The VAR Guy

As you may guess from the name, Cloud Sherpas has built its business around leading enterprises from legacy deployments to the cloud- specifically, to managed Google Apps cloud productivity solutions. It’s a business model that’s garnered them some attention from VCs, with Cloud Sherpas announcing that they’ve completed a $1.6 million round of Series A-1 financing. The VAR Guy sees it as a potential vote of confidence in the future of Google Apps. Here’s the scoop.

When it comes time to compare cloud suites Google Apps and Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), The VAR Guy isn’t the only one who notices that the former tends to focus on the SMB space while the latter’s efforts center on the large enterprise. But that all changes with the launch of Microsoft Office 365, which provides SMBs and large enterprises alike access to cloud productivity, messaging, and collaboration. Here’s the scoop.

Google may be pushing the Google Apps SaaS productivity suite to businesses of all shapes and sizes, but search remains the company’s bread and butter. Now, those two specialties will finally meet in the enterprise thanks to an update to the Google Search Appliance, featuring a cloud connector that enables search of not only on-premises data but also web services like Google Docs, Google Site Search, or even Twitter. Here’s the scoop.

Who’s afraid of Google? It sounds like the answer might be “everybody in the IT world.” Take, for example, What If Google Does It?, a site designed to provide an answer for VCs who ask the question when you’re in mid-pitch. Here’s a quick look at the markets Google’s made waves in — and at least one where it failed to make a splash.

Zoho likes to position itself as the enterprise-targeted SaaS competitor to Google Apps, but it still knows that if you can’t beat them, join them. That’s why Zoho takes their Google integration a step further with Gmail contextual gadgets. The move brings Zoho CRM, Zoho Invoice, and Zoho Projects into the conversation. Here are some details.

As part of their years-old Customer and Partner Experience initiative, Microsoft has launched the Global Relationship Study — meaning channel partners and customers alike will have the opportunity to tell Redmond what they really think. Here’s the lowdown.

Another day, another incremental Google Apps upgrade. This time, the search titan is upping its security game on its signature cloud productivity suite with the launch of OAuth support in a bunch of Google Apps APIs for secure data retrieval from the cloud. Here are some details.

Heightening data security by asking users to input a numerical code from a token isn’t a new idea. But Google’s putting a 2010 twist on the concept by introducing two-step login validation by way of an mobile phone application. Here’s the scoop.

The VAR Guy mentioned it in passing, but last Thursday brought the six month anniversary of the launch of the Google Apps Marketplace. The marketplace let ISVs of all shapes and sizes develop tools for the Google Apps SaaS productivity platform. Here’s a look back at the App Marketplace and some perspective on where it is now.

Give Microsoft credit: In a blog post, the software giant has publicly apologized for recent cloud and SaaS outages involving BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite). The outages impacted North American customers leveraging Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and other Microsoft hosted applications. Feeling bruised, some channel partners are seeking alternative hosted Exchange and hosted SharePoint options. Here’s the update.

Zoho , a SaaS application provider that competes with Google Apps, has launched a Zoho Docs Applie iPhone application. Ironically, Google has yet to make a similar move. Here’s a quick update on Zoho’s strategy.

Google Apps users get a handy new feature in the form of “Apps Search,” a new entrant to Google Labs that lets you find keywords in Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Sites. But is it too little, too late?

While The VAR Guy ruminates on a possible VMware-Alfresco partnership, I decided now would be a good time to take a quick look at some of the major SaaS players attacking Microsoft Exchange/SharePoint’s dominance in the enterprise. Here are seven competitors looking for a cloud slice of Microsoft’s pie.

Google Apps competitor Zoho has launched an affiliate partner program. Can passive partners — everyone from bloggers to SMB web site owners — potentially profit from Zoho’s new SaaS partner program? Here’s some analysis.

The VAR Guy spent most of today poking around the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC10), checking in with trusted sources and listening for channel chatter — especially chatter involving Microsoft’s SaaS and cloud computing strategies. Based on those conversations, here are seven highlights from Day One (Sunday, July 11) of Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference 2010.

Zoho, which strives to out-SaaS Google Apps in the enterprise space, has announced that Zoho Calendar steps out of beta and into production with its latest update. Here’s the scoop.

Microsoft Office 2010 should bear no introduction, especially with the chatter surrounding its official release to the public at large this week. For the first time in a decade or so, we think an Office suite launch is going to face stiff competition — less from traditional desktop applications, and more from the brave new world of the cloud. Here’s the lowdown on the challenges facing Microsoft Office 2010.

Zoho is bringing its browser-based Zoho Invoice and Zoho Creator Helpdesk cloud products to the Google Apps Marketplace, filling some enterprise gaps in the standard Google Apps package. Here’s the lowdown.

Let’s cut right to the chase: Peter Coffee, Salesforce.com’s director of ecosystem platform research, says the SaaS provider’s Chatter business social platform will go live on June 22nd. Here’s what to expect when it does — and our take on its impact in the IT channel.

Zoho, the Google Apps competitor aimed at filling the needs of the enterprise space, has launched something unique in the market: unified search across their SaaS applications. In plain English that means Zoho users have a single way to search e-mail messages, documents, contacts, and other content managed by Zoho’s SaaS applications. Here’s the scoop on Zoho Search.

Cloud-delivered file-sharing hub solution vendor (and lower case letter enthusiast) ftopia has launched a reseller program — and ftopia offering partners a 40 percent commission rate as they try to build channel buzz. Here’s the scoop.

In a recent blog post, Microsoft has taken the war of words over Google Apps directly to the IT channel. The name of the post in question: “Why are Partners Leaving Google Apps?” It’s a loaded question, to be sure, but it raises a key discussion points for Google and its reseller base alike. Here’s the scoop.

Back in December 2009, I wrote about HyperOffice, which provides SaaS alternatives to Google and Microsoft’s collaboration, messaging, and productivity solutions. Well, six months later almost to the day, HyperOffice has announced that the new, streamlined, modern version of their suite is now available to all customers. Here’s the scoop.