By K R Nambiar, CRN, May 15 2008, 1700 hrs
Jamcracker, one of the leading Software as a Service (SasS) provider, is all set to roll out a channel initiative to sell its on-demand software services. The Jamcracker Services Delivery Network (JSDN) offers software of vendors such as Microsoft, Cisco, Postini, Zimbra, Yahoo, Caseya, Motorola, McAfee. The company hopes to engage approximately 500 channel partners during the first phase of its channel rollout.
Founded in 1999 by K B Chandrasekhar, Jamcracker aggregates and distributes on-demand services through a global ecosystem of service providers, VARs, system integrators, and ISVs. "Our business model is fairly simple. We have signed Master Distributon Agreements with some of the biggest software vendors worldwide, and we offer their products as a hosted service to customers using our own delivery network. Hence, a customer can pick and choose the software they require and pay only for what they use. They also save on the additional costs of dedicated hardware, personnel and consultants, resulting in tremendous savings," explained M Lakshmi Narayan Rao, Associated Director – Marketing, Jamcracker Software, India.
The JSDN model offers the services on a monthly subscription model. "You can opt in and opt out of services you require depending on the changing requirements at your end. Everything is on demand, and you do not have to wait for the software to be deployed," explained Rao.
The current licensing model demands that the reseller equip themselves with the right kind of certification and invest in man power to sell some of the software solutions. However, SaaS promises to change that for channels. "If a reseller needs to actively sell Webex, he needs to be a Cisco partner and preferably Cisco certified. But as a Jamcracker reseller, he can sell software from a number of vendors without having a formal relationship. Moreover the JSDN takes care of billing, support, collection and other needs of the customer. We will promptly pay a commission to the channel partner,” pointed Rao.
According to Gartner group, the SaaS opportunity globally is estimated to be around $19.1 billion by 2011, while the Indian market is tipped to touch $165 million by 2010, says a report from Springboard.
"We feel the big opportunities lie with the SMB segment. Today an average reseller is more equipped to sell hardware than software in the country. Partnering with us, the reseller can address almost all kinds of opportunity in software reselling," explained Rao.
Jamcracker is all set to make a formal announcement during the third week of May. The company feels that almost 10,000 resellers in the country can benefit by being a SaaS reseller. In the first phase, the company hopes to rope in 500 resellers to sell their services. |