Program will allow third parties to resell Apps Premier, which costs US$50 per user per year.

Google Inc., today announced the launch of a reseller program for the paid version of its Apps hosted collaboration and communication suite. The company says that this program will allow third parties to resell Apps Premier, which costs US$50 per user per year. It further states that resellers can be IT service providers, VARs, system integrators, consultants, software vendors and ISPs. The company articulates that this Apps reseller program is an extension of the partner programs it has had for some time for its enterprise products, like Apps and the enterprise search device Search Appliance.

The company explains that fostering the creation of an active reseller community for Apps Premier is the latest step in that direction. Resellers are able to provide the dedicated, one-on-one support that large organizations often require throughout the lifecycle of their enterprise software products. It adds that it will offer Apps Premier licenses at a 20 percent discount to resellers, and provide training, support, and tools for sales and marketing.

The company claims that resellers will be able to bundle their own complementary IT services with the sale of the suite to generate additional revenue. It adds that only resellers will handle the billing process for Apps Premier. The company claims that about 50 partners have been participating in the reseller program's pilot phase and it will begin giving partners the green light to resell Apps Premier toward the end of March.

"In general, there has been a lot more awareness about cloud computing [recently] and about the transition [to that model] that has been taking place," said Rishi Chandra, senior product manager of Google Apps. "Many partners have been coming to us and telling us they see the [cloud computing] momentum and that they want to get involved."