A Technical Lead’s Experience
As the technical lead for MOGOPLUS’s recent launch on Google Cloud Marketplace, I want to share our journey and key insights. MOGOPLUS provides insights from unstructured data, primarily serving the lending sector. Our decision to join the Google Cloud Marketplace stemmed from our existing relationship as a GCP customer and our desire to expand our collaboration with Google.
Understanding Google Cloud Partnership
Google Cloud offers three partnership models:
- Sell Partner: Resell Google Cloud products
- Service Partner: Provide consulting and service delivery
- Build Partner: Develop integrated solutions for Google Cloud
MOGOPLUS chose the Build Partner route to sell our service on the Google Cloud Marketplace.
The Journey to Marketplace: Key Steps
While the complete process involves six steps, I’ll focus on the technical aspects of steps 4-6. For a full overview of the process, refer to the official Google Cloud documentation.
1. Create a Technical Diagram
- Develop a high-level diagram showcasing your solution’s architecture
- Highlight the Google Cloud services your solution utilizes
- Keep it simple yet informative
- For inspiration, check out these Google Cloud reference architectures
2. Prepare Documentation
- Describe your solution, the problem it solves, and its industry relevance
- Explain how the technical solution meets business requirements
3. Estimate GCP Usage
- Use the Google Cloud Pricing Calculator
- Work with your business team to project revenue and costs
- Ensure a reasonable ratio between projected revenue and GCP costs
4. Set Up GCP Projects and IAM
- Create separate projects for marketplace solutions
- Set up appropriate permissions for Google service accounts
- Consider creating non-prod environments for testing
- Follow the official setup guide
5. Define Pricing Model
- Collaborate with the commercial team on pricing strategy
- Determine metrics for usage-based pricing (if applicable)
- Review pricing options
6. Develop Product Listing
- Work with Product and Sales teams on listing details
- Include product name, description, tagline, logo, keywords, etc.
- Research competitor listings for inspiration
7. Configure Billing and Finance
- Set up a payment profile for receiving payments
- Verify bank compatibility with Google’s supported countries
- Refer to the payment setup guide
8. Implement Sign-up and Sign-in
- Create endpoints for customer redirection after sign-up
- Handle PubSub messages for entitlements
- Consider implementing SSO for seamless sign-in
- Follow the technical integration setup guide
- For a hands-on example, check out this Google Codelab
9. Configure Producer Portal Access
- Set up access for internal teams to preview and manage listings
- Define IAM roles for various teams (sales, developers, finance, etc)
- Review access control documentation and IAM roles
10. Conduct Integration Testing
- Set up test billing accounts
- Thoroughly test sign-up and sign-in processes
- Follow the test billing account setup guide
11. Implement Usage Reporting
- Develop hourly usage reporting to Google
- Set up debug logs in your billing service and reporting from Google to GCS/GDrive for cross-referencing
- Refer to the usage reporting configuration guide and testing guide
Additional Tips
- Utilize Google Cloud Marketplace Support for queries
- Prepare comprehensive developer documentation
- Consult with legal team on Terms & Conditions
- Engage with non-technical teams throughout the process
- Watch the Google Cloud Marketplace Demo
- Complete the detailed course on the whole process (contact Cloudskillsboost support if you can’t access)
The journey to Google Cloud Marketplace has been enlightening, offering us a chance to refine our product, pricing, and market fit. Receiving Google Cloud’s seal of approval has been a significant milestone for MOGOPLUS.
Check out our product on Google Cloud Marketplace: MOGOPLUS on Google Cloud Marketplace