Affiliate Programs and Affiliate Reviews
With little public fanfare, SAP and Google announced a strategic alliance to integrate SAP’s BusinessByDesign and Google Apps during an "influencer" forum last month. Although senior executives from both companies boasted about the significance of this joint initiative, neither issued a public announcement, and little press coverage ensued from the event.
The success of the cloud movement over the past year has spawned a proliferation of players seeking to win a share of this rapidly growing market. While the market opportunities appear to be endless, the "cloud rush" effect that has overtaken the industry is making it more difficult than ever for companies to clearly differentiate themselves and gain a leadership position in their particular segment of the market.
Oracle’s recent acquisition of RightNow raises a question: Can multiple cloud companies be merged together to form a tightly coupled suite of solutions like those which were promised but never delivered during the client-server era? On the face of things, it would appear that merging cloud companies together should be relatively easy and straightforward.
When people think of traditional channel companies in the tech industry, a wide array of distributors, systems integrators, or value-added resellers usually comes to mind. These players have an important role in the cloud, but a new form of cloud-enabled channel is also beginning to emerge. The traditional role of the channel has been to extend the reach of vendors into new geographic or vertical markets.
When people think of traditional channel companies in the tech industry, a wide array of distributors, systems integrators, or value-added resellers usually comes to mind. These players have an important role in the cloud, but a new form of cloud-enabled channel is also beginning to emerge. The traditional role of the channel has been to extend the reach of vendors into new geographic or vertical markets.