The Google Cloud Partner Network is Google Cloud’s partner program — announced in December 2025 to replace Google Cloud Partner Advantage — with three tiers (Select, Premier, and Diamond) and a competency framework in place of the old specializations. Tiers reflect customer outcomes; competencies reflect proven expertise; and Google Cloud Marketplace is where an ISV’s product is sold and metered.
Updated August 2026. Google announced the Google Cloud Partner Network in December 2025 as the successor to Google Cloud Partner Advantage, with a rollout beginning in the first quarter of 2026 and a transition window for existing partners. If you came here looking for the former Member / Partner / Premier tiers or “specializations,” those are superseded by the tiers and competencies described below. This post describes the current program.
An alliances leader joining a Google Cloud motion often inherits one confused sentence: “we need to hit Premier.” Until recently that meant a tier inside the old Partner Advantage program. The program has changed, and so has what “Premier” means. Google Cloud’s partner program is now the Google Cloud Partner Network, and it recognizes partners on two independent axes — a tier that reflects the customer outcomes you drive, and competencies that reflect the expertise you can prove. Aiming at a tier without understanding both axes is like aiming at “senior” without naming the job.
This is the current structure, described so you can locate yourself in it before you commit a quarter of partner-ops time to advancing. It is built from how Google itself frames the program, and it deliberately states no revenue thresholds, certification counts, or fees — those are numbers Google does not publish openly and revises over time, and an alliances plan built on a guessed figure ages the day Google updates the page.
What is the Google Cloud Partner Network?
The Google Cloud Partner Network is Google Cloud’s partner program: one framework that recognizes partners through three tiers and a set of competencies, built around three stated principles — simplicity, outcomes, and automation. Google announced it in December 2025 as the successor to Partner Advantage, with the rollout beginning in early 2026.
Two design choices matter for how you plan. First, the program rewards customer outcomes — co-sell wins, delivered deployments, and consumption on Google Cloud — rather than membership activity for its own sake. Second, tier and competency progress is tracked automatically from those outcomes, rather than assembled by hand at renewal time. For an ISV selling software on Google Cloud, the practical center of gravity is still the Google Cloud Marketplace motion — but the program around it is now organized differently, so it is worth resetting the mental model rather than mapping old terms onto new ones.
The tiers — Select, Premier, and Diamond
The Google Cloud Partner Network has three tiers, from entry to highest: Select, Premier, and Diamond. Google moved from a two-tier model to a three-tier one, adding Diamond as a new, deliberately selective top tier. Google describes the tiers this way:
| Tier | What it recognizes, per Google |
|---|---|
| Select | The entry tier — partners who have demonstrated a baseline of foundational knowledge and successful client engagements. |
| Premier | Partners with a significant investment in certified technical resources and a consistent history of driving customer outcomes at scale. |
| Diamond | The highest level — intentionally selective, reserved for partners with the deepest global commitment to Google technology and a portfolio of large-scale, complex customer deployments. |
Two honest cautions. First, tier placement is based on customer outcomes across Google Cloud and Google Workspace, and Google does not publish fixed revenue-or-certification thresholds for each tier on its open pages — so this post names none. Do not build a plan on a number you cannot cite. Second, because tiers reflect ongoing outcomes and are tracked automatically, a tier is a standing you maintain, not a badge you keep — plan for the trajectory that holds it, not just the moment you first reach it.
Competencies — what replaced specializations
A new competency framework replaces the former specializations, and it operates independently from your tier. Where the old program certified “specializations” and “expertise,” the Partner Network recognizes competencies at two levels — Competency and the higher Advanced Competency — so you can signal not just that you have a capability but how deep it runs.
Competencies are organized into three categories:
- Product — capability with a specific Google product (for example, data, AI, or a named platform product).
- Solution — capability across a solution area such as AI, application modernization, data and analytics, databases, infrastructure, or security.
- Industry — capability serving a vertical such as financial services, healthcare and life sciences, retail, or public sector.
Google measures a competency along two dimensions: capacity — the knowledge, technical certifications, and sales credentials your team holds — and capability — real pre-sales and post-sales contributions to validated, closed-won opportunities. The important structural point for planning is that competencies are separate from tiers: you earn them by proving expertise in an area, and they do not simply fall out of reaching Premier. Google also runs focused subprograms for specialized groups, such as managed-service providers or partners concentrating on a particular product.
The partner paths — co-selling, services, and technology
The Partner Network customizes a partner’s path around how it works with Google — co-selling, services, or technology — rather than making everyone climb one identical ladder. This is the current framing, and it replaces the older Partner Advantage engagement-model language (the “Sell / Build / Services” motions). The three current paths map cleanly onto the kinds of partner Google names — ISVs, resell and services integrators, and systems integrators:
- Co-selling — selling alongside the Google field, including transacting through Google Cloud Marketplace. This is the path most ISVs build a Google revenue plan around.
- Services — delivering consulting, implementation, or managed services on Google Cloud.
- Technology — building a product that runs on or integrates with Google Cloud.
A software company frequently sits on more than one path at once — technology for the product relationship, co-selling for the commercial one. The value you care about as an ISV — Marketplace transacting and Google co-sell — sits on the co-selling path, so evaluate your standing there specifically rather than in the abstract.
