Cloud business app store launches

IT resellers are about to get the chance to cash in on the cloud movement in the SME space, with Exeed launching its business app store for resellers this month.Mycloudstore allows resellers to provide cloud-delivered applications to the SME market and will launch with 10 applications on offer after recently signing SalesForce.com – the only non-Kiwi application currently offered via the platform – and vWorkApp, a dispatch solution.

Justin Tye, Exeed managing director, says Mycloudstore enables resellers to participate in a market they have previously been cut out of, receiving commissions and, in some cases, annuities and professional services opportunities.

"There is a migration to the cloud. That’s a real trend. And some resellers are going to start missing out [on sales because of it],” he says. "All of the applications active in the store are ones that could not have been sold by resellers previously – they’ve all been sold direct. That’s got to be compelling for resellers.”

As recommenders of solutions, resellers make a commission on any ‘sales’. "All they have to do is talk to a customer, ask if they need applications, if they do, chances are we’ll have something to suit and then they register the customer’s interest. We feed the leads out [to the app vendor] who contacts the customer and talks them through the sale. It removes the need for resellers to have a whole lot of internal expertise [on all of the applications]."Resellers receive payment for the successful activation of a service and in many cases they will receive an annuity payment,” Tye says. "And then there are attached professional services opportunities as well.”

He says the most obvious resellers to benefit from Mycloudstore will be those ‘whose bread and butter is the one to 20 seat market’. "But also those in the space higher than that – resellers who may be targeting larger customers but who are interested in reaching an audience of smaller customers.”

Tye says franchises, such as NeedANerd and Computer Troubleshooters, are the most obvious place to start.

The system was put through its paces last month by about 20 resellers, with a national roadshow kicking off in Auckland March 12. The roadshow takes in Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Hamilton before ending in Tauranga March 21. Mycloudstore is expected to launch around March 12.

Applications available cover accounting, email security, payroll, job management, point-of-sale, backup and inventory management as well as CRM and dispatch. A global mobile security and device management offering is also available.

Tye says Mycloudstore will continue to add applications so long as they don’t compete with each other.

"There are lots more to add, it’s just about working with [the vendors] so they understand our model and making sure the pricing structure works so resellers can make some money.”

Check it out here.