Google Cloud, VMware Cloud Hit Ground Running After COVID-Slowed Q2

After a second quarter slowed by COVID-19 shutdowns, Google Cloud and VMware Cloud led the market this week with major updates for the channel. The third quarter promises to hold more such activity in store for partners compared to the previous three months, despite the ongoing pandemic. Like everyone else, cloud vendors spent much of the second quarter adjusting to the new nature of business. And the show must go on.

Thus, while many of the product releases showcased this week were in development even before COVID, they are prescient. They offer managed service providers, VARs and other partners the ability to help customers better navigate ongoing uncertainty, and support remote work, which no longer looks like just a temporary option.

Google Cloud’s Goal: ‘Emerging Strongly from the Pandemic’

Over at Google Cloud, MSPs and other partners kicked off Tuesday with the first in a series of digital events over the next nine weeks. Google Cloud had to mothball its annual in-person Google Cloud Next event, then also canceled the intended web replacement, because of COVID. Yet even as the coronavirus proves its tenacity, business must continue. And that means adapting to change.

Sundar Pichai is CEO of Google and Alphabet.

Google’s Sundar Pichai

“It’s clear we are returning to a world much different than the one we left,” said Pichai.

That said, he added, it still is too early to understand the exact nature of all the shifts. However, Google and Google Cloud have spotted three key trends that look to last long-term, Pichai said. They are:

• The future of work will be more digital. Partners can expect to help customers increase their cloud investment.
• The future of work will be more collaborative. Companies will spend more money to create a sense of virtual community among their employees.
• The future of work will be more flexible. COVID-fueled work-from-home has shown employers what many staff already knew: Employees can be productive from anywhere, often at any time. “You don’t have to be at your desk to get work done,” Pichai said.

Each of those components will fuel reliance on the cloud, Pinchai said. For partners, that spells opportunity. And Google Cloud unveiled a slate of new capabilities and platforms to help them meet the demand.

Google Cloud’s Thomas Kurian

“We’re helping organizations reimagine their missions as they re-emerge from the pandemic,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud.

To that point, check out what Google Cloud debuted on Tuesday:

BigQuery Omni for Multicloud Analytics Powered by Anthos

MSPs are expressing excitement about this one. Miles Ward, CTO at SADA, Google Cloud’s 2019 global reseller partner, called the product “a game changer” for enterprises. Plus, he told Channel Futures, the addition of BigQuery Omni sends “a clear signal about where Anthos is headed: GCP-based solutions everywhere.”

Sumeet Singh, who heads up technology at Maven Wave, Google Cloud’s 2019 services partner of the year, agreed.

“Anthos’ far-reaching vision is starting to take shape,” he told Channel Futures. “Google’s innovation in platform services is now becoming available anywhere and everywhere. The ability to run BigQuery on other clouds and in our data centers is going to radically open up new possibilities.”

Brad Foster, who leads the apps and data group at Maven Wave, made a similar observation.

“Bringing the power of BigQuery to where data resides shows that Google is …