News in the Channel - issue #11

ALSO CLOUD MARKETPLACE

Not only… but ALSO The ALSO Cloud Marketplace launched in the UK in April, but it has already made a splash in this developing sector and the company has ambitious growth plans over the coming years.

The UK is the biggest cloud market in Europe, worth billions and growing every year. Alongside this, demand for cloud marketplaces is continuing to grow. With such opportunities, it was little surprise when one of the leading European cloud marketplaces, the ALSO Cloud Marketplace

needed basis. It is also constantly updated. “The UK market is quite over distributed in terms of indirect Microsoft providers, but not all are using their own platform,” says Mark Appleton, chief customer officer at ALSO Cloud UK. “Our platform is used in 114 countries, and it’s our own internal platform and it’s dynamic. We’re new normally first to market when there’s changes from the vendors. “We have biweekly sprints to ensure that we are constantly adapting, changing and updating anything that comes from the vendors that needs to be done. When some of our competition in certain countries are also using our platform but white labelling it, then we know we have a very strong package towards the market.” ALSO’s UK platform replicates that seen – and used in increasing numbers – around the world. As such, starting up in the UK wasn’t difficult – the announcement was made in February, and it went live in April with many leading vendors on board, although most were on pan-European contracts already. The biggest challenge was recruiting the right people to join ALSO’s UK operation, Mark says. “When you have no customers and no net sales, then you need that mentality of wanting to be there and onboard resellers as quickly as possible and start provisioning and growing the business,” he says. “So we

(ACMP) launched in the UK in April. For resellers and managed service

providers (MSPs) in Europe, the ACMP has been providing services and solutions for about a decade. The marketplace for cloud solutions and services helps resellers and to implement an as-a-service by providing access to all the tools that a digital workplace requires, including cloud licences, storage, back-up, cybersecurity and more. In the UK, ACMP has more than 1,600 services available from some 100 vendors including leaders such as Microsoft and Adobe, covering software and artificial intelligence. For users of the ACMP, there are many benefits, such as smart API integration to save time when invoicing, intelligent user analytics, a digital quotation tool, marketing services and a partner upskilling programme. Users can also white label ACMP and use their branding to create a cloud platform that has 24/7 self-service for customers, as well as giving role-based access to customers to purchase licences and services on a when-

Mark Appleton chief customer officer ALSO Cloud UK

also.com

CONTINUED