Leading Google Apps Solutions Provider Also Secures Series A Financing, Accelerating Company Plans to Migrate Enterprises to Google Apps Platform

ATLANTA, GA – May 3, 2010 – Cloud Sherpas, a leading Google Apps solutions provider, today announced the appointment of Jon Hallett to Chief Executive Officer. Hallett takes over for founder Michael Cohn, under whose leadership Cloud Sherpas achieved profitability. Cohn remains with Cloud Sherpas as Vice President of Marketing and Product Management. Cohn was responsible for focusing Cloud Sherpas on Google Apps before a formal reseller program existed. In two years he and his team helped hundreds of thousands of enterprise employees move to Google Apps by selling the licenses, migrating users and enhancing the usability of Google Apps through Cloud Sherpas’ SherpaTools product.

Hallett steps in to accelerate Google Apps enterprise adoption and to help Cloud Sherpas’ achieve its growth targets. He brings a background in IT services and on- demand infrastructure, and extensive experience raising capital and scaling businesses. Hallett will focus on increasing revenue, profit margin and customer orientation, while extending Cloud Sherpas’ leadership position in the Google Apps channel market.

In related news, Cloud Sherpas completed a Series A financing round. The funding event, to which investors oversubscribed, netted Cloud Sherpas around $1 million. Hallett’s personal investment vehicle Hallett Capital was the lead investor. Hallett’s appointment occurs at a time of remarkable growth for Cloud Sherpas. Over 1,800 organizations representing more than 500,000 employees now use Cloud Sherpas’ products and services. Customers span every geographic region and vertical market including manufacturing, retail, state and local government, real estate, healthcare and technology. Underscoring the company’s commitment to customers, 100% of clients renewed their Google Apps license at the time of their annual renewal date.

Cloud Sherpas’ success mirrors that of Google Apps. The platform, which brings simple, powerful communication and collaboration tools to organizations, is used by over two million businesses as a substitute for products from Microsoft, IBM and others.

Hallett is a technology industry veteran who founded or led multiple successful consulting, SaaS and managed services companies. Prior to Cloud Sherpas, Hallett was Executive Chairman at Northridge Systems, a provider of collaboration solutions to large and midmarket enterprises, where he helped architect a company strategy that led to market-leading growth and profitability; he remains chairman of the board. Previously, Hallett was an independent board member and CEO advisor at Vocalocity, a fast- growing VOIP-centric SaaS company; he continues to serve as an independent director. Hallett also was a company director and turnaround executive at IT solutions firm mindSHIFT Technologies, where he helped drive 400% improvement in revenue while taking the company to positive cash flow. Earlier he held executive management positions at AppNet (acquired by CommerceOne) and was CEO at NMP, a consulting, SaaS and managed services company, at which he returned over 20x invested capital to his institutional investors.

“We have aggressive plans to expand our national footprint and help more companies realize the cost and productivity benefits of Google Apps,” said Hallett. “The additional capital allows us to accelerate these plans, including continued development of SherpaTools and other vertically oriented products so companies can more fully leverage Google Apps. The market opportunity couldn’t be more exciting as we are seeing some of the largest GroupWise, Notes and Exchange loyalists abandoning their on-premise solutions for the cost and feature benefits that Google Apps provides. I look forward to helping them take advantage of the platform, and to leading Cloud Sherpas in its next phase of development.”

About Cloud Sherpas

Cloud Sherpas (www.cloudsherpas.com) is a cloud computing systems integrator and application developer. As a Google Apps Authorized Reseller and leading Google Enterprise partner, we have migrated hundreds of thousands of users from legacy, on- premise messaging systems to Google Apps and Google App Engine, helping organizations adopt cloud computing to innovate and dramatically reduce their IT expenses. SherpaTools for Google Apps (www.sherpatools.com) enhances the functionality and ease-of-use of Google Apps for both administrators and end-users and is available in the Google Apps Marketplace (http://bit.ly/SherpaTools).

Cloud Sherpas to host webinar on migrating enterprise messaging and collaboration to the cloud

Businesses are responding to the value proposition of Google Apps in a big way. According to a tweet by Dave Girouard, President of Google Enterprise, more than 5000 businesses signed up for Google Apps last Thursday alone!

