Intermedia, which specializes in hosted Exchange and other SaaS applications, has launched a white label partner program for Hosted Exchange 2010. The move comes as many VARs and MSPs (managed service providers) are mulling their software as a service (SaaS) options. Here’s a look at Intermedia’s strategy.

Based in New York, Intermedia offers a range of SaaS applications to solutions providers — including Hosted Exchange, Hosted SharePoint and unified communications. The company both cooperates and competes with Microsoft, which has launched its own suite of SaaS applications — under the BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite) brand. And Microsoft has been cutting prices aggressively amid competition with Google Apps.

But here’s the twist: Solutions providers that offer BPOS essentially promote Microsoft’s brand to end-customers. In contrast, Intermedia’s white label partner program allows solutions providers to rebrand hosted applications as their own.

At the same time, Intermedia has entered a partnership with Ingram Micro Seismic, which allows Ingram to promote Intermedia’s offerings to Seismic solutions providers and MSPs.

Still, competition will intensify in the Microsoft SaaS market — especially as a showdown between Microsoft and Google intensifies. Some VARs worry about Microsoft’s own direct sales SaaS efforts. While others are upbeat about Microsoft’s SaaS offerings. Similarly, some solutions providers worry about Google Apps while others are now embracing Google’s SaaS suite.

Instead of getting locked in a price war, Intermedia is striving to help VARs rebrand SaaS applications as their own.

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