{"id":396569,"date":"2026-04-13T17:28:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T17:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/396569\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T17:28:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T17:28:08","slug":"googles-new-partner-leader-on-key-investments-microsoft-worry-and-enabling-partner-superpowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/396569\/","title":{"rendered":"Google\u2019s New Partner Leader On Key Investments, Microsoft Worry And \u2018Enabling Partner Superpowers\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMy commitment over the next 100 days is to meet with 500 partners. I\u2019m really going to take this to heart\u2014to make sure partners of all shapes and sizes have their voice heard,\u201d Google\u2019s new channel chief, David Smith, tells CRN.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Google\u2019s new global partner program leader<\/a>, David Smith, wakes up in the morning \u201cthinking about how to enable partner superpowers\u201d within Google\u2019s ecosystem with big investments in store as the company rolls out the new Google Cloud Partner Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy commitment over the next 100 days is to meet with 500 partners. I\u2019m really going to take this to heart\u2014to make sure partners of all shapes and sizes have their voice heard,\u201d Smith, Google\u2019s<\/a> new channel chief and head of partner programs, tells CRN.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just at the core of what I\u2019ve learned of the past 30 years working in the channel. The voice of the partners is truth,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAnd what is happening on the front lines with these partners and inside the board rooms of these partners is the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Google Partners \u2018Of All Dimensions\u2019 Are \u2018Extremely Important\u2019, Smith Says<\/p>\n

Smith is a longtime Microsoft channel leader<\/a> with over 27 years working at Microsoft before being hired by Google<\/a> late last year.<\/p>\n

His last executive role at Microsoft was vice president of worldwide channel sales.<\/p>\n

[Related: The 20 Hottest AI Cloud Companies: The 2026 CRN AI 100<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Some Google partners CRN spoke with said they were concerned that a longtime Microsoft executive would be taking over Google\u2019s partner programs, alleging that Microsoft doesn\u2019t necessarily invest or focus on mid-size or SMB partner companies. Microsoft<\/a> did not respond for comment.<\/p>\n

Smith addressed this concern head-on as the company launches its new Google Partner Network.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy belief is that partners of all dimensions, including size, are extremely important to Google and I\u2019m going to ensure that we embrace the partner ecosystem holistically,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to make sure that there\u2019s no part of the ecosystem that wants to work with Google, that doesn\u2019t feel like their voice is being heard\u2014that could be an existing partner or a new partner \u2014and I\u2019m going to bring it all together to help Google take it to the next level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In an in-depth interview with CRN, Smith explains his key channel investments and areas of focus; his vision to drive Google partner profitability; and making Google partners \u201cthe best on the planet\u201d around customer AI transformation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Some Google partners expressed concerns to CRN about a longtime Microsoft executive taking over Google partner programs globally. Some think maybe Microsoft doesn\u2019t focus or invest in mid-market or SMB partners enough and don\u2019t want that to occur inside Google Cloud. What\u2019s your message to those partners?<\/p>\n

My belief is that partners of all dimensions, including size, are extremely important to Google and I\u2019m going to ensure that we embrace the partner ecosystem holistically. I have 30 years of history in the channel embracing partners of all sizes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m on the board of a medium-sized partner. I know Google cares about these partners into their partner program.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re adding things deliberately to support the smaller partners. For example, the advanced specialization is a great equalizer. A small partner with an advanced specialization really allows them to stand out within how we go to market and co-sell with them. It\u2019s especially important around AI, security, data modernization.<\/p>\n

I want to spend time with these partners to understand and listen.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to be committed to making sure that their perspective is heard and that we take a thoughtful approach to ensuring their success.<\/p>\n

We know that, when you\u2019re a smaller partner, changes in programs, incentives, support can have a meaningful impact on your business. It\u2019s almost instantaneous.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m very sensitized to that. I want partners of all sizes and dimensions and maturities to be able to embrace the Google full-stack opportunity with their customers.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to invest equally into partners of all sizes to ensure that they have every ability to transform to this agentic opportunity. \u2026 I want these partners to hold me accountable to it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What is your investment strategy to all Google partner types and sizes?<\/p>\n

I wake up in the morning thinking about enabling partner superpowers within our ecosystem. I don\u2019t wake up thinking about the partner size. This is what I\u2019m most excited about.<\/p>\n

I have learned more from the CEOs of a lot of these small partners over the years that have helped us implement new programs, new incentives that have led to great success. And I plan on finding ways to listen and figure out how to implement that here at Google.<\/p>\n

For the partners that want to invest with us, we\u2019re going to give them a great path forward.<\/p>\n

We also embrace large partners. We also embrace partners of different, what I would call, labels.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to work hard to be the have the most proximity and be the strongest listener to any partner that wants to engage and build their practice with Google.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to listen. I\u2019m going to act. And then I\u2019m going to be held accountable in a transparent way. I\u2019m going to put myself out there. It\u2019s going to be an exciting 12 months. Google\u2019s in a position of strength.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to make sure that there\u2019s no part of the ecosystem that wants to work with Google, that doesn\u2019t feel like their voice is being heard\u2014that could be an existing partner or a new partner \u2014and I\u2019m going to bring it all together to help Google take it to the next level.<\/p>\n

In a lot of ways, over the next year, I want to really reimagine what it means to be have the best partner program with the best set of investments to support our partners on the planet\u2014all AI-enabled and AI-infused so that these partners can be their best agentic itself.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What is your partner program and overall channel vision for Google Cloud?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s three dimensions that I\u2019m really going to focus in on. It\u2019s what I\u2019ve learned is the most important to a healthy channel.<\/p>\n

