Inside GCP Marketplace Triple-Digit Growth & How Box Became All-Star in 12 Months
Hi, it's Roman from Partner Insight. Welcome to my newsletter on winning Cloud GTM and partnership strategies.
This week we'll dive into insights on the impressive triple-digit growth of Google Cloud Marketplace, which continues to transform enterprise software procurement.
You'll discover how Box went from marketplace novice to Google Cloud Sales Partner All-star in just 12 months with a surprisingly simple strategy, and why Shopify—after building an ecosystem that paid out partners $1B in 2024 alone—is now selling through GCP marketplace themselves.
But before we explore the strategies behind these marketplace success stories, I'm excited to reveal more exceptional speakers joining our Google Cloud Marketplace virtual event on March 13th:
Accelerate Your Growth on GCP Marketplace: Exclusive Strategies from 10+ Industry Leaders
Google Cloud's Marketplace Leader Takes the Stage
Dai Vu, Managing Director of Google Cloud Marketplace & ISV GTM Initiatives, will deliver an opening keynote.
Google Cloud Marketplace has sustained triple-digit annual growth for multiple years and drives billions of dollars in annual transaction value. Few leaders understand Google Cloud Marketplace's potential better than Dai Vu, who manages global teams driving:
Business development and P&L management
Partner and platform strategy
Go-to-market initiatives and co-sell models
Partner engineering, onboarding and enablement
Dai Vu and his team are transforming how business software is bought and sold.
Industry's Leading Analyst Returns
Jay McBain, Chief Analyst at Canalys, whose marketplace predictions have become the industry's north star, will share his latest analysis on trends reshaping cloud GTM, including:
“Google has been outgrowing both AWS and Microsoft in the public cloud hyperscaler market since declaring a 100% partner-led strategy.”
The millennial buyer shift driving digital-first procurement
The convergence of marketplaces and partner ecosystems, with 50% of marketplace sales projected to flow through partners by 2027
How AI is fueling hyperscaler growth and introducing new pricing models that could transform software sales
Co-Sell, Joint GTM and AI: The Next Frontier
Oliver Schulz, Business Development Manager at Google Cloud Marketplace specializing in AI Agents, GenAI, and Infrastructure categories, brings deep expertise to our Co-Sell and Joint GTM panel.
He'll share what successful businesses are doing to drive revenue on Google Cloud Marketplace and will give “a sneak peek into the agentic AI revolution and how Partners can leap ahead.”
Oliver is at the forefront of helping customers and partners modernize business software procurement through online discovery, simplified purchasing, and efficient deployment of cloud solutions. His background includes 10 years in leadership roles at Microsoft focusing on Global ISV management and Azure customer success strategy. He was also an early member of AWS Marketplace.
$12B in Marketplace Transactions: Lessons Learned
John Jahnke, CEO of Tackle, joins our Co-Sell panel with insights from helping 450+ software companies (including Salesforce, Wiz, and CrowdStrike) process over $12B through cloud marketplaces.
John's team revealed that unique cloud marketplace buyers surged 460% in the last 4 years. Tackle "boldly predicted that $100B annually would flow through the three hyperscaler cloud marketplaces by 2026" – a prediction they believe is on track, with Google Cloud showing exceptional growth:
200% growth in ISV co-sell deals via its marketplace
270% YoY growth in value of deals won by its partners
John will share actionable insights on identifying cloud buyers, automating co-sell, and integrating Cloud GTM across operations.
Channel Success for Marketplace Scale
Marc Harpster, Senior Manager of ISV and Channel Initiatives for Google Cloud Marketplace will lead our "Scale with Channel Partners" panel.
Marc manages teams who build and run programs that help ISVs and Channel Partners effectively collaborate, and co-sell with Google via Marketplace. Before Google, Marc spent 9 years at AWS helping build the AWS Marketplace Business Development team.
📅 Join us on March 13th (9-11:30 am PST)
In just 2.5 hours, 10+ leading experts will share insights that could transform your strategy for Google Cloud Marketplace in 2025.
Discover our full speaker lineup and secure your spot:
Thanks to our partner, Tackle, the leading solution built to help enterprise software companies generate revenue through a data-driven Cloud GTM channel.
The Box-Google Cloud Marketplace Success Story: From 0 to Google Cloud Sales Partner All-star in 12 Months
As we prepare for this GCP Marketplace event, I wanted to spotlight insights from an exceptional Cloud GTM Leader course alum who was awarded 2024 Google Cloud Sales Partner All-star.
Richard O'Connell from Box exemplifies the transformative potential of strategic marketplace execution.
Richard O'Connell, Alliance leader at Box, has spearheaded Box's journey on Google Cloud Marketplace since launching their Intelligent Content Management platform on Marketplace in November 2023.
