Microsoft and Google both offer reseller programs for their cloud solutions targeting SMBs. Microsoft's program has more partners signed up but lower active participation. It offers various tiers of support and resources for resellers including marketing collateral, training, and financing assistance. Google's program is simpler with fewer resources offered to resellers but also has no fees. The document concludes that while Microsoft has more robust enterprise-grade solutions, Google has a large SMB customer base and may be more affordable initially for startups.

1. Stacking
Up
MS
versus
Google
Reseller
programs
for
the
SMB
cloud
market
1
Microsoft
Apps
for
partners
are
based
on
Win
8
OS
and
O365
platforms.
Microsoft
is
moving
toward
Mobile
first,
Cloud
First
Strategy
and
the
Go
Digital
Initiative
centered
on
devices.
Customer
experience
is
delivered
via
cloud
and
touch
based
user
interface.
2
Google
Biz
Apps
has
recently
come
of
age
and
has
always
been
a
cloud-­‐based
model.
Google
Apps
have
been
traditionally
focused
on
consumers
but
is
now
actively
catering
to
the
SMB
segment.
MICROSOFT
ONLINE
SALES
GOOGLE
APPS
RESELLER
Size:
6000
partners
signed
up
online.
2000
are
active
sellers.
200
are
in
SMB
cloud
Champions
Club.
Microsoft
Partner
Network
(MPN)
has
~430000
businesses.
Apps,
Sales
Strategy
and
Solutions
for
the
21
st
century
sales
force
Size:
6000
partners
signed
up
online
and
actively
selling.
Over
4M
businesses
use
Google
Apps
and
about
5000
sign
up
every
day.
Partner
onboarding:
Easy
to
sign
up
portal
and
a
quick
confirmation
of
partner
registration
status.
Advertising
and
Promotion:
Free
basic
listing
on
MS
Pinpoint
portal
to
reach
the
entire
MPN
partner
ecosystem
and
“get
Found”
search
directory.
Additional
paid
services
for
sponsored
messages
and
participation
in
MS
Worldwide
Advertising
and
Promotion:
Free
basic
listing
on
Google
+
pages.
Google
Worldwide
Partner
conferences
are
not
available.
Champions
Club:
Opportunity
for
about
10%
of
resellers
to
migrate
to
the
SMB
Cloud
Champions
Club.
Additional
sales
and
marketing
support
for
Club
members.
Premier
Reseller:
Must
demonstrate
both
sales
and
deployment
competencies
to
become
part
of
this
program.
Additional
sales
and
marketing
support
for
premier
members.
Partner
S&M
collateral
Portal:
MS
Action
Pack
provides
access
to
MS
Software
Suite
and
extensive
access
to
S&M
collateral
and
lead
generation
to
post
sales
support
tools.
A
one-­‐time
fee
of
$475
is
required
to
subscribe
to
MS
Action
pack.
Partner
S&M
collateral
Portal:
Google
Partner
Connect
portal
provides
extensive
access
to
S&M
collateral
and
lead
generation
to
post
sales
support
tools.
Partner
onboarding:
Easy
sign
up
on
MPN
Portal
but
takes
about
14
days
for
partner
status
confirmation.
Reseller
Training:
Extensive
training
program
with
CPE
credits
that
count
toward
final
certification.
CPE
credits
are
fee
based.
Reseller
Training:
Google
Apps
Certification
program
provides
certifications
for
both
sales
and
deployment.
Conclusion:
MobileForce
concludes
that
MS
offers
robust
Enterprise
Grade
solutions
with
sales
tools
and
education
that
is
better
professionally
structured
than
those
of
Google.
While
MS
solutions
are
time
tested,
Google
is
a
new
entrant
and
typically
plays
in
the
lower
end
of
the
SMB
market,
where
it
has
enormous
goodwill
and
social
network.
MS
solutions,
however,
may
be
expensive
for
a
start-­‐up
firm
that
does
not
want
to
incur
upfront
costs.
However,
if
you
play
in
the
Connected
Devices
business
or
require
CRM/BI
tools,
you’d
have
to
go
with
Microsoft.
Also,
for
customers
that
cannot
migrate
to
Chrome,
upsell
opportunities
remain
with
Microsoft.

2.
MICROSOFT
ONLINE
SALES
GOOGLE
APPS
RESELLER
Partner
Program
Pricing:
Free
to
sign
up
as
a
partner
and
for
basic
tools.
Requires
fees
to
be
paid
to
gain
certifications
and
access
to
advanced
S&M
collateral
and
tools.
Fees
can
also
be
paid
for
additional
advertising
push.
Apps,
Sales
Strategy
and
Solutions
for
the
21
st
century
sales
force
Partner
Program
Pricing:
Free
to
sign
up.
Reseller
agreement
offered
only
upon
signing
up
of
25
Business
Apps.
To
gain
additional
S&M
resources,
there
is
no
fee,
but
requires
additional
customer
acquisition
and
deployment
capabilities.
Solutions
on
offer
for
resale:
Office
productivity,
Google
Cloud
Platform,
File
Storage,
Maps,
Ads,
Voice
&
Messaging
Collaboration
Tools
,Enterprise
Search,
Mobile
Device
Management,
Mobile
Data
Analytics,
Corporate
Social
Network,
Website
Development,
Tablets
for
Education,
Chromebooks
for
Education,
16TB
Cloud
Storage
for
Gov
Employees
Market
Development
Fund
and
Trade
Financing:
Windows
Accelerator
program
provides
MDFs,
Proof
of
Concept
devices,
and
Working
capital
financing.
No
Market
Development
Fund
and
Trade
Financing
Program
Customer
Showcase
Program:
SMB
Platinum
Customer
Evidence
Program
-­‐
a
structured
program
to
take
advantage
of
valuable
customer
testimonials
that
results
in
high
lead
conversion
rates.
Requires
a
paid
subscription.
Premier
Reseller:
Must
demonstrate
both
sales
and
deployment
competencies
to
become
part
of
this
program.
Additional
sales
and
marketing
support
for
premier
members.
Campaign
Design
and
Management
Tool:
Marketing
campaigns
can
be
designed
on
an
extensive
program
called
Get2Modern.
Digital
Marketing
Solutions
are
offered
via
Marketing
Campaign
Management
and
Digital
marketing
support
is
not
offered.
Solutions
on
offer
for
resale:
Office
productivity,
CRM,
Cloud
Infrastructure
Management,
Mobile
Device
Management,
Embedded
Solutions
for
Connected
Devices,
BI
tools,
Voice
&
Messaging
Collaboration
Tools,
Corporate
Social
Network,
Advanced
Database
and
Query,
along
with
Professional
Services
and
Consulting.
Customer
Showcase
Program:
SMB
Platinum
Customer
Evidence
Program
-­‐
a
structured
program
to
take
advantage
of
valuable
customer
testimonials
that
results
in
high
lead
conversion
rates.
No
structured
customer
showcase
program.
Apps
Marketplace:
MS
Apps
Marketplace
along
with
Windows
Azure
cloud
infrastructure
management
solution.
Windows
Intune
MDM
solution
also
offered.
Apps
Marketplace:
Google
Apps
Marketplace
along
with
Google
Cloud
Platform
Infrastructure
Management
solution.
MDM
solution
also
offered.
Consumer
focused
Apps
also
available
for
SMBs.
For
further
information
and
business
inquiries
please
visit
MobileForce’s
website
at
http://www.digitalmobileforce.com