Cloud Sherpas

Cloud Sherpas Named Google Apps Premier Reseller

Kate Borger — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:05:53 +0000

Cloud Sherpas has been named a Google Apps Premier Reseller for both Enterprise and SMB in North America and Asia-Pacific. We are excited to have received this designation, and look forward to providing exceptional service in both sectors of each market.

Formerly an Authorized reseller, we have earned our new Premier status based on our success in helping hundreds of global customers implement Google Apps. Since 2008, we have migrated more than one million end-users to the Google Apps platform and our software and services are used by over 40,000 Google Apps domains.

Home to the largest number of Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialists of any organization other than Google, we will continue to provide exceptional service across the globe.

“We’re pleased to be recognized as a Premier reseller, and we look forward to continuing our work helping enterprise and SMB clients in North America and Asia take full advantage of Google Apps and related Google products,” said Douglas Shepard, CEO for Cloud Sherpas.

Read the press release here.

Cloud Sherpas Becomes a Google Apps Premier Reseller

Kate Borger — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:02:40 +0000

The Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year Has Migrated Over One Million Workers to Google’s Cloud Since 2008

ATLANTA, Georgia — February 14, 2012 — Cloud Sherpas, recently named the Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year, announced today that it has become a Premier Enterprise and SMB Reseller of Google Apps in North America and Asia-Pacific. The designation from Google enables businesses to more easily assess a reseller’s expertise in deploying Google Apps. Cloud Sherpas, which had been an Authorized reseller, earned its Premier status based on their success helping hundreds of global customers implement Google Apps.

Cloud Sherpas has migrated over one million workers to Google Apps since 2008. The cloud services firm has a large number of Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialists, which allows the company to provide exceptional coverage and unmatched expertise to over 1,300 customers worldwide.

“The Google Apps Reseller program has been a critical component of our business,” said Douglas Shepard, CEO for Cloud Sherpas. “We’re pleased to be recognized as a Premier reseller, and we look forward to continuing our work helping enterprise and SMB clients in North America and Asia take full advantage of Google Apps and related Google products.”

Google Apps brings simple, powerful communication and collaboration tools to organizations of any size – all hosted by Google to streamline setup, minimize maintenance and reduce IT costs. With Gmail (including Google email security, powered by Postini), Google Calendar and integrated IM, users can stay connected and work together with ease. And, from Google Docs and Google Sites, users can share files and collaborate in real-time, keeping versions organized and available wherever and whenever users work.

The Google Apps Reseller program includes companies globally that sell, service and customize Google Apps for Business for their customers. As a part of the Apps Reseller program, Cloud Sherpas receives training, support and deployment tools from Google, as well as access to APIs for integrating Google Apps into their customers’ business operations.

About Cloud Sherpas

Cloud Sherpas (www.cloudsherpas.com) is a leading Google cloud service provider and was named “Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year.” As one of the first Google Enterprise partners, Cloud Sherpas has migrated over one million workers across a variety of industries from legacy, on-premise messaging systems to Google Apps, helping organizations adopt cloud computing to innovate and dramatically reduce their IT expenses. Headquartered in Atlanta, Cloud Sherpas has regional offices in locations including San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Austin and Sydney.

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Google, Google Apps, Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Sites and Google Video are trademarks of Google Inc.

Announcing BetterCloud, Cloud Sherpas’ Newest Partner

Kate Borger — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:00:24 +0000

Cloud Sherpas is proud to welcome our newest partner, BetterCloud. BetterCloud was formed by a group of Cloud Sherpas employees who ventured out and created a new company focused exclusively on products that integrate with Google Apps. BetterCloud is already an industry leader in third-party products for Google Apps, as their product for administrative control, Directory Manager by BetterCloud, is ranked #1 in the Google Apps marketplace.

