Resellers Gain New Google Apps Backup Management Option

Google Apps may be in the cloud, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to be backed up. And where there’s backup, there ought to be reseller and MSP business. That is what Spanning Cloud Apps, Inc. apparently reckons as it just launched the Spanning Authorized Reseller Console. Just as Google Apps offers a unified view of customer apps and data, the new console does the same for resellers managing and monitoring the backups.

“The Spanning Authorized Reseller Console enables our partners to manage all aspects of their customers’ use of Spanning Backup, and is a clear indication of Spanning’s commitment to supporting our reseller partners,” argued Jeff Erramouspe, Spanning’s chief revenue office.

One reseller likes what he sees. “This is exactly the tool we need to manage our growing Spanning Backup business,” said Rob Morgan, managing director, PIT Group. “Accessing all of our customer implementations in a single view is a tremendous timesaver and supports our ability to effectively track their information and respond to their needs.”

The Spanning backup solution itself spans across the entire suite of Google Apps, including Gdrive, Apps, Contacts, Calendar and Sites. The console, meanwhile, lets the reseller see all the clients along with their backup status. It can then “compare the number of Spanning licenses to the number of Google accounts and identify the percentage of customer Google accounts covered with Spanning Backup. Resellers can also view the subscription period for each customer, receipts for all reseller purchases and specify contact information for customers with billing and support questions,” the company explained.

By understanding the client’s backup needs and end users, resellers can set appropriate price levels. Spanning started three years ago with the mission of offering backup and recovery services for Google Apps, and now counts thousands of companies as customers. Other market players include RackSpace and Backupify.