Google Cloud announces new pricing plan to attract more businesses to the cloud
Google has revised its current cloud offering as it seeks to remove barriers to entry and attract more businesses to the cloud. The cloud giant announced Flex Agreements which is a provision that allows customers to move their workloads to the cloud and enjoy various Google Cloud incentives with no upfront commitments.
Previously, a customer needed to commit themselves to Google by signing a huge multi-year contract to enjoy benefits such as cloud credits and discounts. For instance, Google’s Committed Use Discounts (CUDs) provides discounts only if a customer commits to using a minimum level of cloud resources for a specified term.
Google Cloud partners have applauded the moves noting that it will benefit both customers and partners. “This really opens up a new chapter in what is now a very much consumption-driven world, both for Google Cloud and also for customers and for partners. It really lowers the barrier of entry in terms of giving the best of Google Cloud without a big upfront financial constructor,” said Tony Safoian, CEO of SADA, a top Google Cloud partner in the U.S.
Safoian says that requiring upfront commitment from the customer was sort of counterintuitive as it discouraged some from jumping in.
“Customers knew that in exchange for a multiyear financial commitment, they could receive certain benefits that could improve the economics of their cloud investment, that could lower their risk profile of making the move, etc.,” He said. “But the most important thing is getting a customer started. Why hold back those incentives at a point when customers are ready to dive into this new platform and win this new journey with us?”
“Providing these incentives without a commit will give us more than an ample opportunity to prove the value of Google Cloud and our services over time,” the SADA CEO said.
As part of the initiative, Google Cloud has also unveiled three new pricing plans which will be rolled out over the next quarters. They include Standard, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus.
“This new commercial packaging model will give customers more choice and flexibility to optimise their cloud spend,” the cloud company wrote in a blog.
Every business is looking for a way to save costs without major upfront financial costs where they can be avoided. Google’s new Flex Agreements combined with the new pricing plans is the company’s way of reaching a compromise.
Every organisation has different cloud needs and now even businesses with smaller workloads can still save money on the cloud without a big upfront commitment.