DomainWatch is another BetterCloud product, and is already a recommended app in the Google Apps Marketplace. DomainWatch is a security and compliance tool that scans your domain’s Docs, Sites & Calendars and provides you information such as who created these assets, who owns them and with whom they are shared. Admins can create and enforce sharing policies on a very granular level: users, groups, organizational units or domains. DomainWatch also provides reporting on storage usage, policy violations, usage trends and more.

We’re proud to be BetterCloud’s first partner and we know that Google Apps users can count on BetterCloud to deliver rapid innovation and continue to enhance the day-to-day experience for both Google Apps administrators and end-users.

Learn more about BetterCloud and their products on their website.

Cloud Sherpas Accepts Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year Award

Kate Borger — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:06:07 +0000

Cloud Sherpas is thrilled to accept the inaugural award of “Google Enterprise Partner of the Year” for 2011. This recognition is based on our proven track record of working with and developing customers on Google Apps, our consistent investment in the Google practice, a strong representation of certified specialists and our impact on Google’s Enterprise business.

“We are excited to recognize Cloud Sherpas as the Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year,” said Mark Hodgson, Google’s Head of Global Partner Programs. “The company consistently delivered excellence in our partnership throughout 2011.”

At Google’s annual...

Cloud Sherpas Named ...

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Cloud Sherpas Named ...

Since 2008, Cloud Sherpas has grown to become one of the world’s top cloud service providers. We have the largest number of Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialists of any Google partner and have migrated over 1 million end-users to Google Apps.

The past year was certainly eventful for the Sherpas! During 2011, we grew revenue nearly 300% from 2010, acquired a handful of successful cloud service providers around the world from San Francisco to New Zealand, and signed deals with enterprise clients across varying industries such as Lamar Advertising, Tait Communications Ltd. and Wyoming Medical Center.

“The Partner of the Year award from Google is important because it validates the role of the channel in helping businesses succeed in the cloud,” said Douglas Shepard, CEO for Cloud Sherpas. “We hear repeatedly from clients that they need the services of Google experts to fully leverage the platform, collaborate more effectively and grow their businesses. We are proud to be recognized as the Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year, and we look forward to continuing our strong relationship with Google and Google Apps users in 2012.”

We are very proud to have been awarded this distinction for 2011, and we are thankful for the opportunity work with Google Enterprise. We look forward to delivering leading cloud technology to customers across the globe. Here’s to a great 2012!

See our press release here.

Cloud Sherpas Named Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year

Kate Borger — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:05:20 +0000

Google’s Head of Global Partner Programs Cites Cloud Sherpas’ Success Helping Clients Use Google Apps and the Cloud Service Provider’s Impact on Google Apps Customers

ATLANTA, Georgia — January 31, 2012 — Cloud Sherpas has been named the “Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year.” At Google’s annual enterprise sales kickoff event in San Francisco on Tuesday, January 17, Mark Hodgson, Google’s Head of Global Partner Programs, presented Cloud Sherpas with this recognition. The criteria for selection included a proven track record of working with and developing customers, a consistent investment in the Google practice, and noteworthy efforts helping new customers successfully use Google’s Enterprise products.

“We are excited to recognize Cloud Sherpas as the Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year,” said Hodgson. “The company consistently delivered excellence in our partnership throughout 2011.”

Cloud Sherpas was founded in 2008 and has rapidly become a top Google partner and one of the industry’s leading cloud service providers. Since their inception, the public cloud services firm has migrated over one million workers to the Google platform. Cloud Sherpas also boasts revenue growth over 300% for the third consecutive year. Notable accomplishments from the past year include:

Opened regional offices in New York, Chicago and Austin
Acquired cloud service providers in Australia, New Zealand, Kansas City and San Francisco expanding its client base and presence in key international and domestic markets
Helped clients including Lamar Advertising, Tait Communications Ltd. and Wyoming Medical Center adopt Google for messaging, collaboration and more

About Cloud Sherpas
Cloud Sherpas (www.cloudsherpas.com) is a leading Google cloud service provider and was named “Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year.” As one of the first Google Enterprise partners, Cloud Sherpas has migrated over one million users across a variety of industries from legacy, on-premise messaging systems to Google Apps, helping organizations adopt cloud computing to innovate and dramatically reduce their IT expenses. Headquartered in Atlanta, Cloud Sherpas has regional offices in locations including San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Austin and Sydney.

