Google Cloud Next Mothballed, But Vendor Still Names Top 2019 Partners

Monday was supposed to herald the start of 2020 Google Cloud Next in San Francisco.

But the COVID-19 pandemic derailed that plan, as well as the ensuing intended shift to a virtual conference.

Even so, Google Cloud will not be deterred. The vendor on Monday named its 2019 partners of the year despite not being able to do so in person. The awards encompass a variety of partner types and sizes — 49 in all.

“We’re so grateful for the ways our partners are supporting the needs of our customers. We look forward to welcoming many new partners into our network in 2020,” wrote Google Cloud channel executives Carolee Gearhart and Kevin Ichhpurani.

A number of the newly named top Google Cloud partners have earned accolades from the company before. They include MSPs SADA and Maven Wave (now owned by Paris-based Atos), and global consultancies Deloitte and Accenture, among others.

A Select Look at Google Cloud Partner Award Winners

For the second year in a row, SADA secured the global Reseller Partner of the Year award. The Los Angeles-based MSP boasts customers including Colgate-Palmolive, Papa John’s and the State of Arizona. Google Cloud’s Gearhart said SADA once again “demonstrated expertise across multiple verticals and Google Cloud product areas.”

SADA’s Tony Safoian

Tony Safoian, CEO of SADA, called the win “a proud and humbling moment,” particularly as the novel coronavirus impacts businesses throughout the world. SADA is among the many MSPs working quickly to enable remote work for its clients. The award, Safoian said, “means we are succeeding in our mission to increase the capabilities of the people, and the performance of the companies we serve with the power of Google Cloud. This is especially important during this critical time. And while we at SADA will certainly take a moment to congratulate ourselves for once again earning this prestigious accolade, we will quickly return our attention to helping our customers with business continuity and support. We are all in this together.”

And for the third straight year, Chicago’s Maven Wave celebrates a win for Services Partner of the Year, North America. (Maven Wave, too, is heads-down in cloud-centric remote work deployments as its customers take new approaches during the COVID-19 outbreak.)

At the same time, Google Cloud named Maven Wave’s new parent company, Atos, as its 2019 Services Partner of the Year Award winner for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Atos received the 2018 Google Cloud Global Breakthrough Partner of the Year Award last year.

Atos/Maven Wave’s Jason Ruge

“As always, our top-notch team members and clients have made this possible,” said Jason Ruge, global head of the Google Cloud Enhanced Alliance at Atos/Maven Wave.

Between the two companies, Maven Wave and Atos hold 10 Google Cloud Partner specializations.

Next, Xertica is, for the fourth year running, Google Cloud’s top reseller in Latin America. The cloud consultancy operates out of San Francisco but specializes in helping organizations throughout Mexico, Chile, Peru and other countries in Latin and South America undergo digital transformation.

In addition, Israel-based DoiT International took home the Reseller Partner Award for North America. This marks a notable achievement given that the cloud consultancy only opened full-time operations in the United States in 2018.

DoiT’s Yoav Toussia-Cohen

“It’s amazing what we have been able to accomplish together, and yet I still can’t wait to see what 2020 brings — in new business, the evolution of our technology, and most importantly, in new ways to support our customers and the Google Cloud ecosystem,” DoiT CEO Yoav Toussia-Cohen said.

DoiT is a repeat Google Cloud partner award winner going back to 2015.

Devoteam, headquartered in France, stands out as another repeat partner winner. The IT consulting provider earned the EMEA Services Partner designation in 2018 and is the Reseller Partner of the Year for EMEA for 2019.

Meanwhile, vendor Trend Micro landed Technology Partner of the Year for Security. Organizations relying on Google Cloud use Trend Micro’s Cloud One software and infrastructure for cybersecurity protection. Sanjay Mehta, senior vice president of business development and strategic alliances for Trend Micro, said Google Cloud customers can expect “more innovations” over the coming year.

Of course, more than two dozen other partners and providers feature on the cloud giant’s latest awards list. See the full roster of recipients here.