30 Cloud VARs That Get It

Ahead Of The Curve

It takes a rare breed to get in front of a trend before a trend even forms. And with cloud computing, either you get ahead of it, or you get left behind.

The 30 solution providers that comprise this list are shining examples of VARs, integrators, consultants and ISVs that we believe "get it" when it comes to the cloud. They jumped into the technology market before the market even really formed, and they sharpened their technology, services and sales chops, and their know-how.

This list of "30 Cloud VARs That Get IT" was compiled through discussions with solution providers, vendors and CRN editors. It highlights 30 solution providers that are on the cutting edge of the cloud – ones that pack a mighty punch and had the foresight to dive headfirst into a new market.

See also: How 30 Cloud VARs 'Got It'

Accenture

Accenture is staging a multipronged attack on the cloud computing market, firing on all cylinders with offerings ranging from strategy, consulting, systems integration and its own brand of software, all designed to get clients to the cloud.

Shown here is Jimmy Harris, Accenture's managing director of cloud computing.

ACS (A Xerox Company)

ACS (a Xerox company) didn't sit idly by and watch the cloud revolution; it dove right in launching its own IaaS offering, the ACS Enterprise Cloud, which blends private and public clouds with security, support and cost-savings.

Shown here is Lynn Blodgett, president and CEO of Dallas-based ACS.

Anexinet Technologies

Anexinet, based in Blue Bell, Penn., targets the midsize and Fortune 1000 with everything from application outsourcing and data center optimization, with virtualization and cloud computing thrown in for good measure.

Appirio

Whether it's salesforce.com, Google or Amazon, San Mateo, Calif.-based Appirio sits squarely in the crosshairs of the cloud. With its unique blend of cloud product and service offerings, the company, founded in 2006, already boasts more than 2,500 customers; and that list continues to grow.

Shown here is Appirio CEO Chris Barbin.

Bluewolf

Bluewolf is a cloud pioneer with 10 years of stumping for "agile business transformation" under its belt. And Iterate Or Die, written by Bluewolf's Eric Berridge and Michael Kirven, features a forward by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, proving Bluewolf wrote the book on cloud.

Eric Berridge, New York-based Bluewolf's co-founder, is shown here.

Capgemini

Capgemini doesn't want clients pigeonholed into public or private clouds. Capgemini preaches the hybrid model and guides this evolution with its Compute Continuum system, which combines consulting, technology and outsourcing to move clients into the cloud.

Champion Solutions Group

Boca Raton, Fla.-based Champion Solutions Group is grabbing the cloud bull by its horns, but it's not just fluff. Last year the company launched Champion Cloud Services, a practice built around deploying private and public clouds. Champion is indeed a champ with a full range of cloud offerings.

Shown here is Champion president and CEO Chris Pyle.

Clearpath Solutions Group

Clearpath Solutions Group knows that a utility-based computing model is the future. And the company has built a common infrastructure platform and an ecosystem of CloudREADY data centers that let clients gobble up cloud offerings in a pay-as-you-grow fashion.

Shown here is Nathan Reynolds, president of Herndon, Va.-based Clearpath.

Cloud Sherpas

Cloud Sherpas helps clients navigate the treacherous cloud landscape. As a Google Apps reseller and Google Enterprise Partner, the integrator and application developer has brought hundreds of thousands of users into the cloud via its offerings and its SherpaTools platform for Google Apps.

Jon Hallett, chairman and CEO of Atlanta-based Cloud Sherpas, is shown here.

CloudStrategies

CloudStrategies, Morris Plains, NJ, is focused on value and productivity. The company uses Microsoft Online Services to give clients new and innovative ways to use information. It takes control of the process, guiding, designing and implementing custom cloud computing solutions.

CloudStrategies founder and president Pete Zarras is shown here.

CSC

Based in Falls Church, Va., CSC delivers "the right cloud, the right way" with a full lifecycle of cloud services. CSC transforms customers' business processes and helps them find new opportunities through cloud implementation and integration services for both on- and off-premise.

Demand Solutions Group

Demand Solutions Group, Los Gatos, Calif., should really be called "On Demand" solutions group. The company, founded in 2005, gives clients on-demand CRM, ERP and e-business solutions and lives by the credo that the customer doesn't pay until the customer is happy.

Demand Solutions Group founder and principal Todd Fitzwater is shown here.

DLT Solutions

DLT Solutions is nearly 20 years old, but its penchant for capturing emerging technologies has kept it young. Herndon, Va.-based DLT is bringing federal, state and municipal governments into the cloud and the public sector to leverage what it says will be the default IT delivery model come 2015.

Rick Marcotte, DLT president and CEO, is shown here.

E-Safe Technologies

A division of Premier Technologies, Pittsburgh-based E-Safe Technologies designs and builds secure cloud computing infrastructures. It considers a company's needs and works to identify and build solutions around compliance, business continuity, risk assessment and disaster recovery.

