The latest IDC MarketScape report for companies which implement Salesforce solutions confirms the rise of a new class of services business which is focused entirely on cloud solutions…
BlueWolf is acknowledged as a leader in the market, while both Cloud Sherpas and Appirio are acknowledged as major players in a segment which is otherwise populated by more traditional systems integrators such as Deloitte, Accenture and Capgemini.
Cloud Sherpas, a private company which counts the Queensland Investment Corporation among its investors, announced earlier this year that it had seen its global CRM practice grow 40 percent in 2013 to reach an annualised run rate of close to $US150 million. The company provides services and support to the Salesforce, ServiceNow and Google apps ecosystems.
Clearly cloud services has become a big business as corporations look for support deploying and integrating multiple cloud platforms. In the region the company has worked with Fairfax Media, Internet NZ, BioSolar, Shop-a-Docket and Eagle Boys Pizza.
Founded in 2007 the Asia Pacific operations are helmed by general manager for Asia Pacific and Japan, Paul Mansfield who joined Cloud Sherpas following its 2012 merger with Australia based Weblinc.
The company has grown organically and by acquisition. With its Asia Pacific operations headed out of Sydney the company previously acquired Australia based Google apps specialist Devnet and New Zealand’s Wave Adept.
According to Mansfield; “It’s no secret that Australian businesses are gravitating to cloud technologies. What’s interesting is that our customers are now looking specifically at integrated cloud-based solutions, not isolated standalone applications to solve their problems.
“We are seeing a demand from customers that want cloud advisory services to help them determine the core platform and the third party applications in those ecosystems best suited for their business needs.
“Customers still struggle with the age old problem of having too many vendors, contracts, and complex licence structures. The trend today is to streamline the number of applications through agile projects by partnering with ‘cloud brokerage firms’. This allows businesses to deploy multiple solutions in much shorter time periods.”
According to Mansfield; “Six months is a long time in our projects and in today’s market, and it’s imperative that we help our clients stay ahead to create and protect their competitive advantage.”
