Google Cloud Connect 9.0 Release Notes

Introduction

This document describes the new features as well as benefits and limitations of Google Cloud CONNECT 9.0, and any call to action for our Partners.

New Features

Google Cloud CONNECT 9.0 introduces a new "Import" order mode for seamlessly importing existing GCP sub-billing accounts - a function we hope can benefit many Distributors following the 1-tier Direct Distribution model. The previously offered "Transfer" order mode is being removed to simplify the provisioning process and its functionality has been incorporated in the "New" order mode.

The GCP Connect processor previously only allowed for the creation of new sub-billing accounts during the ordering process. An existing project could only be transferred into a newly created sub-billing account using the "Transfer" order mode - a seemingly unnecessary step for Partners who already have existing GCP sub-billing accounts directly with Google.

With the enhancement, the GCP Connect processor now supports the following two order modes:

New: This option results in a new sub-billing account being created. After a new sub-billing account's creation, a user can either create a new project or transfer an existing project from another sub-billing account into the new one (hence incorporating the functionality of the previously offered "Transfer" order mode). The "New" order mode always results in the creation of a new sub-billing account under the Distributor's organization.
Import: This new feature largely benefits GCP Partners following the 1-Tier Direct Distribution model who already have existing external GCP sub-billing accounts with Google direct and want to import them in their entirety to CloudBlue Connect. This feature is different from the one above (that only allows existing projects to be moved to new sub-billing accounts) as in it allows an existing GCP sub-billing account in itself to be imported to the Connect platform.

The "Import" order mode enhancement is further supplemented by the implementation of a dynamic order validation function in Connect which confirms that the GCP Customer ID and the GCP Entitlement ID are valid so that they can be imported successfully, hence eliminating the unnecessary step of new sub-billing account creation for Partners and allowing them to keep the same sub-billing account as before. This makes the user experience much more seamless for concerned Partners who can now save both time and effort and roll over their external GCP sub-billing accounts without any hassle.

Limitations

Import parameter values won't be validated in real-time if the "multi_billing_accounts" configuration parameter is active. If a user entered the wrong Customer ID and/or Entitlement ID, the order will be submitted without validating the values and the order will go into "Inquiring" status for the user to fix the values if needed.
Usage data for any sub-billing accounts that are imported will be collected and billed for the whole calendar month even if the account is imported later on during the month; e.g. if an account is imported on Jun 13, the next billing cycle's invoices will be generated based on usage from Jun 01 through Jun 30, and not from Jun 13 to Jun 30. The Partner in this case needs to be considerate that their customer is not billed twice for the period of Jun 01 to Jun 12.

Call To Action For Partners

1-Tier Direct Distribution Channel Partners who would like to import their existing external GCP sub-billing accounts to CloudBlue Connect must ensure that:

Both the GCP Customer ID and Entitlement ID are provided.
The GCP entitlement exists for the Customer ID provided.
The sub-billing account retrieved has an "ACTIVE" status.
The retrieved sub-billing account ID does not already exist in Connect as it is the reconciliation ID and must be unique.
Partners must ensur that their customers are not billed inaccurately if sub-billing accounts are imported any time after the start of the month.