The initiative emerged from Box's desire to meet customers where they are, enabling them to purchase through their preferred channels and procurement processes.
Starting at the early exploration stage, Box embraced Google's pragmatic advice: "Just get to 12 deals done via Marketplace."
This seemingly modest goal became transformative, driving Box to refine processes, establish co-selling rhythms, and build marketplace maturity through consistent execution and iteration.
Box's approach to partnership with Google Cloud was simple:
"Try to be their best partner: Transparent. Easy to work with. Fast moving. Receptive to feedback."
Internally, the Box team rallied around a compelling value proposition—deals through the marketplace would be bigger, faster, with higher win rates.
Their differentiation strategy centered on developing an authentic "better-together" narrative grounded in real integrations with GCP services and Google Workspace, creating tangible value for joint customers.
O'Connell's key insight reflects the marketplace journey's momentum: "It starts slowly but then compounds—don't lose faith, keep going."
Box continues to invest in this partnership, and is grateful for what O'Connell describes as their "best-in-class relationship with Google."
The Box story illustrates the power of persistence in marketplace strategy—starting small, focusing on execution fundamentals, and building relationships that transform transactional partnerships into strategic advantages.
Shopify Paid Partners $1Bn in 2024: How Ecosystem Bets Compound
Shopify just hit a milestone—paying partners $1 billion in a single year. The company has built one of the most valuable B2B SaaS ecosystems, and their 31% growth last quarter proves their ecosystem-first approach is working.
Ecosystem Bet Paying Off: 2024 Results
Shopify just reported a blockbuster quarter with revenue growth accelerating to 31% in Q4 and $8.9B annual revenue growing 26% - impressive numbers at this scale.
GMV hit $94.5B in Q4 , growing 26% YoY. For context, Amazon’s online stores and third-party sales were $123B in Q4’24 growing at 7 and 9% respectively.
Shopify also delivered its 7th consecutive quarter of 25%+ revenue growth, solidifying its trajectory.
Shopify's Multi-Billion Partner Ecosystem
What truly sets Shopify apart is how they achieved this growth—by prioritizing partner success from day one.
"Beyond our products, one of the greatest strengths is our thriving partner ecosystem. We are widely recognized as one of the best companies in the world at fostering long-term partnerships,"
stressed Harley Finkelstein, Shopify’s President—and the numbers back it up:
16,000+ apps now available in the Shopify App Store
3,000+ new apps added in 2024 alone
Shopify paid over $1B to partners in 2024, representing over 10% of its revenue.
Early Investment: From "Cost Center" to Revenue Engine
When Shopify launched its App Store in 2009, it had two core objectives:
Expand platform capabilities through third-party apps
Grow the merchant base via partner referrals
At the time, Shopify saw this as a "cost center", not a revenue driver. They even offered financial support to early developers to kick-start the ecosystem.
This long-term thinking has compounded into a GTM advantage that now drives Shopify’s scale.
Why Shopify Is Now Selling on Google Cloud Marketplaces
Today Shopify is also pursuing new growth vectors. In 2024, Shopify listed its products on Google Cloud Marketplace, a move that signals how even leading SaaS ecosystems are adapting to enterprise buying trends.
The rationale? Enterprise customers increasingly purchase through cloud marketplaces, leveraging their existing commitments with hyperscalers.
Shopify highlighted that: "Those businesses can now unlock key benefits, including streamlined purchasing, simplified billing, and the ability to leverage Shopify spend toward existing Google Cloud purchase commitments."
What Alliance Leaders Can Learn
Start early & think long-term – ecosystem plays compound over time.
Keep incentives strong – attractive partner economics fuel scale. What also drives success is enablement, GTM programs, and co-sell.
As AI and cloud reshape the software industry, what ecosystem plays are you making today that could compound into massive advantages tomorrow?
Your Cloud GTM expertise needed (10 min research, $25 gift card inside)
I’d like to personally invite you to participate in our Cloud GTM research on “Cloud Marketplace & Co-Sell: State of the Union in 2025”.
As a reader of this newsletter, you understand the value of data-driven insights. That’s why we're collecting data on what's actually driving marketplace revenue growth.
If you’re driving cloud GTM and marketplace efforts in your company, please take a 10-minute survey and help to shape the future of cloud sales strategies.
This survey explores:
Which marketplace strategies are delivering best results
How companies structure their co-sell engagements
What realistic success metrics look like across different company stages
Specific tactics that are proving most effective in 2025 (and which are underdelivering)
Even big-picture insights is tremendously helpful - no need to share any sensitive data. All responses will be anonymized and presented only in aggregate form.
For your contribution, you'll receive:
$25 Starbucks 🎁 gift card (sent after completion on your email)
Exclusive early access to the complete findings - ability to benchmark your performance against peers
Thanks for being part of this important research!