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Understanding Google’s Updated Privacy Policy

David Hoff — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:05:23 +0000

The goal of any privacy policy is to help the user understand how their personal information is used and protected by the person or organization with which it is shared.

For decades, privacy polices for companies across all industries have been written by long-winded attorneys with a penchant for obtuse legalese that’s often so confusing it’s impossible to discern their actual meaning. Confusion is compounded when the scope of such policies reaches across several products or services. As a result, most of us simply check the “I accept” button without knowing what exactly we’re agreeing to.

By announcing the consolidation of its privacy policies this past Wednesday, Google boldly undertook the challenge of being one of the first major corporations to embrace what’s likely to be a trend in 2012: Simplifying and streamlining the way corporations — large and small — communicate corporate policy to their customers.

By simplifying their privacy policies across multiple products, Google is signaling to users that it is not an organization that hides behind tomes of legal jargon that bury the true message of the privacy policy. On the contrary, Google is proactively making it easier for consumers to understand and even modify their privacy settings, right down to editing/deleting web browsing history.

Executives at Google have worked aggressively to publicize the changes to its policies in order to educate its customers and, more importantly, to encourage its customers to educate themselves in the complex interactions that make up their online footprint. In fact, starting yesterday, Google customers may have noticed screen pop-ups at login that call out the change and provide links to additional information.

The updated privacy policy helps to provide clarity around the privacy process and makes it easy for customers to opt out of certain sharing settings. For example, Google provides its customers with tools to monitor the information they share (see the Google Account dashboard and the “incognito mode” option in Chrome). The new privacy policy allows customers to more easily understand — and change — the way they share information with Google.

FAQ for Google Apps Customers

What does the new privacy policy mean for current Google Apps customers?
Vice President of Google Enterprise Amit Singh said that the main privacy policy does not affect current customers. Enterprise customers using Google Apps for Government, Business or Education have individual contracts that define how Google handles and stores their data. As always, Google will maintain their enterprise customers’ data in compliance with the confidentiality and security obligations provided to their domain. The new Privacy Policy does not change contractual agreements, which have always superseded Google’s Privacy Policy for enterprise customers.

Does this mean that my information is now public?
No. Google will not make any data that was previously private public.

Does this mean that my Google Apps for Business/Government/EDU and my personal GMail are connected or have access to each other?
No. All of your Google accounts remain completely independent of each other, and no data is shared between them.

If I don’t want my search history integrated into my profile history, what can I do?
You have a several options. You can disable web history in your Google Account privacy dashboard or you can simply log-out. You will know when you are logged in by the presence of your user name in the upper right corner of the screen.

Where can I get more information?

The City of Lewisville Has Gone Google

Kate Borger — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:52:00 +0000

Editors Note: Cloud Sherpas customer, the City of Lewisville, was recently featured on the Official Google Enterprise Blog. Read the original article on the Google Enterprise Blog or read the re-posted article below to learn more about the City of Lewisville’s transition to Google Apps.

Today our guest blogger is Jason Kirkland, Technology Projects Manager for the City of Lewisville, Texas. Jason is recognized by Google as a Government Transformer for his innovative usage of technology to improve information sharing among city staff.

As part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, the City of Lewisville in Texas offers a small community atmosphere with all of the urban amenities. We are always looking for ways to improve our community and the lives of the people who call Lewisville home.

