That way, partners can see where they’re performing strongly and pinpoint where they need to brush up on skills.
Combined, all these new approaches will result in a move to life-cycle compensation. More vendors are adopting this system as the world moves from reliance on legacy hardware to cloud and software. This does mean some partners have to keep getting used to building recurring revenue, rather than relying on large, one-time purchases for income, but that’s been an industry-wide metamorphosis long in the making.
We don’t have a dollar amount but Google Cloud is going big on the indirect channel. The company is “increasing the overall funding available in incentives available to partners, recognizing all of the stages of the life cycle with us,” Hastings said.
That means partners not only facilitate the pre-sales (e.g., proofs of concept, generative AI planning, etc.) and actual sales process, they also deliver the services and, in many cases, management expertise, around what they’ve sold. Or they can opt for co-delivery alongside Google Cloud (in which case, Hastings emphasized, the company’s professional services division is not competing with partners for customers, as has been reported to happen with some other cloud providers). Along the way, partners earn the requisite incentives aligned to their level of effort and investment.
“It’s giving services partners something to step into, it’s giving the resellers something to step into, and to move with us on. At the end of the day, it’s focused on that customer value,” Hastings said.
As for where the extra money for channel is coming from, “it’s a combination of things,” Hastings said.
What matters is that partners get to decide how much they want to be involved and profit accordingly.
“We continue to be significantly invested in our partner-first approach and having 100% partner attach,” Hastings said. “So you can imagine why this is so important as part of the journey for partners to be part of that service acceleration with us, as we also look at the transformations customers are going through. … We’ve been feverishly working with the partners to do this.”
Next, we delve into Google Cloud’s more concerted or publicized focus on small and medium businesses, a demographic where most Channel Futures readers specialize.
The hyperscalers rarely talk about SMBs. That’s because enterprises, corporations and government agencies tend to be bigger moneymakers for them.
But Google Cloud surprised us with its announcement that a portion of its upcoming new incentives includes higher rebates for partners sourcing new or expanded deals with SMBs. Much of this ties to Google Workspace, because of its inherent, SMB-friendly capabilities, but not solely. (And, to be clear, Google Cloud is not pushing for SMB accounts over enterprise — representatives tell us they’re just talking about SMB more and extending the associated rewards.)
We asked Hastings about Google Cloud’s emphasis on SMBs with the new partner program approach. Here’s what she told us:
“We actually see a lot of the way we look at SMB as a good starting point of engagement with GCP. And we often see those customers grow, and grow quite fast over time. So it is a very good entry point for companies to consider GCP and build their businesses with the hyperscaler that also looks at innovation and looks at ways of growing right. … Maybe it’s not something we’ve spoken about a lot but … part of our focus is on SMB. … It’s actually something that we’ve been doing for a while. And we’ve been seeing that growth in there. And sometimes those customers even grow with us into something that would be more than SMB.”
Next, we catch up with two key Google Cloud partners for their thoughts on the upcoming channel program changes.
Asif Hasan, co-founder of Quantiphi, a channel partner with particular expertise in and focus on AI and data science solutions, said his company welcomes Google Cloud’s new “deep level of specialization.”
“[I]t provides customers an objective view of the partner ecosystem and their expertise, and it gives the partner ecosystem a mechanism to continuously upgrade the capabilities of their organization and serve the customers better,” he said.
So far, Quantiphi has completed the Premier track for in the Service and Sell models.
“We have developed two platforms to accelerate customer’s adoption journey on Google Cloud — one for conversational AI named ‘Qollective.CX’ and another for Gen AI named ‘baioniq,’ and, as a result, are seeking to achieve the Premier Partner badge for Build Engagement to serve customers in a platform enabled services engagement model as well,” Hasan told Channel Futures.
As for the shift toward life-cycle compensation, Hasan is enthusiastic.
“Overall, the evolution of the partner program has had a positive impact on our business and we continue to be excited about the direction of these changes,” he said.
Part of Quantiphi’s strategy around Google Cloud’s channel restructure ties to SMBs. While Quantiphi historically has targeted the Global 2000 and digitally native firms, “we plan to expand our focus to include a larger number of digital natives within the SMB segment,” Hasan said.
