Google Enlists Partners to Boost Its Campaign for the Corporate Desktop

| Jan 19, 2009 | Managed IT Services | Competitive Intelligence Report

| Analyst: Amy Larsen DeCarlo

Current Perspective: Neutral/Positive
Vendor Importance: Moderate
Market Impact: Moderate

Event Summary

January 14, 2009 -- Google Inc. announced a global partner program that will allow technology solution providers to sell Google Apps. Authorized resellers will be able to sell, customize and support Google Apps Premier Edition for customers of all sizes, creating new revenue opportunities for partners and easier access to Google's popular cloud services for more businesses. Google will provide resellers with training, support, and tools for sales and marketing, as well as access to tools for integrating Google Apps into their customers' business operations. Resellers will bill their customers directly, enabling them to retain a close relationship with customers. Resellers can also bundle additional services and support with Google Apps. Google Apps customers will benefit from the additional attention to their specific business and technical requirements

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Slightly positive on Google’s launch of its new Google Apps Premier Edition reseller program because establishing a pilot which launches with 50 charter partner members representing a cross-section of VARs, consultancies, integrators, and ISPs provides a diverse and geographically distributed channel which the company can use to grow its enterprise base in the face of some significant market challenges. At the same time, these partners can add a low-cost, cloud-based productivity suite to their catalogs when more businesses are willing to experiment with new application delivery models if the price is right.

• Vendor Importance: Moderate to Google because while the company has made some gains with small business customers, up until now the company has leveraged channel relationships on more of an ad hoc basis. The reseller program gives it a pathway into businesses that otherwise would be unlikely to even consider Google Apps.

• Market Impact: Moderate on the managed applications segment because the partner program supplies Google with a practical way to expand its business user base and launch a more credible effort against Microsoft’s desktop dominance. Any success Google is able to achieve with its Google Apps Premier Edition lays the groundwork for more widespread enterprise acceptance of cloud-based application services.

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Current Perspective

Competitive Positives and Concerns

Recommended Vendor Actions

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Recommended Vendor Actions

• Microsoft can dismiss this announcement as a half-hearted attempt from Google to play catch up in a market the company has long dominated. The software giant can highlight the fact that not only does it have far more channel partners with more than 400,000 resellers in its network but Microsoft also is making major strides in developing cloud application services that will set the pace for the industry.

• Cloud-based application services providers delivering more sophisticated collaborative solutions that incorporate voice, including Microsoft, should depict Google’s solution as too rudimentary for most corporate environments. Rivals can use the Google announcement to promote the sophistication of their own solution sets.

Recommended Competitor Actions

• Businesses that have workers that don’t require many of the capabilities bundled into traditional productivity suites should explore Google Apps Premiere Edition as a legitimate option. With $50 per user per year price tag, and a network of qualified partners to support the SaaS suite, the Google solution becomes very attractive.

CLIENTS ONLY

Current Perspective

Competitive Positives and Concerns

Recommended Vendor Actions

| Client access - Full report in Managed IT Servces | More information

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