Numara crafts SaaS offerings, preps Oz hosting

Having bedded down its acquisition of local partner Salamander Services, Numara Software is now looking at how to put forward cloud-based services suitable for its channel model.

The basic premise will be for Numara’s existing suite of service desk, migration, asset management and remote control software will be replicated: everything that’s available as a perpetual license will also be available in the cloud.

Speaking to The Register yesterday, local APAC sales VP Geoff Masters said local hosting of its software-as-a-service offering is “in trial now” and should have its official launch by the end of November.

However, as a company whose sales history here is through the channel, Masters said it’s important to create offerings that the channel partners can work with as well – especially given the financial pressures resellers are suffering.

Masters told The Register that vendors selling direct over the heads of the channel, and ongoing cashflow pressures, have created anxiety among many of the resellers he spoke to.

“Resellers are feeling disenfranchised,” he said. “They don’t have direct vendor relationships, and since the GFC [global financial crisis], cashflow is their big limiter.”

This leads Masters to conclude that more than one cloud strategy will be required for Numara’s software: vanilla OEM providers that don’t conflict with the existing channel; another set of offers designed to let the company’s resellers host its software for their own customers in different markets; and new managed service provider offerings.

“And there will always be the end customer who wants a cloud service, but will only buy if they can nominate who it’s hosted with,” he said.

A few days ago, Numara announced the acquisition of mobile device management company Fromdistance, and earlier this month, it also started shipping a new version of its Track-It! help desk and asset management solution, which has been enhanced toad mobility features. ®