Synnex Lands Google's G Suite Productivity Tools, Unlocking A Massive Margin Bump for Partners

Synnex has become the first distributor to carry Google's G Suite productivity and collaboration tools, which the company says will help provide partners with a double-digit margin boost.

The Fremont, Calif.-based distributor said carrying an additional collaboration solution will give resellers more choices in meeting changing customer needs. The partnership will enable end users to quickly and easily access G Suite's set of intelligent apps, which include Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, and Hangouts.

"Offering G Suite allows Synnex to offer additional cloud-based collaboration tools to enable resellers and end customers to have more options when purchasing," Rob Moyer, Synnex's vice president of cloud, software and mobility solutions, told CRN in an emailed response to questions.

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Partners offering a complete Google solution including G Suite, a cloud-based device, services and management can expect to see a double-digit increase in their margins, Moyer said. Synnex's Google team will train and enable solution providers to offer a complete solution around G Suite by diving deep into opportunity management, cross-sell and up-sell prospects, and services engagement, Moyer said.

Moyer said solution providers can resell G Suite to their customers under one of two recurring revenue plans: either a flexible, monthly option, or an annual, renewable option. Synnex will offer partners an array of end-to-end technical services for G Suite including change management, discovery and assessment, training, migration, integration, deployment and post-sales support, Moyer said.

Synnex has been on the leading edge of Google's go-to-market channel strategy before.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Google tapped Synnex back in January 2014 to be the first distributor to carry its Chrome Management Console, a web-based tool that allows partners to deploy and remotely manage thousands of Chromebooks. Synnex authorized 175 resellers for the Chrome Management Console In the first 90 days after the distribution pact was struck, the company said at the time.

Gaining access to the G Suite enables partners to provide their customers with the complete Google Cloud solution, Moyer said. G Suite includes three apps installed on more than a billion smartphones, and has more than three million paying business customers, Prabhakar Raghavan, leader of the G Suite team, said earlier this month.

G Suite has gone from "applications crafted for consumers and outfitted for enterprises after the fact, to having an enterprise-first focus," Raghavan said during the Google Cloud Next 2017 Conference. Storage service Google Drive currently has more than 800 million monthly active users, Raghavan said, and is expected to soon become another billion-user product for Google.

Google recently unveiled several new storage and communication services to improve G Suite's collaboration capabilities. These include: Vault for Drive, which adds data management capabilities and protection tools; Hangouts Meet, which will streamline and simplify the process of joining meetings; and File Steam, which simplifies access for users working with Windows and Apple client machines.

Adding G Suite will allow Synnex partners to do more from a client advocacy perspective since they can bring both Office 365 and Google's competing offering to clients and explore what makes the most sense where, according to Kevin Torner, executive vice president at Erb's Technology Solutions.

Clients of Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based Erb's know Office 365 very well, Torner said, and not many are interested in switching from a 100 percent Microsoft to a 100 percent Google environment. But some customers are open to vetting tools like G Suite and having Google co-exist with Microsoft in areas where it makes sense, Torner said.

Erb's engagement with Google has primarily revolved around selling Chromebooks and other hardware into SLED (state and local government, and education) accounts, Torner said, though the devices are also starting to gain traction among healthcare and financial customers for cost and security reasons.

The solution provider hasn't yet had much success selling the Google Cloud, but Torner said Erb's is having planning conversations with a handful of large customers who are seriously considering moving some workloads to Google.

Sourcing Google through Synnex has not only unlocked the distributor's support, Torner said, but has also resulted in Google employees visiting Erb's client sites in Iowa, which customers tend to think is really cool. All told, Torner said Synnex has been visionary in bringing new offerings to the channel.

"It [Synnex's investment in Google] has positioned us neatly, and is a nice addition," Torner said. "It's driving business for me, and it's driving business for them."