The City is constantly evaluating its IT infrastructure and services to increase efficiency and effectiveness and reduce costs. One area of focus was email and calendar which were provided to our users via Lotus Notes along with a separate Blackberry server to sync mobile devices. After a thorough analysis of cloud-based solutions from various providers, we decided to migrate to Google Apps for Government. The migration not only reduced costs in software license and server maintenance, it also brought robust functionalities for our staff to collaborate better and be more productive. Employees automatically access the most current version of Google Apps, eliminating the need for software patching and upgrades. There is no more confusion caused by the various versions of software people are using. They are also able to gain mobile access to emails, calendars, and documents from virtually anywhere with Internet access.

Google Apps is also more reliable and customizable than the other cloud solutions we evaluated. It provides API access for our developers to harness and integrate with other internal systems. I created an online GIS Map using Google Spreadsheets, Google Maps, and Google Fusion Tables that allowed us to turn a static paper map into an electronic one that is interactive and easy to use. The City is even using Google Video to store and share footage of our water and sewer systems so that we can easily access and analyze this data. For less money than what we previously paid for system maintenance alone, we get much more than just an email and calendar replacement!

Google Apps implementation partner Cloud Sherpas made our migration a smooth process. During a two-week period, we migrated all of our 644 users from Lotus Notes to Google Apps.

The examples above are few of many, and surely more will come as our city continues to use Google’s products to simplify processes from project management to police dispatch. I am honored that Google recognized me as a Government Transformer. With the right tools, my colleagues and I can collaborate and communicate more effectively and efficiently than ever before.

Google Docs: Providing Enterprise Security to the Masses

David Hoff — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:36:13 +0000

Microsoft recently published a blog post that suggests Google Docs offers weak security. Before we correct the gross misrepresentations in Tony Tai’s article, let’s applaud Microsoft for doing what they do best — that is, launch a FUD campaign. No one does it better than Redmond.

Having been in IT for nearly two decades, however, I know security generally isn’t their forte. So let’s begin dissecting Tony’s article:

“When I share an email or a document with a colleague and ask for their confidentiality, I trust that they won’t share the information with others.”

When sharing a document with Google Docs, users don’t have to “trust” that someone isn’t going to share it. The organization’s administrator and the document owner have all the necessary controls enable safe sharing. As you’ll see, Google’s sophisticated, yet easy-to-use visibility options and sharing settings provides document owners far greater control sharing documents in the cloud than they would have otherwise collaborating via email attachments.

Tony’s first misrepresentation:

“If a user is working in a Google Apps domain, their files adopt the domain’s security setting, by default, whether those settings are private or not, so Google Apps users may be sharing or publishing documents without knowing they are doing so!”

Google Apps administrators can configure how users within their organization can share their Google Docs (documents, presentations, spreadsheets and drawings). Most of our customers choose to allow sharing outside their organization — that’s a key feature — but some administrators may choose to disallow sharing outside their organization. To address Tony’s misguided point above, administrators can also set the default visibility level for new docs. Out of the box, Google Docs are set to Private.

He also says:

“Google Docs allows users to specify who they want to share a document with online, yet users cannot apply any security settings to the document. Other users can download and share it any way they wish.”

Simply not true. Document owners can choose exactly how they want to share a document. First, they choose a visibility option for the document. Documents can be set to Private, where only specific people can access it, or shared more broadly, using the options Anyone with the Link or Public on the Web.

When Documents are Private and shared with specific people, document owners can grant collaborators different permission levels. Collaborators may be given permission to edit a document, or they can be granted read-only access or comment-only access. Document owners can also prevent users from downloading the document.

Google Docs Sharing Settings

Furthermore, document owners can choose to grant editors the ability to share the document with other people, or they can limit the sharing permissions.

Most importantly, because all of the content and sharing permissions are stored in the cloud — not on individual user desktops — administrators have the ability to review, audit, and even modify sharing settings and history globally without having to worry about local issues concerning “My Documents.” Sharing rights can be revoked by the user in real-time without the need for help desk or technical support. And, as with all Google Apps, the security features work on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and other platforms — not just Windows 7.

