The VAR Guy

The Google Apps Marketplace cat is out of the bag, and software developers seem to be tripping over themselves to get listed. A few software companies have been shouting the reasoning behind their marketplace moves from the rooftops, calling it the herald of the emerging software as a service (SaaS) market. Here’s a roundup of what some of these companies have to say for themselves.

We knew Google had been making nice with software developers – and now we know why. The Google Apps Marketplace has just launched, giving ISVs a way to integrate their products with Google Apps and sell them to a huge-and-growing customer base. Intrigued?

In a speech to the student body University of Washington, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer elucidated the promises and perils of the cloud, shedding some light on Microsoft’s cloud strategy.  Gizmodo’s got the blow-by-blow – here’s a recap and our take.

At the Intermedia Partner Summit, the hosted Exchange provider told dozens of MSPs and VARs that they can potentially generate more profits from hosted unified communications. Intermedia’s pitch sounds accurate. But a few attendees raised questions about  getting into the hosted Unified Communications market. Here’s why.

Public institutions are looking into the cloud as a money-saving maneuver, and rightly so. Now Microsoft is breaking into that market with the unveiling of BPOS Federal, a version of its hosted online collaboration and productivity suite with enhanced security aimed at filling the needs of the federal government. Here’s what VARs should know.

The Google Apps Reseller team is out in full force at this week’s Parallels Summit in Miami. The conference, which has attracted several hundred SaaS and cloud experts from across the globe, seems to be a gathering place for solutions providers and service providers focused on recurring revenue opportunities. Here’s the scoop, along with an update on the Google Apps reseller program.

Account creation is such a pain. That’s why Zoho, the browser-based, enterprise-focused productivity suite that competes with Google Apps, today rolls out integration with Facebook Connect, turning the ubiquitous social network into a new market for their product. Here’s why resellers should care.

While Google isn’t quite ready to reveal the software developer partner program we’re convinced is coming, the search giant has unveiled their new Qualified Developer Program, designed to certify the best and brightest of those working with the Google and open source APIs. Here’s the scoop.

Google seems to be a step closer to an inevitable software developer partner program. The latest clue: Google has quietly launched the Google Solutions Marketplace, a kind of Craigslist that helps enterprise customers find Google App solutions from a range of companies. Here’s the scoop.

The VAR Guy speculated months ago that Google might launch a partner program for independent software vendors (ISVs). The fact that they just launched a Google Apps Developer Blog is just fuel for the fire. Here’s why.

When it comes to SharePoint, there’s no middle ground: Folks are either profiting from the Microsoft platform, or competing fiercely with it. Microsoft sells at least $1 billion worth of SharePoint annually. And on Feb. 10, SharePoint customers and partners are going to converge on San Francisco for a major SharePoint conference. Here’s what to expect.

Grab a good seat while you can. The online office suite market is about to get a bit more crowded. Oracle, it appears, is working on Oracle Cloud Office — which will potentially compete with Google Apps, Microsoft Office Web, Zoho and a range of other SaaS productivity applications. Here’s some perspective.

No doubt, Microsoft and Google are waging a software as a service (SaaS) war. But the latest shot fired comes from a surprising source: LTech, an enterprise cloud service provider, is helping customers automate document migrations from Microsoft SharePoint to Google Apps. Here’s how.

For a VAR, one potential selling point of Google Apps is how easily users can collaborate on documents. That’s well and good, but today’s Facebook-connected world demands something more. Enter Socialwok, a startup that claims to overlay the best features of social networking, including a real-time news feed, on top of an existing enterprise Google Apps deployment. It’s not quite ready for the channel, but it’s well worth watching. Here’s why.

Rumors of Google getting into the cloud storage game with a so-called “GDrive” have been floating around since at least 2006. While we may have to wait a little longer for a real enterprise-level storage solution from the search giant, the house that search built is making moves in the right direction. One example Google says users will soon be able to store and share any kind of file on their increasingly popular Google Docs browser-based productivity suite — and VARs are going to be able to leverage it.

Google had a heck of a 2009, kicking off with the launch of their authorized reseller program and wrapping up with the announcement that the City of Los Angeles was going to Google Apps. Last year also marked the launch of several new technologies under the Google banner, including Voice, Chrome — the browser and the OS — and Wave. Later today, I’m speaking with Jeff Ragusa, the Google Apps channel manager to get some perspective on what these technologies meant for resellers in 2009, and what VARs can expect in the year ahead. Here’s some of what I want to know more about.

The predominant benefit in 2009 from cloud computing was access to less expensive computing power and availability of more SaaS based solutions. But how will solutions providers make money from cloud and SaaS offerings in 2010? Here are some clues.

I’m hearing rumors that Apple is gearing up to announce SaaS (software as a service) versions of its iWork and iLife productivity suites in the cloud at Macworld 2010 2009, which opens its doors tomorrow. If the buzz turns out to be true, not only will the secretive Cupertino giant offer the usual document creation software, but also a cloud version of their renowned iMovie editing software. Here’s what it could mean for resellers.

Google’s sneaking in one more acquisition before the New Year: DocVerse, providers of a Microsoft Office plugin that enables real-time, multi-user collaboration, essentially causing Word, Excel, and Powerpoint to behave like Google Docs. While Google isn’t willing to make a statement on its DocVerse strategy, here are our quick observations.

When I recently wrote about Los Angeles’ move to Google Apps, I mentioned Zoho as an enterprise-grade SaaS suite competitor worth considering. Still, more options loom. A prime example: HyperOffice, which provides a hosted collaboration suite aimed to compete with Microsoft’s offerings in the SMB space. Here are the details.

Channel partners are facing yet another Microsoft inflection point. The key issue: Should VARs move customers to the new Exchange 2010 release — on premise or in the cloud? Or should solutions providers scour the market for alternatives? Before you answer check out some recent momentum involving SaaS partners and Open-Xchange.

At first glance, Google is making three moves that don’t impact VARs. But take a closer look and Google’s latest efforts could actually have some implications for channel partners. Here are the detals…

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.