For those of you Novell GroupWise users considering the switch, we welcome you to join our webinar on Thursday, December 3rd from 2:30-3:30pm EDT. During this one-hour event Cloud Sherpas will share our specialized approach for migrating GroupWise enterprises to Google Apps. You’ll also hear Jay Kenney, CIO of Lincoln Property Company, tell his story of migrating his GroupWise users to Google Apps, and have an opportunity to ask questions. As a business executive or IT professional of your organization, you don’t want to miss this webinar — reserve your spot today.

Update: The slides from the GroupWise webinar are now available:

Company to Host Seminar Focused on Lotus Migrations to Google Apps

Atlanta, Georgia (PRWEB) July 14, 2009 — Cloud Sherpas, a leading Google Apps™ systems integrator and application developer, is pleased to announce the addition of Jeffrey Miller to its management team. Jeff will lead the professional services practice at Cloud Sherpas, driving successful deployments of Google Apps in enterprise accounts.

“We are delighted that Jeff has joined the Cloud Sherpas team to focus on our Google Apps business,” said Michael Cohn, CEO of Cloud Sherpas. “His unique perspective on the business decisions facing CIO’s today will drive tremendous value for our clients and the company as a whole.”

Jeff brings over 15 years experience managing enterprise knowledge management and information collaboration technologies. Most recently, he successfully led the migration of over 30,000 Lotus Notes/Domino users to the cloud. Jeff led the design, implementation, operations and support of both the legacy on-premise Lotus infrastructure and the new cloud environment.

“I am extremely excited to join the Cloud Sherpas team,” said Miller. “Google is ushering in a new era of enterprise information technology with Google Apps, and Cloud Sherpas is on the forefront of the ecosystem delivering exceptional customer service and a unique set of products that make Google Apps more valuable to enterprise customers.”

One group of IT decision makers in particular is taking a closer look at Google’s cloud computing solution. “It’s no surprise enterprises running Lotus Notes/Domino are looking for alternatives,” says Miller. “The cost savings and IT simplification benefits of Google Apps can’t be ignored.”

In response to market demand, Cloud Sherpas is hosting a seminar on Thursday, August 13, focused on exploring the business and technical advantages of migrating a Lotus Notes/Domino infrastructure to Google Apps. The event will take place at the Google Atlanta office in conjunction with Ferris Research, BinaryTree and Google.

Visit www.cloudsherpas.com/leaving-lotus to register for Leaving Lotus — Making the Switch from Lotus Notes/Domino to Google Apps. And follow @cloudsherpas on twitter for updates on how you can participate in a live Q&A session via twitter with the panelists on the day of the event.

About Cloud Sherpas

Cloud Sherpas (www.cloudsherpas.com) is a cloud computing systems integrator and application developer. As a leading Google Enterprise partner, Cloud Sherpas helps organizations leverage Google Apps and Google App Engine to dramatically reduce IT expenses. The company delivers deployment, change management, support and development services to commercial, enterprise and educational institutions seeking to adopt cloud computing.

Cloud Sherpas is a Google Apps Authorized Reseller and enterprise deployment partner. The company also supports cloud computing solutions from EMC/Decho, TriCipher and other best-in-breed vendors.

Google, Google Apps and Google Apps Authorized Reseller are trademarks of Google Inc. Lotus, Notes and Domino are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.

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By Alison Diana

By forming a partner program and forging relationships with solution providers, Google is further spurring SMB adoption of Google Apps and other Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technologies.

Google’s reseller program, unveiled in January, is open to all–from multinational global integrators to small VARs, says Stephen Cho, director of Google Apps channels. SMB VARs, he says, are essential to meeting the company’s business and channel design goals. “The smaller firm is being served by the smaller VAR or IT consultancy. That is where they go for advice and implementation,” notes Cho. “Some of these smaller companies might know about Google Apps and proactively want to migrate to it on their own, but we believe they would do this only under the advice and guidance of a company they trust.”

To help SMB partners successfully sell into, implement, and support their clients’ SaaS efforts, Google’s program includes a Web portal with business and technical information, online discussion groups, sales and technical training, and customer marketing materials. Reseller tools also help VARs set up customers and provision users. Management functions and integration APIs for directory synchronization, migration, and single sign-on are available as well, according to the Mountain View, Calif.-based developer.

FEEDBACK FROM PARTNERS
“Google is a great company to work with,” says Eran Gil, vice president of business development at Atlanta-based Cloud Sherpas, which targets midsize and enterprise clients. Gil’s company has worked with other large organizations, and knows how the channel model works. But Google is different. “They have their own concept of how to run the channel. They provide a lot of touch points into the organization and are open to allowing the channel to engage with [them],” he says.

