In a bid to capitalise on the slowly growing number of businesses in Australia making the move to Google Apps, US firm Cloud Sherpas has now opened its first Australian office in Sydney that will provide local support and advice for customers.
Cloud Sherpas originally began reselling Google’s App suite that provides businesses with a number of cloud-based Google apps including Gmail, Docs, Calendar and Video.
However the company has since expanded their offerings, building a business that provides sales, support and customisation of Google’s cloud platform for businesses both small and large that it says will assist them in supporting Australian businesses looking for a cloud solution. “We’ve heard that businesses in New Zealand and Australia have been slower to embrace cloud computing,” Jon Hallett, CEO for Cloud Sherpas said in a statement this week.
“But from what we’ve seen, companies in this market are aggressively looking to replace on-premise email and collaboration products with cloud-native platforms — particularly Google Apps.” It’s unclear at this stage how many staff Cloud Sherpas will have in the Sydney office, but Hallett says more will be added “quickly” thanks to the announcement overnight of the acquisition of New Zealand-based Google Apps reseller WaveAdept.
“We plan to staff up quickly in New Zealand and Australia, but the acquisition of WaveAdept gives us immediate help from senior managers and Google experts who know the local market inside-and-out,” Hallett noted.
Google Enterprise Sales Director for APAC Richard Suhr welcomed Cloud Sherpas move Down Under, and credits resellers of Google Apps as playing a “key” role in the platforms growth in popularity. “Google Apps Resellers have played a key role in the growth of Google Apps, and we’re delighted to see Cloud Sherpas move into this region,” Suhr said.
Google itself has recently undertaken a number of initiatives including a boost in advertising and running local events to entice local organisations to switch to the cloud. Last month the search giant ran a number of Roadshow events in Melbourne and Sydney, where leaders from Australian organisations were invited to listen to other Australian businesses who’ve already ‘gone Google’ and made the switch.
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