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 Channel Futures

Open Source


Zimbra Launching Partner Program

  • Written by The VAR Guy 1
  • April 27, 2009
Zimbra, the open source email provider owned by Yahoo, plans to launch a formalized partner program in the next few weeks or so. More than 700 partners already sell or host Zimbra's software, which is marching toward 50 million paid customers, The VAR Guy hears. But that's not all. Here's where Zimbra is heading next in the channel.

Zimbra, the open source email provider owned by Yahoo, plans to launch a formalized partner program in the next few weeks or so. More than 700 partners already sell or host Zimbra’s software, which is marching toward 50 million paid customers, The VAR Guy hears. But that’s not all. Here’s where Zimbra is heading next in the channel.

First, let’s rewind a bit: Yahoo acquired Zimbra in September 2007. At the time of the deal, The VAR Guy worried that Zimbra would suffocate within Yahoo’s corporate infrastructure. Clearly, our resident blogger was wrong.

Officially, Zimbra says its email system has more than 60,000 customers and 41 million licensed/paid users. But sources say the figure is pushing fast toward 50 million (Note: Zimbra declines to say if 50 million paid users is a near-term goal).

In 2008, roughly 50 percent of Zimbra sales involved channel partners. Now, that figure is closer to 70 percent, according to Andy Pflaum, VP of business development at Zimbra.

Even without a formal partner program in place, Zimbra was ranked No. 6 in The VAR Guy’s Open Source 50 report, which tracks the most promising open source companies working within the IT channel.

Getting the Message Out

But Zimbra isn’t resting on its laurels. During a chat earlier today, Pflaum gave The VAR Guy a sneak peek at Zimbra’s imminent partner program launch. It will include:

  • Gold- and Silver-level tiers. Gold partners will receive enhanced price margins and deal registration, while silver-tier partners will be more of the entry-level assortment.
  • A Partner Advisory Board, plus a potential partner conference. Pflaum notes that several open source companies have successfully hosted partner conferences in recent months. And Zimbra seems to be eager to repeat that success with its own channel business.
  • A close, ongoing relationship with the Open Source Channel Alliance. The OSCA includes Red Hat, Synnex and nine independent software vendors (ISVs) that will work closely with Synnex’s 15,000 resellers. The VAR Guy has been upbeat about the OSCA, but the alliance has its share of skeptics.

Leaving SaaS to Partners

Now here’s the biggest potential twist of all: Zimbra has no plans to host its email for customers. That’s right, Zimbra is leaving the software as a service (SaaS) market to its 700 partners. (Zimbra rival Open-Xchange also has no plans to directly offer SaaS).

Translation: Zimbra and Open-Xchange are avoiding the “coopetition” challenges that occasionally undermine SaaS and managed services efforts from Dell, Microsoft and other big IT vendors that are exploring the on-demand world.

Roughly two-thirds of Zimbra’s partners are managed service providers (MSPs) and hosting partners, and roughly one-third are traditional VARs and resellers, estimates Pflaum.

Still, Pflaum is quick to concede that Zimbra’s channel approach also has its share of challenges. In particular, Zimbra wants to make sure it’s recommending the best, most qualified partners to customers. But occasionally, it’s difficult to vet out all of those partners, Pflaum said.

The VAR Guy will be watching to see how Zimbra’s partner mix evolves once the company formalizes its channel program.

The VAR Guy is updated multiple times daily. Don’t miss a single post. Subscribe to his newsletter, RSS feed, Twitter feed , Webcasts and Resource Center.

Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Channel Programs Open Source

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12 comments

  1. Avatar Jessie April 28, 2009 @ 12:22 am
    Reply

    Var Guy did Zimbra say whether the partner program is coming to Europe too or only US?

  2. Avatar The VAR Guy April 28, 2009 @ 12:44 am
    Reply

    Zimbra’s partner plan is global. Frequently involves local distributors service specific regions.

  3. Avatar Jacob April 28, 2009 @ 9:15 am
    Reply

    Love Zimbra, but I’m concerned.

    Reason being Microsoft drewling over Yahoo. The board of Yahoo now consists of friendly faces to Microsoft, and the CEO smiles too.

    Together with the extremely Microsoftfriendly Novell who keeps on “recruiting” Microsoft staff into core positions this IS worrying.

    Novell and Zimbra on Microsoft hands? What’s The VAR GUY’s perspective on that scenario?

  4. Avatar The VAR Guy April 28, 2009 @ 10:26 am
    Reply

    Jacob: The VAR Guy was concerned when Yahoo acquired Zimbra. Yet the deal turned out well if you look at Zimbra’s growth … and growing commitment to the channel.

    If a Microsoft/Yahoo combo ever occurred, The VAR Guy would be concerned about that deal too. But such a combo remains complete speculation. So let’s cross that bridge if/when Zimbra comes to it.