Premier Technologies President Tim Steinour is shown here.

eVariant

eVariant, Wilmington, Del., takes salesforce.com's on-demand CRM offering and marries it with a client's goals, objectives and KPIs through best practices and proven solutions based on its own expertise and consistent involvement in the ecosystem.

Explore Consulting

A NetSuite powerhouse, Explore Consulting was in the cloud before many of its peers. Founded in 2001, Explore doesn't stop with just NetSuite. It also takes Microsoft cloud solutions to market. Explore, Bellevue, Wash., has also become the go-to provider of the NFL Scouting Combine's cloud.

Steve Jones, Explore Consulting CEO, is shown here.

ForceBrain.com

With an arsenal of Salesforce consultants, Force.com developers and technical architects, ForceBrain.com has become a driving force as a Salesforce partner. The company designs, develops, deploys and supports cloud solutions for nearly every vertical.

Jason North, CEO and cloud architect for San Francisco-based ForceBrain.com, is shown here.

Forward Hindsight

Based in Minneapolis, Forward Hindsight has been the No. 1 worldwide NetSuite reseller for 3 years running. But the company goes beyond SaaS. The six-year-old firm offers consulting, implementation and a host of services to deliver what it calls "business clarity."

GlassHouse Technologies

GlassHouse Technologies started out in storage and professional services in 2001, but grew into virtualization and the cloud as clients' needs changed. Now GlassHouse is turning its attention to the cloud, with offerings designed to get clients ready for their upward path.

Mark Shirman, president and CEO of Framingham, Mass.-based GlassHouse, is shown here.

GreenPages

Kittery, Maine-based GreenPages' sights are trained on the 21st century as the company dives headfirst into virtualization and cloud computing with consulting and integration services that virtualize client environments and transform their data center and IT operations.

GreenPages CEO Ron Dupler is shown here.

INX

INX brings customers up to speed with design, deployment and support for cloud computing and virtualization. Houston-based INX makes data centers more efficient and builds infrastructures around a virtual environment that weds performance, security, availability and manageability.

ISG Technology

As a VMware Premier partner, ISG Technology, Salina, Kan., tackles virtualization and the cloud and helps clients make the business case–reduced cost, simplified IT administration, and business continuity and disaster recovery -- for them in their IT environments.

ISG President John Gunn is shown here.

MessageOps

Charlotte, N.C.-based MessageOps does it online. Heck, that was one of its founding principles: The company was built for the sole purpose of helping clients migrate to Microsoft Online, BPOS or Exchange and offer support and services after the migration is complete.

MessageOps Founder Chad Mosman is shown here.

NCompass Business Solutions

NCompass Business Solutions is a one-stop shop for on-demand CRM, ER P and eCommerce applications delivered as SaaS. With a host of NetSuite offerings, NCompass' focus is on designing and implementing solutions for growing midmarket and enterprise firms.

Dan Edward, owner of Atlanta-based NCompass Business Solutions, is shown here.

Nexus Information Systems

Nexus Information Systems takes the SMB under its wing with a host of offerings that include virtual infrastructure, business continuity, backup and archiving, managed services and a host of others that bring clients into the future.

Dan Evans, president and CEO of Minnetonka, Minn.-based Nexus Information Systems, is shown here.

Saber Solutions

Saber delivers cloud based applications and solutions to small businesses. By leveraging the cloud computing delivery model, Saber offers customizable solutions that can be deployed quickly and economically with minimal business disruption, high value and fast ROI.

John Stewart, Saber president, is shown here.

Valorem Consulting

Kansas City-based Valorem Consulting hammers home the "any device, any time, any location" credo of cloud computing and offers the tools and guidance necessary to deliver Microsoft Online Services that are secure, adhere to best practices and guarantee availability.

Shown here is Valorem managing partner Domnick Parretta.

Varsity Technology

Varsity Technologies is a strategic IT consulting firm that takes cloud services architecture and consulting to the next level. The company's goal is to deliver efficiency, continuity, strategy and data access, while helping customers make the right business decisions for the cloud.

Patrick Ciccarelli, president and CEO of San Francisco-based Varsity Technology, is shown here.

Veeva Systems

Veeva Systems, Pleasanton, Calif., targets the global life sciences industry with cloud solutions. The company helps customers achieve swift time to value with applications that are flexible, simple to deploy, inexpensive to operate and offer a superior user experience.

Veeva Systems President and CEO Peter Gassner is shown here.

ZSL

ZSL makes migration headaches a thing of the past. With its arsenal of cloud solutions, Edison, NJ-based ZSL offers cloud enablement that takes companies into the cloud without sacrificing the investment they made on their legacy infrastructures.

Shiv Kumar, ZSL executive vice president, is shown here.