Driving Scalable Partnerships: Google’s Approach to Solution Building with GSIs and ISVs
In this Ecosystem Aces podcast, Akseli Leppänen, GSI Partner Leader at Google, joined Chip Rodgers, Chief Partner Officer at WorkSpan, to discuss co-innovation, go-to-market strategies, and the evolving role of GSIs and ISVs in Google’s partner ecosystem. Akseli shared insights from his experience working with global system integrators (GSIs) and independent software vendors (ISVs), emphasizing how collaborative solution-building is reshaping the way partners deliver customer value at scale.
Akseli’s background—spanning technical and business roles at Microsoft and Google—has given him a unique perspective on how partnerships drive industry transformation. He highlighted the Industry Value Network Initiative, which brings together Google, GSIs, and ISVs to co-create industry-specific solutions.
Key Takeaways from the Conversation
🔹 Building Solutions that Scale – Successful solutions require customer relevance, clear business value, and scalability. Partnering with GSIs and ISVs ensures that solutions meet industry demands and can be deployed repeatably.
🔹 The Power of Co-Sell and Multi-Partner Models – The best partnership motions include side-by-side selling rather than a handoff approach. GSIs, with their deep industry expertise, help translate technology innovation into real-world business impact for customers.
🔹 Leveraging Hyperscaler Marketplaces – Cloud marketplaces make solutions easier to buy and sell, simplifying procurement and accelerating adoption. Google is working closely with GSIs and ISVs to drive marketplace adoption and optimize go-to-market strategies.
🔹 Stay Curious, But Be Selective – Innovation thrives when partner leaders explore new ideas while also being strategic about where to invest resources. Not all ideas warrant execution—prioritization is key to success.
Akseli’s insights reinforced how partner collaboration is essential in today’s fast-moving tech landscape. The right mix of GSI depth, ISV innovation, and hyperscaler support creates powerful, repeatable solutions that drive meaningful customer impact.
📢 Watch the full episode to explore how Google is evolving its GSI and ISV partnerships for the future! #EcosystemAces #GoogleCloud #Partnerships #CoSell #CloudInnovation
Chip is passionate about building strong communities and ecosystems around enterprises to build excitement for the category, deliver value for customers, and grow the business. Prior to WorkSpan, Chip was with SAP for over 13 years, most recently growing the SAP Community Network to over 2 million engaged customers, partners, and developers. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago and an engineering degree from Northwestern.
