Shobana Shankar: Inside Google Cloud’s Playbook for ISV Partnerships

In this episode of Inside Partnering, Chip Rodgers speaks with Shobana Shankar, Head of ISV Sales for Data Analytics at Google Cloud.

Shobana shares how Google Cloud is evolving its partner ecosystem strategy to deepen collaboration with Independent Software Vendors. The conversation explores how joint business planning, co-sell execution, and marketplace strategy are becoming central drivers of partner growth.

Shobana explains how Google Cloud structures its partnerships around co-build, co-marketing, and co-sell, and why the goal is always to create a “1 + 1 = 3” outcome for customers.

She also discusses how the ISV ecosystem is changing in the AI era, the importance of pipeline generation and partner-sourced opportunities, and how Google Cloud measures partner success beyond revenue.

For leaders building partner ecosystems, the conversation offers a detailed look at how one of the world’s largest cloud platforms approaches strategic ISV partnerships.

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Chapters

00:00 Intro and Shobana’s role at Google Cloud
02:50 Evolution of partnerships at Google Cloud
05:10 Building a structured partner program
07:10 The co-build, co-marketing, co-sell model
10:05 Recruiting and developing ISV partners
13:30 AI’s impact on partner ecosystems
21:45 Building high-performing ISV sales teams
24:45 Incentives and measuring partner success

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Key Takeaways
• Strong ecosystems require structured partner programs and joint business planning
• Successful ISV partnerships rely on co-build, co-marketing, and co-sell alignment
• Marketplace is evolving into a strategic growth lever for ISVs
• Partner teams must think like sales organizations, not just alliances groups
• Pipeline generation and partner-sourced opportunities are critical success metrics

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Key Quotes

“Partners are absolutely ingrained in every single account plan and business plan that our direct sellers have.”

“We’re always chasing that better together story. What is that 1 plus 1 equals 3?”

“We don’t want marketplace to be a transaction vehicle anymore. We want it to be a strategic differentiator.”

“The CRO of the ISV should tap into the specialist on my team as someone who works for their company with a google.com domain.”

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Who This Episode Is For

This episode is for partner leaders, alliance executives, and ecosystem strategists who want to understand how hyperscalers structure and scale ISV partnerships.

If you are responsible for building a partner program, driving co-sell with a cloud platform, or expanding marketplace revenue, Shobana’s insights offer a practical look at how these partnerships work in practice.

https://insidepartnering.substack.com/p/shobana-shankar-inside-google-clouds?utm_source=youtube

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