Google Cloud expands partner ecosystem for AI innovation

Google Cloud is expanding its partnership ecosystem to enhance offerings in the area of agentic AI, aiming to create opportunities for collaborative growth with its partners.

Kevin Ichhpurani, President of Global Partner Organization at Google Cloud, emphasised the importance of partnerships in the advancement of AI technologies. He stated, "Since the beginning, partners have been core to Google Cloud — and that's been especially true in the AI era. I'm amazed at the ways they have helped bring both Google's AI innovations and their own incredible AI products and services to customers." Ichhpurani highlighted the development of over 1,000 AI agent applications for various industry sectors by these partners.

A study conducted by IDC has shown a potential doubling in the growth of Google Cloud AI practices among global systems integrators this year. Almost half of the AI projects have progressed to widespread production, demonstrating notable returns on investment for customers. According to Ichhpurani, "It's clear that much of the opportunity ahead lies in agentic AI — and now, partners are infused at every layer of our AI agent stack."

Google Cloud is presenting several updates aimed at aiding partners in building AI agents and integrating them with enterprise data and model selection. Among these updates is the introduction of a new AI Agent Marketplace. The company is also launching an open protocol supported by over 50 leading enterprise technology companies, designed to enable AI agents to securely communicate and complete tasks.

Google Cloud's openness towards AI is also reflected in its newly introduced updates at Next, which integrate partners at every level of its agentic AI stack to facilitate multi-agent ecosystems. The new Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol will allow AI agents to communicate and coordinate across platforms, enhancing value for customers. "We believe the A2A framework will add significant value for customers, whose AI agents will now be able to work across their entire enterprise application estates," stated Ichhpurani.

An AI Agent Marketplace is being established, offering a platform within Google Cloud Marketplace for customers to access AI agents created by partners. Existing partners, such as Accenture, BigCommerce, Deloitte Elastic, UiPath, and Typeface, are already selling agents on this platform, with more agents from partners like Cognizant, Slalom, and Wipro expected soon.

Data and AI models are critical to AI agents, and Google Cloud's platform allows customers to use their entire data estates in agent training and fine-tuning. Collaborations with firms like NetApp, Oracle, SAP, Salesforce, and ServiceNow, enable clients with data housed in these platforms to enhance their AI agents' capabilities.

Google Cloud's ecosystem includes a network of service partners such as Accenture, BCG, Capgemini, Cognizant, Deloitte, HCLTech, Infosys, KPMG, McKinsey, PwC, TCS, and Wipro, who support the implementation of the A2A protocol. These partners have expanded their Google Cloud practices, providing access to a global community of AI experts.

To support its partners in seizing AI and cloud service opportunities, Google Cloud is increasing resources and refining its market strategies. This includes a reported 2X increase in funding for AI opportunities over the past year. Google Cloud continues to improve its go-to-market processes, aiming to help partners identify the most strategic growth opportunities and ensure customers gain the best technology and expertise.

Google Cloud underscores its commitment to supporting partner success with increased funding for Google Workspace, which has more than 3 billion users and 11 million paid customers. New AI innovations, including features in Sheets and Docs, aim to make Workspace a more attractive platform for customers, facilitated by significant investment in partner training and resource allocation.

This year's partner awards have been announced, recognising partners' innovation and contribution to customer value, particularly in AI. Ichhpurani concluded, "Our ecosystem continues to evolve to meet the needs of businesses across industries, and we're proud of the ways they have deployed Google Cloud's technology to address complex challenges faced by our customers." He is hopeful for ongoing collaboration with partners in supporting customer needs and enhancing the platform's market presence.