Where Marketplace and co-sell actually connect
Selling on Google Cloud Marketplace requires Partner Network membership in good standing — not a specific tier — and it is what makes a deal co-sellable. To list, Google requires that you join and maintain good standing in the Google Cloud Partner Network, hold a Marketplace vendor account, and keep a valid payment profile; there is no minimum tier to become a vendor. That is a meaningful correction to a common assumption: you do not need Premier or Diamond to start transacting.
What the Marketplace motion unlocks for an ISV is concrete: private offers and Marketplace Channel Private Offers for reselling through partners, commitment drawdown so a qualifying purchase can draw down a buyer’s existing Google Cloud commitment, and the Marketplace Customer Credit Program. A Marketplace listing is how your product is sold and metered on Google Cloud — and a transaction the Google field can be credited for is the raw material of the co-sell motion.
Co-selling itself is one of the rewarded partner paths, and Google tracks co-sell activity automatically toward tier and competency progress. Google describes co-sell as a rewarded outcome rather than publishing fixed deal thresholds or incentive percentages, so treat it as “activity that compounds into standing,” not a number to hit. That is why the sequencing matters: the listing is the prerequisite the co-sell motion plugs into — a point covered end to end in the Google Cloud Marketplace ISV seller guide — and the alliances and partnerships function is what turns access to the Google field into sourced and influenced deals through an operational co-sell workflow.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Google Cloud Partner Network? The Google Cloud Partner Network is Google Cloud’s partner program, announced in December 2025 to replace Google Cloud Partner Advantage. It organizes partners into three tiers — Select, Premier, and Diamond — and recognizes expertise through a competency framework.
What are the Google Cloud Partner Network tiers? From entry to highest, the tiers are Select, Premier, and Diamond. Google moved from a two-tier to a three-tier model, adding Diamond as a selective top tier awarded for consistent, large-scale customer outcomes across Google Cloud and Google Workspace.
What replaced Google Cloud specializations? A new competency framework replaces the former specializations. Competencies come in two levels — Competency and Advanced Competency — across Product, Solution, and Industry categories, and they operate independently from a partner’s tier.
Do I need a specific tier to sell on Google Cloud Marketplace? No. To sell on Google Cloud Marketplace you must join and maintain good standing in the Google Cloud Partner Network, hold a Marketplace vendor account, and keep a valid payment profile. Google does not require a specific tier to list.
How does co-sell fit into the Google Cloud Partner Network? Co-selling is one of the partner paths Google rewards, alongside services and technology. Co-sell activity is tracked automatically and counts toward tier and competency progress. Google describes co-sell as a rewarded outcome rather than publishing fixed thresholds.
What happened to Google Cloud Partner Advantage? Partner Advantage is the former program name. Google announced the Google Cloud Partner Network in December 2025, rolling out through 2026 with a transition window. The old Member, Partner, and Premier tiers are superseded by Select, Premier, and Diamond.
Takeaways
- Google Cloud’s partner program is now the Google Cloud Partner Network, announced December 2025 as the successor to Partner Advantage and rolling out through 2026.
- It has three tiers — Select, Premier, and Diamond — placed on customer outcomes and tracked automatically. Diamond is a new, selective top tier.
- Competencies replace specializations, at two levels (Competency and Advanced Competency) across Product, Solution, and Industry categories — and they are independent of your tier.
- Partners work along co-selling, services, or technology paths; an ISV usually sits on co-selling and technology at once.
- No specific tier is required to sell on Google Cloud Marketplace — you need Partner Network membership in good standing, a vendor account, and a payment profile. Google does not publish per-tier revenue or certification thresholds, so don’t plan against a guessed number.
Suger runs the co-sell and Marketplace motion the Partner Network rewards — Google Cloud Marketplace listing and metering, private offers, and co-sell on the records your Google sellers already work. See the Google Cloud Marketplace seller solution, read the Google Cloud Marketplace documentation, or explore how it operationalizes the co-sell workflow.
Sources
Primary sources for the platform rules cited above. Last verified August 24, 2026. Cloud providers change fees, eligibility, and program terms without notice — check the source before relying on a figure.
- Google Cloud Partner Network — The current program name (Google Cloud Partner Network), the three tiers — Select, Premier, and Diamond — with their descriptions, and the competency framework: the Competency and Advanced Competency levels across Product, Solution, and Industry categories.
- Introducing Google Cloud Partner Network — The December 2025 announcement: the move from a two-tier to a three-tier model, that Diamond is the new selective top tier, that a competency framework replaces specializations, that tiers reflect customer outcomes and are tracked automatically, and the first-quarter 2026 rollout with a transition window for partners.
- Become a Google Cloud partner — That partner paths are customized around co-selling, services, or technology, and that co-sell is a rewarded activity tracked toward tier and competency progress.
- Requirements for Google Cloud Marketplace — That selling on Google Cloud Marketplace requires joining and maintaining good standing in the Google Cloud Partner Network, plus a Marketplace vendor account and a payment profile — with no specific tier required to list.
- Why sell on Google Cloud Marketplace — That enrolling in the Google Cloud Partner Network is the first step to becoming a Marketplace vendor, and the seller mechanics available including private offers and Marketplace Channel Private Offers.
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