A distant third place behind market leaders Amazon Web Services and Microsoft, Google Cloud is falling behind in its high-stakes battle to keep pace.

Revenue growth for its cloud division – which includes infrastructure services, Google Workspace collaboration tools, and generative AI solutions – slowed to 30% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2024 to US$12 billion. In comparison, the company recorded a 35% revenue growth in the September quarter.

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Internal friction within its Asia-Pacific (APAC) arm could further derail its ambitions.

While Google does not break down its cloud revenue by region, sources tell Tech in Asia that APAC is still catching up in cloud spending. This means APAC has a stronger upside compared to North America or Europe, even though it contributes less to the topline than those places.

Google is known for having a culture of openness, inclusivity, empathy, and respect – a combination of attributes that’s associated with being “Googley.” But as the firm’s cloud division grew and many senior long-time staff departed in recent years, this “Googleyness” has been diluted, seven current and former employees told Tech in Asia on the condition of anonymity.

Some staff have escalated complaints directly to top Google executives in the US, Tech in Asia understands. But our sources also say these complaints – unequal opportunities, low morale, a decline in hiring standards, and a collapse of checks and balances in the APAC division – have fallen on deaf ears.

Meanwhile, Google did not specify whether these issues have been investigated internally or addressed.

The tech titan is “deeply committed to a respectful workplace,” a Google spokesperson told Tech in Asia. “We encourage feedback, we are transparent about how we’re acting on it, and we report on our progress frequently.”

Key staff turnover and layoffs

In the past 12 months, many senior executives have left Google Cloud’s APAC team and have been replaced.

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These include country heads for North Asia and Indonesia as well as for Australia and New Zealand. Its customer engineering, marketing, and corporate sales heads have also exited the firm.

In South Korea, Google has cycled through three country heads in four years.

Culture clash

Complaints to HR