Google’s willingness to communicate is one of the company’s biggest strengths, says Irfan Khan, chairman of Agosto Inc., a Minneapolis-based MSP and integrator. “One thing Google does well is listen,” he says.

While partners know the program is evolving, they say it needs more work. Solution providers want deal registration, for example, which is not currently offered, says Khan, adding that the company should also expand training and enhance marketing and channel communication tools. “They haven’t, in my opinion, put a lot of energy into the channel,” he says. “But the good news is they’re changing. I would expect, in a year, a lot of those things will be rectified.”

Google confirms that its program is a work in progress. “We’re at the beginning,” Cho says. “For us, it’s really [about] making sure we keep the momentum going-that in a world of constrained resources we continue to deliver the things our partners need to be successful. I’m encouraged by what I see going on around the company. There is not a pretense that we have all the answers. At the same time, we are doing things differently.”

GROWING MARKET FOR SAAS
With a lower cost of entry and clients’ ability to shed energy-hungry, space-hogging server farms, SaaS is quickly becoming an attractive alternative to on-premise applications. Google, with its brand recognition and easy-to-use design, could further spur sales, say partners, especially to smaller firms that can’t afford costly, time-consuming training.

The economy is also encouraging businesses to adopt SaaS. By the end of this year, 76 percent of organizations in the United States will have at least one SaaS implementation, according to a January 2009 IDC report. And about 45 percent of businesses will spend at least 25 percent of their IT budgets on SaaS solutions, says the research firm.

“There’s a lot of pressure on IT budgets. It’s just very clear that you can cut your licensing expenditure with Microsoft by going with Google Apps,” says Khan. “The savings are in hundreds of thousands of dollars. In general, customers that have used SaaS products like Salesforce.com are more open to this conversation.”

Agosto has successfully implemented Google Apps at a number of its clients, including cash-strapped SMB retailers. For its part, Cloud Sherpas also has won business from other hard-hit verticals. “Customers in low-margin or slim-margin businesses-such as manufacturing and commodity services or products–are looking into it more than others, and drive decision making a lot faster. But you can certainly see adoption across the board,” says Michael Cohn, Cloud Sherpas’ CEO.

With heavy hitters such as Google and Microsoft extolling the virtues of SaaS, solution providers have strong allies in their efforts to migrate clients from the old to the new. Developers have equally strong allies in their channel partners who translate the technology’s promise into cold, hard cash for thousands of SMBs.

ALISON DIANA has been writing about the channel for more than 15 years.

This story was originally published in ChannelPro-SMB.

Leverages Google’s Cloud to Enable Deep Enterprise Integrations

Atlanta, Georgia — April 8, 2009 — Cloud Sherpas, a leading Google Apps™ systems integrator, announced today the formation of a Google App Engine™ development practice dedicated to extending the utility of Google Apps in enterprise deployments. The team will leverage Google App Engine and eventually the new Java™ language support to enable deep integrations and build innovative products for the Google Apps ecosystem.

“The drive to reduce cost has created a groundswell of demand for Google Apps among large institutions and enterprise customers,” says Michael Cohn, CEO of Cloud Sherpas. “With Java language support, Google App Engine offers an open, scalable platform for organizations to integrate Google Apps with other applications, build custom workflow applications, and migrate legacy workloads to the cloud.”

Google App Engine is built on Google’s computing infrastructure and is optimized to run Web applications. Unlike other infrastructure services, applications deployed on App Engine more reliably autoscale to meet spikes in demand without the need to buy excess capacity. And since customers are only billed for actual usage, App Engine is an ideal pay-as-you-go platform that further drives cost down.

“Cloud Sherpas has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to execute in Google Apps deployments, said Scott McMullan, Google Apps Partner Lead. “We’re excited to have them at Campfire One and expect to see their dedicated team develop unique Google Apps extensions and stand-alone products.”

At Google’s Campfire One event tonight, Google announced an early look at App Engine’s Java language support. “Google has responded to developer feedback,” said David Hoff, VP of Technology at Cloud Sherpas. “The new set of App Engine features, including scheduled tasks, more secure access to firewalled data, and of course, an early look at support for Java programming language, allows enterprise customers to extend Google Apps like never before to meet the unique challenges of their business.”