Tony then goes on to describe Microsoft’s granular sharing controls:

“Information Rights Management (IRM) is similar to Digital Rights Management for documents and information. With IRM, users can restrict rights to content and prevent authorized recipients of restricted content from forwarding, copying, modifying, printing, faxing, or pasting the content. Via IRM, Windows users can even prevent restricted content from being copied with Print Screen.”

What's next? Are you going to limit smartphone use to prevent employees from taking "screenshots"?

Even with these very specific levels of control, someone determined to steal data can take a picture of their computer screen using one of today’s many ubiquitous cell phone cameras and share it with the world via an email or web post. As with all security technology, there needs to be a balance between over engineering a solution and maintaining usability. Our customers tell us Google Docs provides that balance.

Finally, Tony admits:

“Information Rights Management requires certain on-premises investments. It is not for everyone. Larger organizations often take the time to implement and benefit from IRM. Should this interest you, customers can establish IRM settings for Office 2010 and Outlook 2010 using Group Policy, while SharePoint customers have the choice of managing security via a LiveID or through a Rights Management Server.

This may be the largest point of differentiation between Microsoft’s solution and Google Apps. We don’t feel that only large businesses that want to make large investments in on-premise equipment should have enterprise-grade security. It is interesting to see that Office 365 is not mentioned in Microsoft’s blog post, as IRM requires on-premise servers and integration.

Clearly we have a dog in this fight. Since our inception over three years ago, Cloud Sherpas has helped migrate over 1 million users to Google Apps, none of which had previously invested in Microsoft IRM. Today, every single user we’ve migrated benefits from the robust enterprise-class content security features in Google Docs on each and every one of their documents. No Google Apps user must endure the complexity or expense of an IRM system to ensure document security.

On the contrary, Google is regularly investing in the area of security and privacy and delivers new features like two-factor authentication and new advanced SSL security techniques to customers at no additional cost and without the need for on-premise hardware or software.

Simply stated, we believe Microsoft’s model for sharing and collaboration is broken. Once a document is sent as an attachment, the recipient has the choice to do whatever they want with the file. Microsoft Office isn’t based on centrally managed content; documents are created and edited locally on end-user machines. Microsoft’s Information Rights Management seems like a lose-lose proposition as documents aren’t any more secure and collaboration is strongly hindered.

Microsoft’s blog post ends by asking, “Is securing documents and email important to your organization?” Of course it is. For organizations that value collaboration and group productivity, Google Docs provides a flexible security model in use by millions — whether you’re a small business or a large corporation — without any on-premise investments.

Cloud Sherpas Joins Google’s Chromebook Reseller Pilot Program

Kate Borger — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:13:48 +0000

Cloud Sherpas is proud to join Google’s newly-launched Chromebook Reseller pilot program, as we are thrilled to be able to take advantage of the opportunity to further compliment the Google Apps platform.

Chromebooks and Google Apps are two sides of the same coin representing Google’s 100% Web vision for the future of enterprise computing. Already, over 200 million people use the Chrome browser, and over 4 million companies have adopted Google Apps. In addition to our Google Apps migration services, Cloud Sherpas is now offering a range of Chromebook deployment services to help businesses make a smooth and cost-effective transition to Chomebooks.

“Chromebooks represent a big opportunity for organizations that have already Gone Google with Google Apps,” said Chris McGarry, Vice President of Strategic Solutions. “For the first time CIOs can deploy, manage, store and secure all users, data, applications and infrastructure in the cloud, from a Chrome-based device. That’s a powerful statement, with major cost and efficiency benefits. Our unique ability to guide clients through this process will ensure they get maximum value for their Chromebooks investment.”

