Posted by Alan Wrafter, Global Channel Marketing

Editor's note: This week we’re featuring news, stories and updates about our vibrant partner community as we host more than 700 partners for our second annual Global Partner Summit. Keep an eye on this blog, our Google+ page and visit our program site for more information on the Google Apps Reseller Program.

As our second annual Global Partner Summit comes to a close, we bid adieu to the 700 guests that joined us from all over the world for three days of thought leadership, networking and best practice sharing (and, of course, a bit of fun). Our partners heard from Googlers including Amit Singh, President of Google Enterprise, and Sundar Pichai, SVP of Android, Chrome and Apps, about the state and future of business technology, all while taking in the vision of our Enterprise business.
Amit Singh and Sundar Pichai discussing 2014 plans with our partners
We also announced a handful of exciting updates and launches to better support our growing partner community, including:

  • The news that we now have more than 10,000 Google Apps Resellers.
  • A formal technology partner track as part of the Google Apps Partner Program, to enhance our relationships with software vendors that build complementary business apps and tools.
  • A tiered Google Cloud Platform Partner Program. Our Premier tier recognizes top service and technology partners, while we've also opened up the program for new partners to join.
  • The launch of the Chrome partner program, which includes resellers of Chrome OS management console, as well as technology and content partners that develop business and education applications for the Chrome OS and browser.

    Finally, we’d like to congratulate our 2013 Global Partners of the Year:


    Our partners aren't just partners — they're a critical part of everything we do. From on-boarding and training new Cloud customers to creating specialized software to integrate with Apps, from reselling Chrome OS to managing change management, they ensure our customers get the most out of the technology they use.

    Until next year!