Introducing "The new way to cloud"

As a marketing leader, it’s super fun to introduce a new brand platform that reflects both the ethos of an organization and of the broader market.? Which means that this is a particularly fun week, as we are introducing “The New Way to Cloud.” Technology is moving so fast that it seems appropriate to make “cloud” a verb!?

This brand platform focuses on how Google Cloud technology helps customers and partners create a new way forward, and it has gotten me thinking about the “new ways” we are approaching marketing. While the fundamentals of what we do as marketers stays the same (e.g. connecting customers with great products/solutions), how we make those connections is transforming. This is particularly exciting, as Google Cloud’s products have never been more powerful and helpful in driving that transformation.

New Google Cloud & Google Workspace products

Over the last 6 months, I’ve been blown away by the integration of Generative AI into Google Cloud and Google Workspace products. (Check out this blog from last week about Helping Businesses with Generative AI with some of the latest). One of our long-standing partners just emailed me yesterday to say that the speed of development at Google Cloud right now is like nothing he’s seen - and he’s right! In my 25 (gulp) years working in tech, there have only been a few times when the possibilities presented by new technology has made me think differently about everything - this is one of them.??

When I think about what customers can do with “the new way to cloud,” I honestly get giddy with excitement.? At I/O, we highlighted six early adopter customers (Uber, Canva, Orange, Replit, Deutsche Bank and Wendy’s) in this 2 min video who are building new customer experiences using Google Cloud’s AI technology. Last Wednesday at our Executive Forum event, I was inspired while listening to the CTOs of Mayo Clinic, Wayfair, Priceline and Wendy’s talk with Adaire Fox-Martin, our Google Cloud President, about how they are using Generative AI to dramatically improve experiences for their patients and customers.?

New Ways to Connect with Customers

When I hear stories like these about how our customers are transforming their businesses with Google technology, it energizes me to think even deeper about how we can find new ways to connect with more of our customers. For example, our CEO Thomas Kurian gave a great keynote last week about the Google Cloud AI Portfolio - while only a few hundred people got to see it live, I'm eager to use Duet AI in Google Workspace to summarize and make it available to everyone.????

One of the most exciting things about recent advances in AI is the opportunity to get things done more efficiently than ever before and amplify people’s creativity, not replace it. It’s exciting to see how our Google CMO, Lorraine Twohill, is inspiring all of us to think about “modern marketing”. Within my own team, Google Cloud Marketing, we’ve been exploring new ways to use AI to enhance our work - from the way we launch campaigns, to the way we develop content, to the way we score leads for our sales team.?

In fact, for our new brand platform, we are using our Google AI Translation technology to make updated content available around the world, and later this summer we will be incorporating our Enterprise Search and Conversational AI technology into our Google Cloud website so everyone can more easily find what they’re looking for and discover their own new ways to cloud. We’re also teaming up with our colleagues in Google Ads to use their latest AI-powered martech (see recent announcements here), and excited for the many ways AI will help us get the right content to the right customers at the right time.?

The amount of time saved across our team, thanks to these advances, means that people can spend more time on the things that matter - whether that’s playing tennis and making it to book club (two of my passions!), or getting home in time for family dinner.?

A few additional reflections

For a long time, we used to refer to Google Cloud as “the world’s biggest startup”, which is how it felt in the early days. Three years ago, on my 4 year Googleversary, I shared some reflections on my time at Google Cloud, and in the years since, the technology industry has evolved dramatically, particularly amidst the backdrop of pandemic-influenced change.??

We’ve since grown into a $30 Billion revenue, profitable (!) enterprise business, but maintaining that startup mentality is still essential. This year, I’ve been challenging our team to think “bold and boosty”. Bold is about figuring out how to stand out, take risks, and do things a little differently. Boosty is about focusing on how we can “boost” up our customers, partners, and each other. As Google Cloud continues to grow and mature as a business, it is more important than ever to maintain that bold way of thinking.

I’ve never been more excited about our cloud marketing team.? Our work is interesting, hard, stressful, energizing, and at times overwhelming, so being able to laugh and enjoy new experiences together is critical.? (That’s where “Goat Yoga” comes in handy).

During my 7 years at Google Cloud, a lot has changed. There are new ways to get things done but the fundamentals of marketing remain consistent. With that in mind, we’ll continue to help our customers and partners break new ground and build for the future. In this next phase, together with our awesome creative & brand team, I’m excited to bring to life “the new way to cloud” – it’s a privilege to help organizations meet tomorrow’s challenges with today’s solutions.