Our Expanded Partnership with Google

Our Expanded Partnership with Google

commercetools speaker image Kelly Goetsch
Kelly Goetsch
Chief Strategy Officer, commercetools
Published 24 March 2021

Today we’re happy to announce an expanded partnership with Google that touches every aspect of our business.

Since early 2017, we have extensively used Google Cloud as the platform to serve the billions of API requests made every day by our customers like Burberry, Ulta Beauty and BMW. Google has been an excellent technology and business partner to us as we’ve dramatically grown our business over the past few years.

In an industry first, we’re expanding our partnership with Google across multiple lines of their business in ways that make it far easier to use the entire Google ecosystem, as well as to use commercetools. Let’s explore the different facets of our expanded partnership.

Our Expanded Partnership with Google

Google Cloud

While we serve our commerce APIs from Google Cloud, customers also need a cloud to build, run and manage their frontend(s), to customize or extend commercetools, and build/run/manage their own custom microservices. We’ve built out our APIs in the exact same way as if Google Cloud had built out their own APIs and added them to Google Cloud. Data from commercetools is automatically published out to Google Pub/Sub where it can then be used across the Google Cloud ecosystem. Our patented extensions functionality allows Google Functions to be injected into our platform. We are in the cloud as a first-class citizen, not simply on the cloud, using it only to run compute workloads. As shown in the below graphic, you can inject Google Cloud Functions into commercetools. You can also rent out data to Google Pub/Sub and then trigger Google Cloud Functions in response to those events.

commerce APIs from Google Cloud

As part of this expanded partnership, we have built out a full blueprint showing our customers how to fully use Google Cloud. From Google Cloud CDN to Google Cloud Pub/Sub, this blueprint outlines all of the ways that Google Cloud complements commercetools.

how Google Cloud complements commercetools

Finally,we’re now able to be directly purchased through the Google Cloud Marketplace. Through this marketplace listing and tight commercial integration, Google Cloud will optionally be the merchant of record and GCP credits can be used to pay for commercetools. As with any SaaS solution purchased through the Google Cloud Marketplace, all spend counts toward committed contractual GCP spend.

Accordingly, we’re excited that Google Cloud’s 1,800+ worldwide sales reps will now be able to easily sell commercetools, which is the only enterprise-level commerce available through Google Cloud Marketplace. You may of course continue to buy commercetools directly as well.

On top of this, you get direct access to the latest and greatest innovations happening within Google, like Recommendations and Vision AI.

Google Shopping

Google Shopping allows merchants to sell products in a marketplace-like format to end consumers. Behind the scenes, merchants upload their product catalog, prices and inventory information to Google Merchant Center. As part of our expanded partnership with Google, your product catalog, prices and inventory in commercetools can optionally be shared with Google’s Merchant Center. With a few clicks, merchants can begin to sell their products through Google Shopping’s extensive network. 

Once enabled, all changes to products, inventory or prices initiated in commercetools are automatically and quickly sent over to Google’s Merchant Center. Of course, this is an opt-in only program but the technical work has all been done and is available immediately. 

Advertising

Being able to quickly and easily advertise your products across the entire Google ecosystem is easier than ever thanks to our expanded partnership. Besides Google Shopping, Google’s Merchant Center also serves as the source of data for Google’s various advertising programs including shopping adslocal inventory ads and Buy on Google (formerly Shopping Actions).

As Google continues to focus on making their Merchant Center the sole source of product data across their ecosystem, you can be assured that all your commercetools data will (on an opt-in basis) automatically be there, be up-to-date and be available to use in advertising campaigns.

Google Search

Google’s search results for products are so accurate because of the success of Google’s Manufacturer Center, which allows for branded manufacturers to upload product information, such as name, description, size, material, pattern and other metadata that allows customers to see authoritative information in product-related searches across the Google ecosystem.

With product data mapped back to unique Global Trade Item Numbers (GTIN) and attributes like storage capacity and color normalization, it becomes far easier for consumers to compare various products through Google searches.

Final Thoughts

Google has been a fantastic partner for us at commercetools and, through this expanded partnership, we want to make it easier for you to see why we find them so great.

commercetools speaker image Kelly Goetsch
Kelly Goetsch
Chief Strategy Officer, commercetools

Kelly Goetsch is Chief Strategy Officer at commercetools. He came to commercetools from Oracle, where he led product management for their microservices initiatives. Before that, he was an architect with ATG.

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