  5. Avatar Andydread April 28, 2009 @ 12:42 pm
    Reply

    I would not be concerned if Zimbra was real open source but it is not genuine open source. If it was under a genuine open source license and MS bought it Yahoo or whatever then Zimbra could be forked. As it stands with the fake open source license Zimbra cannot be forked. It can only be killed by whoever takes over and decides to kill the project. Why can’t it be forked? Because of the attribution clause that stops anyone from messing with the logo ANYWHERE throughout the program. No one will bother to continue an abandoned zimbra project when they have to leave huge the Zimbra badge all over the software. We are still installing it. The fake open source version. But we are keeping our options open and if a genuine open source mail solution turns up that can compete with Zimbra then we will start pushing that one to our customers.

  6. Avatar The VAR Guy April 28, 2009 @ 1:44 pm
    Reply

    Andydread: Time for The VAR Guy to concede one of his blind spots… he has heard the Zimbra “real open source” debate before but still needs to take a closer look at the details/debate.

    So far, the licensing debate does not seem to be hurting Zimbra’s channel and partner efforts. But our resident blogger knows licensing issues are a hot button in the open source world.

    When The VAR Guy preps more Zimbra coverage down the road, he’ll be sure to spend some time on the licensing discussion.

  7. Avatar Links 28/04/2009: Red Hat Deal, Firefox Reaches Final Beta | April 29, 2009 @ 12:14 am
    Reply

    […] Zimbra Launching Partner Program Zimbra, the open source email provider owned by Yahoo, plans to launch a formalized partner program in the next few weeks or so. More than 700 partners already sell or host Zimbra’s software, which is marching toward 50 million paid customers, The VAR Guy hears. But that’s not all. Here’s where Zimbra is heading next in the channel. […]

  8. Avatar Zimbra Selected Red Hat EMEA ISV Partner of the Year raquo; May 5, 2009 @ 9:26 pm
    Reply

    […] may have heard recently we are putting more emphasis on developing our Zimbra partner channels.  We are fortunate to already have more than 700 partners, including Hosting Service Providers, […]

  9. Avatar Denis Sacchet May 7, 2009 @ 2:06 pm
    Reply

    Zimbra is a wonderful solution, and hosted it as a service is very easy. I’m not estonished at all of those figures. Great jobs guys ! I wait for Zimbra 6.0 with impatience.

  10. Avatar The VAR Guy May 7, 2009 @ 4:27 pm
    Reply

    Denis: Zimbra became a topic of conversation yesterday at the Ingram Micro Seismic Partner Conference. More than 275 VARs and MSPs attended. And a few of them broke out into a side conversation about hosted Exchange alternatives.

    Suddenly, Zimbra’s name came up and one VAR walked his peers through the Zimbra model.

    The VAR Guy was somewhat surprised/impressed to hear that Zimbra had mind share at a distributor-hosted conference.

  11. Avatar Gray Rothkopf May 15, 2009 @ 1:45 pm
    Reply

    As a VAR and hosting partner, we’ve had a positive relationship with Zimbra, and now Zimbra/Yahoo! for more than a few years. At this point, with clients in more than 75 countries, we’re exclusively focused on supporting Zimbra for more than 1200 organizations, either hosted or remotely maintained. We’re looking forward to the new program, the investment it represents in our channel, and the opportunities it brings to further evangelize the Zimbra software, and the Zimbra team that keeps it fresh and innovative.

    Other VARs out there in search of quality open source based software with a commercial layer representing a sustainable business model might consider Zimbra. Learn the ins-and-outs of the software, work within the open system Zimbra uses to help democratize the development process (see here and here) and help grow the market for Exchange alternatives, platform-independent groupware. Check out the program here.

    While to date we have been generalists, with clients in most industries, and our development has focused mostly on automation, integration and reporting tools meant to make it easier for smaller organizations to get up-and-running quickly, and for larger organizations and resellers to manage many mailboxes, I think there’s more that can be done there, and also still plenty of room to distinguish oneself as a VAR or hosting partner by selecting a particular industry vertical, or specializing in integration with a particular product or service you know well, as many of the existing VARs and Hosting Partners have done or are doing: here and here.

    With Zimbra 6, due later this year, and cross domain administration, there should be even greater opportunities for many layers of resellers, direct and indirect. I think Zimbra’s new partner program and investment in it are outward indications that Zimbra recognizes this opportunity, and is preparing to develop it. There’s a Zimbra roadmap here.

  12. Avatar The VAR Guy May 16, 2009 @ 11:36 am
    Reply

    Gray: Please keep The VAR Guy posted as you push into new markets, expand your Zimbra footbrint, etc. The VAR Guy is always looking for customer case studies, etc., involving SaaS and hosted software in the channel.

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