Cloud Sherpas also published a white paper today entitled “Extending Google Apps with Java for App Engine.” The white paper offers a high-level overview of the Google App Engine stack and describes an approach for integrating custom applications with Google Apps. Please visit www.cloudsherpas.com/whitepapers/gae.html to download the white paper. You can also meet the Cloud Sherpas team at the upcoming Google I/O conference on May 27-28.

About Cloud Sherpas
Cloud Sherpas (www.cloudsherpas.com) is a cloud computing systems integrator and application developer. As a leading Google Enterprise partner, Cloud Sherpas helps organizations leverage Google Apps and Google App Engine to dramatically reduce IT expenses. The company delivers deployment, change management, support and development services to commercial, enterprise and educational institutions seeking to adopt cloud computing.

Cloud Sherpas is a Google Apps Authorized Reseller and enterprise deployment partner. The company also supports cloud computing solutions from EMC/Decho, TriCipher and other best-in-breed vendors.

Google, Google App Engine, Secure Data Connector, Google Enterprise Partner, Google Apps and Google Apps Authorized Reseller are trademarks of Google Inc. Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.

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Atlanta Business Chronicle – by Urvaksh Karkaria Staff Writer
Friday, April 3, 2009

Atlanta startup Cloud Sherpas recently raised $170,000.

The company — one of many that populate the cloud computing ecosystem — resells, integrates and custom develops Google Apps, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) suite of business email, information sharing and security applications.

“We are one of Google’s top business partners in the country,” Cloud Sherpas CEO Michael Cohn said Friday.

The new money will be used for product development.

“We are growing,” Cohn said. “We are hiring people,”

With consumer demand in paralysis, companies are scrutinizing every expense to resuscitate the bottom line. Many businesses are turning to SaaS applications which require lower upfront costs.

The corporate penny pinching trend puts Cloud Sherpas in a market sweet spot.

Using Google Apps, Cohn said, Cloud Sherpas can help enterprise customers save about 70 percent over traditional messaging and collaboration software like Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes.

“There’s an incredible demand for Google apps [among large companies],” Cohn said.

Cloud Sherpas, which has raised more than $300,000, is focused on growing marketshare in the mid-size and large enterprise market. The company expects 2009 revenues of between $1 million and $2 million.

By Liz McMillan
January 16, 2009

Cloud Sherpas has announced it has been selected to join the Google Apps Authorized Reseller program. Cloud Sherpas extends the power of Google across the enterprise by helping customers get more value from their Google Apps deployments. Cloud Sherpas launched a series of Google Apps Enterprise Solutions Marketplace offerings, bundling data migration and system integration services with best practices training and responsive first-level application support.

Google Apps Premier Edition offers a set of enterprise Messaging, Collaboration, Security and Compliance services, and enables Cloud Sherpas to deliver a set of cloud computing products and services.

As an Authorized Reseller of Google Apps, Cloud Sherpas is working with enterprise customers to leverage tools such as Gmail webmail service, Google Talk voice, video and instant messaging service, Google Calendar, Google Docs productivity suite, and Google Sites enterprise wiki and intranet to work together more effectively. Combined with storage solutions from EMC, Cloud Sherpas now offers rapid deployment services, system integration expertise and ongoing application support for a number of enterprise-ready cloud computing solutions.

September 12, 2008, by Allan Maurer

ATLANTA—Cloud computing providers such as Google, EMC and others rely on a channel partner to educate, train, migrate and support firms using their products. Cloud Sherpas, a startup founded in July and one of 15 in the Atlanta CapVenture program this year, plans to be that guide to cloud computing.

Founder and CEO Michael Cohn tells TechJournal South the company is self-funded now and seeks a $500,000 angel round to establish itself as a cloud systems integrator.

“We’re building a service practice and a support organization to help companies move to the cloud,” he says. On the Google side, for instance, the company plans to help large organizations migrate from Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes to Google Apps for Enterprise.

The idea is to give firms migrating to the cloud environment “a local throat to choke,” says Cohn.

“Companies with 100 to 2,000 seats is our sweet spot,” he says.

Cohn says the initial stage of the business looks like a consulting organization, but its goal is to build a platform that enables secure integration.

The advantages of cloud computing are obvious, Cohn notes. “It’s a much lower cost (than licensing software outright). It enables a company to reduce capital expense and move the cost to operational expense by paying for IT as a service. Cloud computing takes the concepts of Software as a Service and utility computing and puts them under one umbrella.”