And for the few things that can’t be done through the web, desktop virtualization infrastructure (VDI) can provide access to desktop apps. To make the process of launching a virtualized application easy, Cloud Sherpas co-developed an open source Chrome extension in conjunction with Ericom and SecureAuth that gives Chromebook users secure, one-click access to virtualized applications, like Internet Explorer 6 or Adobe Photoshop, all from within the Chrome browser. Furthermore, customization of this Chrome Extension software is free to customers that purchase their Chromebooks from Cloud Sherpas.

Chromebooks are a faster, easier, and more secure way to bring your organization all the benefits of the web. Chromebooks are lightweight and fast-booting, provide all-day battery life and contain built-in security. Click here to learn how Cloud Sherpas can help you deploy Chromebooks for your organization, or fill out the form on the right-side of the screen to be contacted by a Cloud Sherpas sales representative.

Cloud Software Leaders Rally Around Google Apps

Kate Borger — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:02:30 +0000

Cloud Sherpas, Expensify, Insightly, Okta, RunMyProcess, Smartsheet and Spanning Align to Simplify Application Selection, Implementation for Google Apps Users

ATLANTA, Georgia — November 1, 2011 — Seven independent software vendors, whose products are among the most heavily installed applications in the Google Apps Marketplace, today announced a series of business and technology partnerships that are designed to make it easier for Google Apps users to select and implement complementary business applications.

The partnership network — a first among Google Apps Marketplace vendors — will henceforth be known as the Cloud Alliance for Google Apps. The founding members, each vetted according to their reputations within Google, Marketplace rankings, product reviews and more, are Cloud Sherpas (with its SherpaTools application), Expensify, Insightly, Okta, RunMyProcess, SmartSheet and Spanning. More information about the Cloud Alliance can be found at www.cloudallianceforgoogleapps.com.

Cloud Alliance members are capitalizing on Google Apps’ considerable momentum in the enterprise. The platform is used today by over four million companies worldwide, and Gartner recently recognized Gmail, a centerpiece Google Apps application, as being enterprise ready.

Still, it is a challenge for Google Apps users to determine which add-on applications are the best. Cloud Alliance solves this problem by uniting the top Marketplace applications for IT administration, CRM, security and compliance, workflow and integration, expense management, identity management, and project collaboration. Users can now more easily identify the best-of-breed applications, easing their selection burden and speeding application deployment.

Cloud Alliance membership requires a meaningful commitment from every participant. For example, vendors must agree to develop deep integrations between their products. Cloud Alliance members must also develop and distribute free “best practices” materials, including white papers and webinars.

Already, Cloud Alliance members have lined up the following “CloudSmart” webinar series:

November 16 — “Get Acquainted with Google Apps” from Cloud Sherpas

December 7 — “Single Sign-On & AD Integration for Google Apps” from Okta

January 11 — “Back Up Your Data” from Spanning
January 25 — “Create Expense Reports That Don’t Suck!” from Expensify
February 15 — “Project Collaboration Your Team Will Actually Use” from Smartsheet
February 29 — “Manage Your Customer Databases” from Insightly
March 14 — “Save Money and Time Adding Workflow to Google Apps” from RunMyProcess

“Cloud Alliance is a huge win for businesses using Google Apps,” said David Politis, chairman of Cloud Alliance and vice president for Cloud Sherpas, a leading Google Apps cloud services provider. “Most don’t have time to research, evaluate and integrate applications, they just want technology tools that work. By creating an alliance of the top Google Apps Marketplace vendors and products, we’re taking the pain out of application selection and implementation, so Google Apps users can manage and grow their businesses.”

Cloud Alliance Members

SherpaTools

SherpaTools for Google Apps (www.sherpatools.com) enhances the functionality and ease-of-use of Google Apps for both administrators and end-users. As the #1 ranked IT admin tool in the Google Apps Marketplace, SherpaTools has been installed on over 25,000 domains in over 114 countries representing over 3.5 million end-users. The company behind SherpaTools, Cloud Sherpas (www.cloudsherpas.com), is a Google Apps Authorized Reseller and Google Enterprise partner. The company has migrated over one million users across all major industries from legacy, on-premise messaging systems to Google Apps, helping organizations adopt cloud computing to innovate and dramatically reduce their IT expenses.