“We have observed that a high proportion of the SMB is relatively underserved,” he explained. “Although individual SMBs may have smaller budgets compared to large enterprises, the collective market size is substantial and holds promise to generate consistent future revenue streams for Google Cloud and the partner ecosystem.”
Quantiphi, for its part, has witnessed “tremendous growth” with Google Cloud over the past seven years. As such, Hasan is bullish on the new program.
“[W]e have seen the incentive programs evolve to meet the needs of the customer and partner ecosystem better, and we continue to be excited about the direction it is moving.”
Kin and Carta started as a print and marketing company and now acts as a digitally native services consultancy. Its portfolio includes AI/ML, app development, analytics and managed services. Much of these capabilities stem from its teamwork with Google Cloud, and Robbie Clews, for one, is excited about the upcoming channel program upgrades.
“[T]he evolution in Partner Advantage reflects increasing the demand for Google Cloud, and a growing desire from customers to ensure that their chosen partners have the domain knowledge necessary to ensure successful deployments,” said Clews, senior director of Google Partnership at Kin and Carta. “These new product-specific premier levels provide great visibility to partners who have built up a solid track record of implementing successful engagements. When combined with the changes to incentives and funding, partners are mostly rewarded once they’ve executed.”
As for some partners who may feel that Google Cloud is putting up a “higher barrier to entry” for success, Clews disagrees.
“I’d say it’s far from it,” he said. “Alongside these new designations, Google has implemented an innovative framework — with the Delivery Readiness Index and support services such as Partner Success Service — to ensure that partners who want to enter the partner ecosystem are given the support they need in order to build a successful business.”
Clews is particularly optimistic about doing more AI-centric work with Google Cloud.
“We’ve been a launch partner for many of Google Cloud’s AI products and services — from Vertex AI to Cloud Retail Search to Gen AI,” he said. “The new product-specific premier levels will allow us to cement the reputation that we’ve built and further corroborate that domain knowledge to prospective clients.”
Clews only expects such innovation for Kin and Carta and Google Cloud to continue. And he looks forward to the changes coming in August.
“It’s long overdue,” he says of the shift to life-cycle compensation. “Given the partner-led approach that Google is committed to, the focus on life-cycle compensation ensures that services engagements are outcome-based and, ultimately, that they meet customer expectations. It ensures partners are accountable to customer satisfaction and success.”
And, for Kin and Carta, making that switch is no big deal.
“Resale is a tertiary focus” for the company, Clews said. “So the shift to life-cycle compensation should only really be of a concern to partners who aren’t investing in driving long-term value for their clients.”
And while Kin and Carta will remain focused on its enterprise and commercial customers, rather than adding SMBs to the mix, Clews sees the need and value in that focus for Google Cloud and partner peers.
“You don’t need to look far to find third-party reports on how profitable this segment can prove to be,” he said. “While it’s not an area of focus for us, it’s certainly a great area of opportunity for partners who want to specialize here and have a business model to match.”
On the whole, Clews is keen to see Google Cloud continue conducting “constant conversations and dialogue” with partners (and he expects that to be the case) while helping Kin and Carta bring in even more Google Cloud revenue.
“Google’s new approach to partner incentives and compensation is designed to drive the behavior we all want to see, which is customer success,” Clews said. “Those partners who are able to execute, and in turn are committed to the long-term success of their customers using Google Cloud will benefit from these changes.”
“Things,” he added, “are about to get a whole lot more exciting.”
Kin and Carta started as a print and marketing company and now acts as a digitally native services consultancy. Its portfolio includes AI/ML, app development, analytics and managed services. Much of these capabilities stem from its teamwork with Google Cloud, and Robbie Clews, for one, is excited about the upcoming channel program upgrades.
“[T]he evolution in Partner Advantage reflects increasing the demand for Google Cloud, and a growing desire from customers to ensure that their chosen partners have the domain knowledge necessary to ensure successful deployments,” said Clews, senior director of Google Partnership at Kin and Carta. “These new product-specific premier levels provide great visibility to partners who have built up a solid track record of implementing successful engagements. When combined with the changes to incentives and funding, partners are mostly rewarded once they’ve executed.”
