Our Google Cloud partner journey began 8 years ago, almost to the day.  From the very start we were impressed with what Google was looking to deliver and to now see another region open up in Australia, but specifically in Melbourne, makes us happy knowing that we were there with them from the start.

The thing about having been there from the beginning is that we have been able to observe and counter the various barriers to entry.  Let’s be honest, with a cloud region now opening in Melbourne, there really aren’t that many more barriers to point to. With cloud infrastructure onshore, even the Government is getting in on the act.

Does this expanded infrastructure from Google Cloud benefit our customers and any others looking to transition to the cloud? Yes! We see a number of factors at play. It provides further confidence to those looking to make the journey to the cloud (and there are many who still haven’t even started) knowing that there is cloud infrastructure in their own backyard.

This confidence inspires bold thinking. If you know you have an innovative cloud vendor supporting your transition to the cloud you tend to think more holistically not just in tactical increments. If you add to the fact that Google is the platform built for digital transformation at its core, moving forward with a broad approach isn’t just being bold, but it’s actually common sense. Any move to the cloud needs to be holistic if you wish to reap the enterprise-level cost benefits, we have seen this time and again. Piecemeal transformation strategies equate to the same level of benefit.

In fact, our CEO Tony Nicol said “Google Cloud has always been there for its customers for the long haul and the opening of the new Melbourne Cloud region is great news. This increased resilience and scale will empower companies of all sizes to be bold in accelerating their digital transformation plans.”

How have our customers received the news? We can’t name names, that would be incongruous, but when you look at the sizes of the enterprises in Melbourne that have gone Google, well, they haven’t done it in half measures. It’s safe to say that they are doubling down. Delivery teams are growing, projects are taking advantage of the underlying innovation that underpins the Google Cloud stack. There is a constant requirement for more GCP-skilled talent. Best of all, the team members working on it (ours along with our clients) love what they can achieve on the platform.

These factors point to the fact that new data infrastructure creates new opportunities for bigger, bolder, and more impactful transformative opportunities for our customers.