Cloud Sherpas will have a charge back on vendor per seat fees and will charge a recurring support fee, which Cohn says will be “nominal.”

“If you compare the cost of total ownership to ours, it’s a savings of from 50 to 70 percent while getting higher levels of service,” he says.

“Cloud computing is future proofed. In the traditional model of installed software, you have to update and patch it. In cloud computing, as improvements are made, you get them on the fly. That’s the benefit of multi-tenant architecture.”

Cloud Sherpas currently has a staff of four counting Cohn. “We expect to grow to half a dozen by the end of the year and to 12 by July of next year,” he says.

His partners include Eran Gil, VP of Business Development; David Hoff, VP of Technology, and Neal Miller, CFO.

All have years of experience.

Cohn says CapVenture coaching has been “very valuable.”

“We’re partners with Pete Privateer of Reflex Security (as a coach in the CapVenture program). It’s fantastic that they partner entrepreneurs with seasoned veterans,” he says. “It’s a great benefit to be able to bounce your ideas, your business plan, and your issues off of people who have been there before.

“The access is remarkable for someone who does not necessarily have a deep network in Atlanta. Just getting accepted to CapVenture opened a lot of doors for us. We hope to close a couple of new partnerships in a couple of weeks that are a direct result of being part of the program.

The CapVenture program runs from August 19, 2008 through October 7, 2008 and will conclude with an investor event to be held at the ATDC on October 7, 2008. It is sponsored by the Advanced Technology Development Center and the Technology Association of Georgia.

This year’s coaches include some of Atlanta’s most highly respected entrepreneurs and executives including: Jamie Bardin, James Davis, Mike Eckert, Kelly Gay, Scott Geller, Dave Gould, Doug Hadaway, Sanjoy Malik, Sanjay Parekh, and Peter Privateer.

On the Web: www.cloudsherpas.com; www.atdc.org/capventure/; www.tagonline.org

ATLANTA, Georgia – Aug 19, 2008 – The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) today announced that 15 companies have been selected to participate in the 2008 CapVenture Program – a comprehensive fundraising boot camp for early stage companies. The companies, chosen from a field of nearly 60 applicants, will refine their business and funding strategies as well as sharpen their pitches as they prepare to meet investors at the program celebration/venture conference on October 7, 2008.

“CapVenture has proven to greatly increase the probability of a company successfully raising funds,” said Cindy Cheatham, ATDC Director of Business Development and CapVenture Program Director. “Our selection process for this year’s class was challenging in that we saw increased demand for the program and an uptick in the quality of applications received.”

The companies selected to participate this year include: Arterain Medical, Cloud Sherpas, Event Seek, GadZeus, G2 EcoSolutions, Gotham PC, InterCAX, LocalPrice, ProperNotice, Purewire, Queuent, Radiance Energies, Renovo Data, Servinity, and WORKbits.

The CapVenture program will run from August 19, 2008 through October 7, 2008 and will conclude with an investor event to be held at the ATDC on October 7, 2008. The program, developed by the ATDC staff will be delivered in partnership with the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG). This year’s coaches include some of Atlanta’s most highly respected entrepreneurs and executives including: Jamie Bardin, James Davis, Mike Eckert, Kelly Gay, Scott Geller, Dave Gould, Doug Hadaway, Sanjoy Malik, Sanjay Parekh, and Peter Privateer.

To learn more about CapVenture including viewing a full list of program sponsors, visit http://www.atdc.org/capventure/

About the ATDC

The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is a nationally recognized science and technology incubator that helps Georgia entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. ATDC provides strategic business advice and connects member companies to the people and resources they need to succeed. Based at the Georgia Institute of Technology, ATDC has been recognized by Inc. and BusinessWeek as among the nation’s top nonprofit incubators; more than 100 companies have emerged from the ATDC. Founded in 1980, the ATDC has locations in Atlanta and Savannah. Since 1999, ATDC companies have attracted more than a billion dollars in venture capital funding. For more information, please visit http://www.atdc.org.

About Technology Association of Georgia

The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support its members by generating opportunities for personal, professional and business growth. By forging strategic alliances, TAG serves as a primary catalyst to foster a rich environment for economic development in Georgia’s technology community. TAG is made up of 5200 members representing technology leaders from over 1000 Georgia-based companies, affiliated technology and business organizations. For more information on TAG, visit http://www.tagonline.org