One of the fundamentally recognized characteristics of the indirect channel is its ability to reach markets that its vendor or service provider partners cannot. For this reason, Google Inc. (GOOG) launched a reseller program for its productivity suite, Google Apps Premier Edition (GAPE), in mid-January. It seems the search giant hopes to populate the world with GAPE resellers, tapping the channel for its ability to turn even the smallest of the small businesses into a revenue opportunity. And although many smaller businesses have tried the service out with the Google Apps Standard Edition free product, which is capped at 50 users, many are already seeking the higher levels of storage and support that the Premiere Edition offers.
Of course, cloud-based computing makes sense for Google since it was born and grew up on the Internet. Currently, more than 1 million businesses and 10 million users subscribe to Google Apps, and now GAPE has arrived on the channel scene with what Director of Apps Channels Stephen Cho dubbed a “mature” set of software as a service (SaaS) solutions.
The GAPE suite of communication and collaboration tools includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Sites, Google Talk and Google Video for business. The Premier Edition, which debuted in February 2007, bundles these messaging and collaboration tools with some of Google’s Postini e-mail and security products, along with antivirus and antispam.
“We’ve extended the SLAs for all of the products in the suite, [and have attained] SAS 70 Type II compliance, so there is an increasing robustness of the enterprise-class nature of the product,” explained Cho. “Companies all around the world, from the smallest companies up to the largest companies, are truly finding value and are actively using the products across the board.” Cho said there are more than 3,000 users signing up on a daily basis — but Google is looking to the channel to increase that number by doing what it does best — add value.
Analyst Steve Hilton, vice president of research firm Yankee Group’s Enterprise Research Group, thinks the channel is just what Google Apps needs to succeed. “The weaknesses of Google Apps are the strength of the channel,” said Hilton “Google Apps don’t handle workflows and external application integrations well. The channel can devise solutions (including Google Apps) and provide the implementation services needed to fully empower an enterprise.”
Rolling Out the Program
Google has spent the past several quarters rolling out the Google Apps reseller program to more than 50 pilot resellers in more than 25 countries. The program is now open for applications from interested channel partners of all types, but Google is clearly encouraging inquiries from companies with a strong SaaS orientation and a business model built around providing value-added services and solutions. Potential resellers will be evaluated based on relevant experience and credit worthiness, and, once authorized, will be able to begin selling Google Apps by the end of March.
