Huddle.net, one of the UK’s top 20 Web 2.0 companies has opened up its network to channel partners. The Enterprise 2.0 market, reckoned to be worth $4.6bn by 2013*, is an uncharted territory for VARs.
 
Huddle.net, which is currently growing 25 per cent a month, is hoping a strong partner network will boost its growth further and speed up the company’s global expansion. The company believes that the early entrants in the ‘business social’ market can count on attractive and consistent revenue stream.
 
“Not involving the channel in social business software is a huge oversight”, said Alastair Mitchell, CEO, Huddle.net. “Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is easy to sell 'as is', requires no ongoing hosting or maintenance and the open API means that these services can be ruthlessly customised. Any reseller can gain additional profits from developing or offering new custom-made applications. There are further opportunities for revenue from training and support - we are talking about 53m people by 2010**.”
 
Huddle.net combines online collaboration, project management and document sharing using social networking principles.
 
Resellers joining Huddle’s partner programme will receive full training, access to online support and participation in quarterly webinars. Their efforts will be backed by Huddle’s aggressive online and offline marketing campaigns. All partners can expect 30%+ commission on reselling Huddle packages. They will also receive a free branded enterprise package for their own use.
 
“Social networking and collaboration is a very attractive proposition for companies looking to improve their productivity. Coupled with easy-to-use project management and document sharing tools, data security and exceedingly low running costs this makes Huddle an easy choice to make,” said Nigel Atkinson, Director at Neoworks, one of five pre-launch channel partners.  
 
Huddle's service is secure, easy to use and low-cost; it comes fully hosted, managed and supported. It is also available as a white-label version.
 
Each package offers:
• Space: from 2.5Gb upwards
• Single login for all workspaces
• Online collaboration, project management and document sharing tools
• Embedded online office tools for document creation and editing
• Security: 128 bit SSL available on all paid packages
• 99.5% guaranteed uptime, full back ups
• Support: online support centre, phone and email helpdesk, on-site support
• Accessibility: no client to download; Windows, Mac, IE, Safari, Firefox, Facebook integration
 
“You have to ask yourself a question: how many customers who get SharePoint bundled with Microsoft actually use the product,” says Mitchell. “Increasing productivity is one of the discussion topics that never dies down. Why not offer your customers a low-cost and secure tool that can actually make it happen and that you can turn on in minutes?”
 
Huddle is expected to release its API in coming weeks. This will allow developers to build additional applications and tools on top of the Huddle platform and therefore enrich its offering.
 
Backed by Eden Venture Partners, Huddle’s customers include brand and PR agencies, professional services, IT, VCs, government, education and charities. It counts John Lewis, Boots, Mastercard and UNICEF amongst its customers.
 
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Press contact
Zuzanna Pasierbinska-Wilson  zuzanna@huddle.net  +442077932400  @huddlesuz