A Closer Look: Google Apps and Salesforce.com Partners Merge
Question: What do you get when you merge the Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year with a Salesforce.com platinum consulting partner? Answer: A blockbuster cloud services provider (CSP) merger involving Cloud Sherpas and GlobalOne, potentially forming a next-generation cloud consulting company.
The deal is a wake-up call to VARs, MSPs and IT resellers that are taking a wait-and-see approach to cloud computing. While traditional consultants worry about disruptive sales models in the cloud, next-generation channel partners like Cloud Sherpas — a Talkin’ Cloud 50 company — are sprinting forward.
Details of the Deal
The Cloud Sherpas-GlobalOne combo will march forward under the Cloud Sherpas banner. The company has received a $20 million investment from Columbia Capital, which previously invested $15 million in GlobalOne. The new funds will be used for global expansion. GlobalOne CEO David Northington shifts into the Cloud Sherpas CEO seat, while former Cloud Sherpas CEO Douglas Shepard becomes president of the company’s Google business unit.
Cloud Sherpas launched in 2008 and was one of Google’s first enterprise partners. GlobalOne launched in 2007 and has focused on Salesforce.com-related consulting engagements. Take a closer look, and you’ll notice GlobalOne recently acquired a mobile app development team from Vodafone. That combination of Google Apps with mobile apps expertise sounds compelling.
Gaining Economies of Scale
Going forward, Cloud Sherpas will have nearly 300 employees, 1,500 customers and 1.5 million workers migrated into the cloud.
The Cloud Sherpas-GlobalOne deal sounds amazing, disruptive and ambitious. But keep the risks in mind. Plenty of IT mergers have failed to fulfill their promise in the past. Plus, neither Cloud Sherpas nor GlobalOne have discussed their current and future profit margins.
That said, it will be hard for rival cloud service providers to ignore this deal.
