Google Apps Surpasses 10,000 Cloud Reseller Partners

Google Apps, the search giant's SaaS platform, is now backed by 10,000 channel partners, Talkin' Cloud has confirmed. The milestone shows just how far Google's cloud alternatives have progressed vs. Microsoft Exchange Server and other business applications.

Google is rallying roughly 700 channel partners this week in San Francisco, sharing reseller milestones while also outlining how partners can profit even more from the SaaS platform. Among the executives to watch: Rahul Sood, director of product management, Enterprise Apps at Google. Sood has extensive enterprise applications experience. He previously helped SAP to expand from on-premises to cloud applications.

At the conference, Google is expected to disclose that the company now has 10,000 channel partners for the Apps platform. On the one hand, partners don't make much from reselling Google Apps — only about $10 per user per year. But on the other hand, numerous cloud services brokerages are popping up — charging migration and consulting fees for Exchange-to-Google Apps projects. Some of the partners, such as Cloud Sherpas, land regularly on our annual Top 100 Cloud Services Provider (CSP) list. Additional true believers include BetterCloud, which says partners are driving Google Apps adoption.

Still, Google faces fierce competition from Microsoft's Office 365, which is now backed by about 60 percent of the world's top managed services providers, according to MSPmentor 501 research results for 2014. New Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is a strong cloud advocate. Talkin' Cloud expects Nadella to increasingly connect the dots between Office 365 and Microsoft's Win dows Azure platform.

Of course, Google isn't resting on its laurels. In addition to Google Apps, the company's efforts include the broader Google Cloud Platform — which has a heavy ISV focus. In the meantime, Talkin' Cloud is keeping a watchful eye on Google's partner gathering this week in San Francisco. Stay tuned for more reports.