As for some partners who may feel that Google Cloud is putting up a “higher barrier to entry” for success, Clews disagrees.
“I’d say it’s far from it,” he said. “Alongside these new designations, Google has implemented an innovative framework — with the Delivery Readiness Index and support services such as Partner Success Service — to ensure that partners who want to enter the partner ecosystem are given the support they need in order to build a successful business.”
Clews is particularly optimistic about doing more AI-centric work with Google Cloud.
“We’ve been a launch partner for many of Google Cloud’s AI products and services — from Vertex AI to Cloud Retail Search to Gen AI,” he said. “The new product-specific premier levels will allow us to cement the reputation that we’ve built and further corroborate that domain knowledge to prospective clients.”
Clews only expects such innovation for Kin and Carta and Google Cloud to continue. And he looks forward to the changes coming in August.
“It’s long overdue,” he says of the shift to life-cycle compensation. “Given the partner-led approach that Google is committed to, the focus on life-cycle compensation ensures that services engagements are outcome-based and, ultimately, that they meet customer expectations. It ensures partners are accountable to customer satisfaction and success.”
And, for Kin and Carta, making that switch is no big deal.
“Resale is a tertiary focus” for the company, Clews said. “So the shift to life-cycle compensation should only really be of a concern to partners who aren’t investing in driving long-term value for their clients.”
And while Kin and Carta will remain focused on its enterprise and commercial customers, rather than adding SMBs to the mix, Clews sees the need and value in that focus for Google Cloud and partner peers.
“You don’t need to look far to find third-party reports on how profitable this segment can prove to be,” he said. “While it’s not an area of focus for us, it’s certainly a great area of opportunity for partners who want to specialize here and have a business model to match.”
On the whole, Clews is keen to see Google Cloud continue conducting “constant conversations and dialogue” with partners (and he expects that to be the case) while helping Kin and Carta bring in even more Google Cloud revenue.
“Google’s new approach to partner incentives and compensation is designed to drive the behavior we all want to see, which is customer success,” Clews said. “Those partners who are able to execute, and in turn are committed to the long-term success of their customers using Google Cloud will benefit from these changes.”
“Things,” he added, “are about to get a whole lot more exciting.”
Google Cloud is making good on its long-touted plans to propel Partner Advantage to new heights.
Recall that the world’s third-largest cloud computing provider earlier this year took the first steps toward implementing those changes when it introduced new certifications. Now, it’s bringing the rest of its channel program updates to fruition. Some go into effect on Aug. 1 and others in January 2024.
In this article, Bronwyn Hastings, vice president, ISV ecosystem and channels at Google Cloud, discusses those changes to Partner Advantage.
As for what’s spurring the company’s partner program evolution, consider all that’s happening for organizations that need technology.
Google’s Bronwwyn Hastings
“We’re seeing a lot of digital transformation in customers, as you would expect, and the key element that they keep telling us is, they don’t want someone to just buy from, they want someone that is their strategic counsel,” Hastings told Channel Futures. “That’s a really interesting way of thinking about it — as strategic counsel that helps them understand first and foremost what they’re looking at, and what transformations they’re looking to do. But then they’re also looking for that follow-through, which is the expert implementation services. … It’s not so much about just buying the product. It’s about buying something that ends up as a value to the customer.”
Partners Weigh In on Partner Advantage
That right there positions the Partner Advantage changes Google Cloud is making. And the two channel partners – Quantiphi and Kin and Carta – we spoke with are as upbeat about new requirements and capabilities within Partner Advantage as Hastings. Here’s a taste from Kin and Carta’s Robbie Clews: “Many of these initiatives have been built with partner involvement and I think the correlation to increasing customer satisfaction is a key barometer for the impact that these changes are positively driving.”
What can Google Cloud partners expect in the new channel program? Look for more funding, incentives, a shift in compensation, a more concerted focus on a particular market segment, and more resources for partners to keep improving their offerings and service delivery.
In other words, there’s a whole slew of stuff coming partners’ way. Click on the image above to get the downlow on Partner Advantage from Google Cloud’s Hastings, and from Quantiphi and Kin and Carta.
Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Kelly Teal or connect with her on LinkedIn. |
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