The first is trust. This is something I\u2019m committed to. I want to make a promise to. It comes from predictability.<\/p>\n

These partners are making big, long-term bets. Every day they wake up having to make tough trade off decisions about how they invest in more head count, how they go to market, where they go to market, how they make decisions about their own transformation\u2014let alone their customers transformation towards AI and this agentic feature they have.<\/p>\n

I want them to have high confidence, high predictability, and to be able to build a durable, profitable practice with Google.<\/p>\n

I want to ensure that they don\u2019t feel like things are changing underneath them and they can\u2019t have that predictability. So this trust piece is going to be front and center.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to have that \u2018trust\u2019 tattoo right on my forehead is job one every morning.<\/p>\n

What is another big focus area and vision for you with Google?<\/p>\n

The second focus for me and getting feedback is around making sure that we can provide our parters with a clear path to profitability.<\/p>\n

Look, these partners that we work with have an accountability to their investors and their boards, and they have aspirations.<\/p>\n

Some small partners want to stay small. Some small partners want to grow and expand and be acquired someday, or go public some day. They have these accountabilities that they have to drive towards.<\/p>\n

At the center of that, in many cases, is growing and growing profitably.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019ve got to get deeper and really understand those levers within our Google partner ecosystem that are going to enable them to have that profitable practice with Google.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, I believe when that\u2019s in place, they\u2019re going to reinvest more into the Google practice. I think that\u2019s great for customers and great for the agentic transformation that these partners are going to lead with our customers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your third and final big focus area for Google Cloud\u2019s partner ecosystem?<\/p>\n

Finally, partners want to have superpowers. They want to be able to differentiate.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve got a foundation with this new Google partner program now that allows multiple dementia dimensions of how they can differentiate\u2014from Advanced Specializations to some different tiers.<\/p>\n

In many ways, what I love about things like the Advanced Specialization, is it\u2019s like a great equalizer for the small partner to be the mighty partner in security or data monetization.<\/p>\n

We have a Looker ecosystem that is primarily made up of what you would call smaller partners.<\/p>\n

In this one, I aspire to find ways for every partner that wants to build an agentic practice with Google, to be able to differentiate with their own superpowers.<\/p>\n

That could be at the vertical level, a geographic pivot\u2014but it\u2019s going to be really exciting how we keep investing in that differentiation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What is your agentic AI investment strategy for Google Cloud partners?<\/p>\n

We\u2019re all in this shift to an agentic world and obviously I\u2019m thinking deeply about how we position Google partners to lead it.<\/p>\n

Job one for me is to enable this channel agentic transformation. So ultimately, Google partners can be the best on the planet to serve their customers agentic transformation.<\/p>\n

This is really exciting in a lot of ways. We\u2019re moving from talking about it to doing it. We\u2019re getting into the grittier engagement around use cases, the employee change management that needs to happen to really bringing it to life.<\/p>\n

So less talking, more doing and getting gritty with these genetic opportunities with our customers.<\/p>\n

Is this a change for traditional services partners?<\/p>\n

Professional services and billable rates have been a heartbeat of a lot of partners. It\u2019s very important. It\u2019s not going to change.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ve learned firsthand how they augment that with IP services, managed services\u2014not just working on monolithic projects\u2014but really thinking about these use case-driven scenarios. And then the change management that goes along with it. To have this total relationship with their customer and really be engaged with the customer, almost at the persona level within that customer.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to work really hard to make sure that the Google Partner Program is the most AI-infused, AI enabling partner program on the planet, because our partners, in order to engage with us, they need simplicity and they need tools to be able to do so.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What are some AI tools partners should be using right now and how are AI partner tools driving profitbility?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a couple really exciting tools that Google has landed already. One is around how they do Earnings Hub. I\u2019ve done research on the impact that\u2019s having.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s like 130,000 cases where proactively, partners have been using Earnings Hub to realize incentives they weren\u2019t aware of.<\/p>\n

One particular partner was able to find $19 million in incentives that they could earn. We\u2019re going to really shift that to the second gear coming up to make it even more proactive and AI infused.<\/p>\n

For example, when partners are getting to certain milestones in their projects, wouldn\u2019t it be awesome if AI could enable that partner to generate a Statement of Work to help get validated for that next milestone completion?<\/p>\n

So we\u2019re going to really keep investing heavily here to make sure the tools and the programs support this agentic shift.<\/p>\n

What is Google\u2019s \u2018superpower\u2019 and how will it help the channel?<\/p>\n

Google has a superpower and that\u2019s this thing called the full stack\u2014from infrastructure all the way through the Gemini models, including networking, including data, including security.<\/p>\n

Like Google\u2019s one-of-one in terms of the technology stack offering they can provide to the partner ecosystem today.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to leverage that partner program and all of our resources to help bring this to life for our partners.<\/p>\n

When we\u2019re at our best enabling the channel partners in the ecosystem, we\u2019re supporting them on how they built the solution and how they go to market with that solution, including healthy co-sell, how they activate and deploy that solution, and how they generate amazing customer outcomes for the customers that they get their big wins with.<\/p>\n

My commitment over the next 100 days is to meet with 500 partners. I\u2019m really going to take this to heart\u2014to make sure partners of all shapes and sizes have their voice heard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cMy commitment over the next 100 days is to meet with 500 partners. I\u2019m really going to take…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":396570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[220,5697,218,53630,53628,53629,15951,1223,61,60,175404,175405,80],"class_list":["post-396569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ai","tag-ai-agents","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-cloud-channel-programs","tag-cloud-platforms","tag-cloud-software","tag-cloud-storage","tag-generative-ai","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-managed-service-providers","tag-microsoft-solutions","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}