Google has started a program in which resellers can begin selling Google Apps to businesses. Naturally, you would sell the apps to customers, and then kick up money to Google.
“We’ve been fine-tuning the program for the past few months, working with more than 50 pilot resellers to make sure it’s a good fit with our partners’ needs,” says Google Director of Enterprise Channels, Paul Slakey.
As more companies look to cloud computing for their business needs, it makes sense that Google would push a program like this. Remember that Google extended it’s 99.9% uptime guarantee from Gmail to other Google Apps, so this should be a good selling point. The following video sums up the reseller program:
Participants in the Google Apps Authorized Reseller Program will receive the following from Google:
– Technical training and reseller support
– Sales tools and training
– Marketing programs, collateral, and tools
– Reseller discount off the annual list price for Google Apps Premier Edition
– Reseller logo branding
– Solution provider community forums
– Integration into the front-line customer support flow
– Console to create and manage customer accounts
– Opportunities for other performance-based benefits
Responsibilities of participants will include finding and selling to customers, activating and deploying them, and managing billing and collection. Google says the people that best fit the profile for the program are those that: have adopted and are strong advocates of the Software-as-a-Service model, engaged in a managed services contract model with customers, go beyond technology implementation and provide business guidance on technology adoption, and are interested in and willing to grow their business.
If this is something you are interested in, you can find Google’s application form here. Plenty more info about the program is available here as well.