Expensify

Expensify does “expense reports that don’t suck.” If you’re sick of painful expense reports, Expensify makes it easy to import credit card transactions, submit reports, print PDFs, and reimburse your expenses up to $10,000 online! A slew of mobile apps helps everyone capture receipt images and manage expenses on-the-go. Seamless QuickBooks integration, with support for other accounting packages, keeps finance departments and independent accountants on top of company spending. For more information, check out https://www.expensify.com.

Insightly

Insightly provides cloud based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Project Management software for small business. Insightly is the most widely deployed CRM application on the Google Apps Platform with more than 30,000 customers located in over 100 countries worldwide. Insightly provides fast, easy and uncomplicated web based software for managing customers, sales opportunities, tasks and projects with tight integration to Google Apps. Insightly was founded in 2010 and is based in Perth, Western Australia. For more information about Insightly please visit http://insightlyapp.com or follow @insightlyapp on Twitter.

Okta

Okta is the market leading on-demand identity and access management service that enables enterprises to accelerate the secure adoption of their web-based applications, both in the cloud and behind the firewall. With a catalog of 1000+ applications and deep integration with Active Directory, Okta provides IT centralized user provisioning, access management, and reporting. Every end user gets a personalized, single sign-on home page for all of their applications, and business leaders get the insight they need to maximize ROI and track compliance. The Okta team has built, deployed, and supported market leading, on-demand and enterprise software solutions from companies including Salesforce.com, SuccessFactors, PeopleSoft, Microsoft, Sun and HP. Okta is backed by premiere angel and venture investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures, and FLOODGATE. For more information, visit us at www.okta.com or follow us on www.okta.com/blog.

RunMyProcess

Created in 2007, RunMyProcess develops, commercializes and operates an innovative platform as a service (PaaS) specialized in business application development in the cloud. The RunMyProcess platform makes use of business process management (BPM) concepts to provide a unique mix of structured workflow, integration and agility helping customers meet evolving business needs. By Leveraging an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop design and more than 1,000 available connectors for SaaS and other applications, as well as full integration with Google Apps, RunMyProcess customers can rapidly build and deploy highly customized business applications. Accessible on the Web through a browser and entirely based on a pay-per-use model, the RunMyProcess platform is less expensive and more flexible than on-premise solutions ensuring a quicker return on investment. RunMyProcess is already used by Enterprise customers around the world. For more information, visit www.runmyprocess.com.

Smartsheet

Smartsheet, a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) company, offers businesses an intuitive online project management and collaboration tool. The ease of use of the familiar spreadsheet-like interface, coupled with file sharing and work automation features, have made it a popular and highly functional business productivity app for teams. Smartsheet is used by thousands of organizations worldwide for managing all types of work including projects and tasks, operations, sales pipelines, events, marketing campaigns and more. Today, Smartsheet is a top-ranked app in the Google Application Marketplace and is integrated with leading web services such as Google Apps, Salesforce and VMWare’s Zimbra email. Located in Bellevue WA, the privately held company is backed by Madrona Venture Group, a leading venture capital firm. Visit http://www.smartsheet.com for more details.

Spanning

Founded in 2010, Spanning helps companies manage and protect their information in the cloud. Spanning Backup, the company’s flagship product, is the top-rated backup solution for Google Apps users and administrators. With support for Google Apps email, docs, calendars, and contacts, unlimited storage, 99.9% uptime SLA, and valuable usability features, Spanning Backup provides business-class, cloud-to-cloud backup for companies of all sizes. The company is backed by Foundry Group, and is based in Austin, Texas. For more information, please visit http://www.spanning.com.

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