Google launches Reseller Program

Authorised resellers will be able to sell, customise and support Google Apps Premier Edition for customers, creating new revenue opportunities for partners and easier access to Google's cloud services.

The Google Apps reseller program is now open for applications from interested parties.

Potential resellers will be evaluated based on relevant experience and credit worthiness.

Applications are encouraged from companies with a strong SaaS orientation and a business model built around providing value-added services and solutions.

Authorised resellers will be able to begin selling Apps by the end of March.

"Google Apps has reached a level of maturity where it is useful and valuable for almost any business," said Dave Girouard, President of Enterprise, Google.

"This program gives IT solution providers an easy way to introduce cloud computing to their service offerings, while helping more businesses make the transition to this new era of technology."

Google will provide resellers with training, support, and tools for sales and marketing and tools for integrating Google Apps into their customers' business operations.

Resellers will bill their customers directly and can bundle additional services and support with Google Apps.

Google has already rolled out the program to more than 50 pilot partners worldwide.

"We believe strongly that all companies will adopt SaaS to one degree or another, and Google's reseller program empowers us to be experts in the cloud," says Tony Safoian, President of IT firm SADA Systems Inc.

"Reselling Google Apps opens up new opportunities via new conversations we could not have had with prospective clients as little as two years ago.

“What Google Apps offers - if you take into consideration the pace of innovation, the collaboration tools, and the built-in disaster recovery - is not available anywhere else at any price; when you add that our clients can save 75 percent of costs versus doing this all on-premise, it is often an easy sell."

The reseller program will include:

A portal with a set of business and technical information, and online discussion groups.

Sales training, technical training, and customer marketing materials.

Reseller tools for setting up business customers, provisioning end users, management, and reporting.

Integration APIs (REST-based) for directory synchronization, migration, reporting, and single sign-on.