Google Apps reseller gives channel Cloudreach

London-based Google partner wants to help rival VARs get ahead in the cloud

VAR Cloudreach has set its sights on moving at least 50,000 end users to Google Apps this year.

The London-based firm specialises in reselling Google's online productivity products, and is also an Amazon Web Services Solution Provider.

The search giant recently invited Cloudreach to become a top-tier Google Apps Premier Enterprise Partner, making it one of the first companies in the UK to achieve the accreditation.

To qualify for entry into the programme's top tier, partners must satisfy quarterly revenue commitments and employ at least three active Google Certified Deployment Professionals.

In EMEA, partners also need to bring on board 5,000 incremental new accounts each calendar year.

Speaking to ChannelWeb, James Monico, Cloudreach's technical director, said the company moved 25,000 end users to Google Apps in 2011, and wants to migrate "double or triple" that number this year.

"The main reason many of these deals got signed off, in the early days, was because of low cost. More recently, it seems to be the quality of, and demand for, collaboration tools that is driving adoption," he said.

From the channel point of view, Monico said many traditional software resellers have been reluctant to embrace Google Apps.

"The [Google] licence revenues are smaller than many resellers might be used to, which has put some other VARs off in the past," said Monico.

To get around this, partners can wrap additional consultancy services around the Google Apps package, which includes email, collaboration and calendar tools, or they can partner with VARs already selling the product suite.

"We are open to working with existing VARs, [because] it is hard to become a top-tier Google Partner and a route in would be to speak to us," he said.

"The best match for us is a company with customers, but without the right skills, [for instance] distribution companies."

From a competitive standpoint, Monico said he could understand why some VARs might be reluctant to partner with Cloudreach, especially those that are deeply entrenched in the Microsoft channel.

"Most Microsoft resellers will not like the Google revenue-share model, because they will make much less money, which is why Google has not had much traction with them [to date]," he explained.