Top 100 Cloud Services Providers List 2013: Ranked 10 to 1

By samdizzy

10. NetSuite, San Mateo, CA, USA: The cloud-based ERP provider continues to enjoy rapid growth – and an expanding channel partner base. NetSuite’s business expanded about 31 percent to $308 million in 2012. Channel Sales VP Craig West has been recruiting Microsoft partners into the NetSuite program. Among West’s innovations: The NetSuite SP100 program – which offers partners 100 percent of first-year revenues for new customer engagements. NetSuite also runs one of the top cloud partner and user conferences each year – called SuiteWorld. The next conference is set for May 12-15, 2014 in San Jose. Top Exec: Zachary Nelson, CEO & President

9. Rackspace, San Antonio, TX, USA: No doubt, Rackspace has a strong cloud presence and the company continues to grow. But Rackspace also is a company in transition as Wall Street calls for even faster growth. Plus, channel executives like Christopher Rajiah have left the company. Despite those challenges, Rackspace’s top-line cloud revenues still pushed the company into the top 10 portion of our list. Plus, OpenStack – the open source cloud platform – could begin to generate revenues for Rackspace in the next 12 to 18 months or so. Top Exec: Lanham Napier, CEO

8. Terremark (a Verizon Company), Miami, FL, USA:Terremark is in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for managed hosting in both Europe and North America. The company in early 2013 ​expanded its enterprise cloud services on both continents. Among the key enhancements: Federal-grade security controls (previously available exclusively through the Enterprise Cloud Federal Edition) are now available to all commercial customers. Top Exec: Christopher Drumgoole, Senior VP, Global Operations

7. SoftLayer (IBM), Dallas, TX, USA:Acquired by IBM in mid-2013, SoftLayer had been the largest privately held cloud services provider (CSP) in the United States. Known mostly for its infrastructure, SoftLayer also has its own software platform to rapidly onboard customers and partners. Pundits think that’s the main reason IBM acquired the company. And in the long run, SoftLayer could provide a boost to Big Blue’s SmartCloud strategy – which hasn’t really competed effectively against Amazon.com, Windows Azure and other public cloud services. Top Exec: Lance Crosby, CEO

6. SAP, Walldorf, Germany: Best known for its on-premises enterprise software business, SAP has also pushed hard into cloud computing – and revenues there are growing fast. For its most recent fiscal year, cloud revenues grew nearly 90 percent to $668 million. The company’s SaaS platform — Business ByDemand – is catching on with mid-market customers and channel partners in that industry segment. Still, SAP remains in cloud revenue catch-up mode vs. major rivals like Oracle. Top Exec: William McDermottt, CEO

5. Google, Mountain View, CA, USA:More than 6,000 channel partners now support Google Apps for Business. Many of them – including Cloud Sherpas and SADA Systems – are successful enough in their own right to land on this list. The Google Apps reseller program is both simple and powerful – offering only a few options and complete billing control for channel partners. Ironically, Google was far ahead of Microsoft with the cloud partner billing capabilities. Over the next year, Talkin’ Cloud expects Google App Engine – the Amazon Web Services and Windows Azure alternative – to also gain channel partner momentum. Watch for resellers to launch applications on App Engine, while also integrating the services with Google Apps like Gmail. Top Exec: Larry Page, CEO          

4. Oracle, Redwood City, CA, USA: Oracle is pushing a “run anywhere” strategy that allows customers to leverage the company’s software on-premises or in the exact same configuration in the Oracle Cloud. Though late to market compared to Amazon Web Services, Windows Azure and Office 365, CEO Larry Ellison seems to have Oracle on track for continued cloud growth. In fact, the company already generates more than $1 billion from recurring cloud services revenues. Also, an Oracle Cloud partner program allows resale partners to manage end-customer billing and pricing – a key feature that rival programs like Microsoft Office 365 have widely lacked until recently. Jeff Porter, Oracle’s director of worldwide alliances and channels, deserves much of the credit for the partner program. While Wall Street in mid-2013 was somewhat concerned about Oracle’s software licensing and hardware business, it sounds like Oracle Cloud is off to a fast start. Top Exec: Larry Ellison, CEO

3. Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA:Although Microsoft’s desktop and mobile businesses are struggling to grow, the company’s cloud business appears to be thriving. More than half of all Fortune 500 companies now leverage Windows Azure for some workloads. And Office 365’s annual revenue run rate pushed beyond $1.5 billion in mid-2013. Now, channel partners like 365 Command are building Office 365 add-on management tools for VARs and MSPs. Microsoft also is expanding the Office 365 Open partner program – which allows partners to manage end-customer billing and pricing. Still, there’s room for more improvement. Channel partners say Microsoft offers far too many cloud SKUs compared to rivals like Google Apps for Business. But don’t underestimate Microsoft. Office 365 is roughly two years old – and seemingly gains more momentum every month. Top Exec: Steve Ballmer, CEO

2. Amazon, Seattle, WA, USA:Amazon Web Services has delivered 37 price cuts since launching in 2006 – providing customers and channel partners with a scalable on-demand infrastructure that seems to gain more momentum each quarter. Along the way, channel-friendly companies like Kaseya and LabTech Software have shifted their management tools to Amazon’s cloud – giving MSPs and VARs on-demand access to the offerings. By mid-2013, Amazon actually beat out IBM for a major government cloud contract. So what’s next? Keep a close eye on AWS re:Invent – an annual partner and customer conference that highlights recent cloud deployments and milestones. Top Exec: Jeff Bezos, CEO and President

1. Salesforce.com, San Francisco, CA, USA:Top-line revenues grew 35 percent to $3 billion last year, making Salesforce.com the largest publically held CSP. But far more important for channel partners is the Force.com platform – which empowers next-generation ISVs for success. Plus, the Salesforce AppExchange now has 1,800 partner apps in place. More recently, cloud services brokerages like Cloud Sherpas have been betting heavily on Salesforce.com migrations and consulting, driving even more revenues toward CEO Marc Benioff’s company. Top Exec: Marc Benioff, CEO