The Significance of Google’s Technology Partner Program
June 10, 2014
2 minute read
At the second annual Global Partner Summit this past March, Google announced a new partner track for independent software vendors. Today, I’m pleased to announce that BetterCloud is among the inaugural class of Premier Technology Partners as selected by Google. As one of the very first Premier Technology Partners, BetterCloud joins an elite group of market-leading software vendors building applications specifically integrated with the Google Apps platform.
While this new distinction is indeed an honor for BetterCloud and speaks to the category-leading status of our flagship software suite, FlashPanel, it’s also an incredibly meaningful move by Google. This new program signifies Google’s investment and deep commitment to bolstering and enhancing the surrounding Google Apps ecosystem in an effort to better serve their customers. By formalizing support of third-party developers like BetterCloud, Google reaffirms its commitment to the importance of a thriving developer community.
I’ve been in this ecosystem for more than four years and during this time have seen incredible adoption of not only the Google Apps platform, but also the growth of the reseller and ISV communities. Google’s Reseller program has cultivated an incredibly vital community and attracted more than 10,000 partners since its launch five years ago. These resellers have grown hugely successful businesses all based around Google Apps and now, with the introduction of the Technology Partner Program, I truly believe ISVs will be pushed to build broader-reaching products that integrate more deeply with the Google Apps suite.
Ultimately and most importantly, my hope is that this new program pushes developers to build products that create an integrated, 100% cloud experience for Apps customers around the world. Organizations adopting Google Apps are often deeply passionate about that product, and there’s a shared sense that Apps is fundamentally changing business productivity as we know it. While the Technology Partner Program is just one step in that direction, it’s an important one because it gives official support to companies like BetterCloud that are 100% focused on Google Apps.
Today marks a milestone not only in BetterCloud’s history, but in the history of the Google Apps platform. Businesses have overcome their fear of the cloud, we’ve moved beyond workers demanding Microsoft Office and have entered a new era – one in which enterprise marketplaces not only enhance a platform, but serve to bolster its utility and viability in the workplace.
