MigrationWiz, our SaaS-based data migration solution that paves the way for a seamless transition to Office 365. What we haven’t talked about as frequently is our ability to transition users and data into G Suite. As Google’s cloud office productivity offering continues to gain traction, there is a growing need for solutions to help with this migration – and existing first-party tools or other ISV offerings in this space just don’t cut it.

That’s how the BitTitan team found ourselves in San Francisco for Google NEXT ’19, the Sunnyvale giant’s largest conference of the year. We spent the week meeting new Google Cloud Service Partners, talking about the challenges and opportunities when it comes to G Suite migration projects, and how these partners are delivering a broader range of digital transformation services.

Flagship tech events are never short on product announcements and NEXT ’19 was no exception. Read on for the biggest stories of this year’s event, our takeaways on these announcements, and why we’re charging ahead into this ecosystem in 2019.

A Slew of Updates for G Suite

Google has been able to grow G Suite adoption by focusing on its simplicity and collaboration features while aggressively adding new features. NEXT ’19 saw no fewer than 14 additional capabilities integrated into G Suite, including support for Google Assistant, offline editing of Docs, Sheets, and Slides, as well as third-party connectivity for Cloud Search, available for the G Suite Enterprise customers.

Google has always been a data kingpin and many updates have to do with how to finds or pull in data to G Suite. Google’s BigQuery service now integrates with Sheets to form “Connected Sheets,” enabling users to work together on up to 10 billion rows of BigQuery data. Meanwhile, Drive search functionality has improved through the ability for users to create metadata categories and apply to any file in Drive for better discover and governance.

A complete list of G Suite enhancements and new features is available on the Google Cloud blog.

The Debut of Anthos

TechTarget’s Aaron Tan summarizes it best: “Billed as Linux for the cloud, Google’s Anthos multi-cloud management platform promises to make it easier for enterprises to manage their applications regardless of where they choose to run them – on different public cloud services or on-premise.”

Previously known as the Google Cloud Services Platform, Anthos was the premiere announcement at NEXT ’19. The open, build-once-run-everywhere attitude and compatibility with AWS and Azure is a bet Google is hoping will pay off in the coming years as hybrid cloud models continue to proliferate.

Learn more about Anthos in this Computer Weekly exclusive interview with Google employee #8 and current SVP of Technical Infrastructure Urs Hölzle.

A Strong First Show for Thomas Kurian

NEXT ’19 was also a public introduction for Thomas Kurian, the long-time Oracle exec who replaced Diane Green as Google Cloud CEO earlier this year. TK’s reception has been a warm one both publically and internally, judging by BitTitan’s conversations at the event. Anthos and other general infrastructure announcements place a prominent focus on Google’s cloud business in the coming year, while partner program and distributor investments on the G Suite side align with moves Microsoft made two to three years ago to push Azure and Office 365 consumption – a strategy that has helped it claw to #2 behind AWS.

Shortly after the conclusion of NEXT ’19, Google announced another high-profile hire: former SAP exec Robert Enslin, President of Global Customer Operations, a move many view as part of Google’s strategy to chase more enterprise business in 2019. TechCrunch has more.

MigrationWiz: Your Highway to G Suite

Based on booth conversations and partner meetings for BitTitan, MigrationWiz is well-positioned to help Google partners, particularly G Suite resellers, accelerate migrations from a wide range of Source environments.

Google has a series of first-party solutions that help address components of to-G Suite migrations, but none do so comprehensively or are a good fit for all project sizes. Anecdotally, existing third-party solutions in the Google ecosystem seem to deliver mixed results for partners, leaving the door open for a reliable solution with a simpler, bundled licensing model to better serve Google service partners.

MigrationWiz offers the ability to manage all project types (and sizes) from a single, easy-to-use interface with no local installations or professional services needed. Learn more about our to-G Suite capabilities in this overview or visit the BitTitan Help Center to access the most robust Knowledge Base and step-by-step guides catered to your scenario.