Aug 11, 2011 12:01 PM,

How one rural ISP found success selling Google Apps

By Joan Engebretson

As a small company, California telco/ISP Sebastian Corp. didn’t have the size to work with Google directly. It turned to managed services provider NeoNova to deliver Google applications to its customers.

Managed broadband services provider NeoNova Network Services is touting its Google Apps offering as an option for rural Internet service providers—and the business development manager for one rural ISP took time out to talk to Connected Planet about his company’s experiences with the offering yesterday.

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“Google Apps is an online platform that has everything from email to [an application enabling users] to share documents online and a chat function,” commented Tom Dominico, business development manager for Sebastian Corp., a telco in rural California that also has an ISP business.

The Google Apps offering is cloud-based, with applications and content stored on line. Dominico said it provides an excellent email platform for rural ISPs because, among other things, rural ISPs get the ability to co-brand the offering.

But, Dominico explained, “It’s hard for companies our size to work directly with Google”—which is where NeoNova comes in.

NeoNova, he explained, has integrated its platform with Google’s. “NeoNova does the heavy lifting,” said Dominico.

Sebastian converted to the NeoNova/ Google Apps platform several months ago from a different email platform that “didn’t have all the functionality of Google.” Dominico explained.

NeoNova helped Sebastian with converting existing ISP customers to the new platform, which “makes us more competitive with other ISPs,” Dominico said.
“Email is a standard part of an ISP platform,” added Dominico. “We want our customers to use our email so they will be more reluctant to switch providers. But unless we give them a high class of service, they will use something else.”
The co-branding of the Sebastian and Google name is also an attractive feature, Dominico said. “It reinforces our brand name” and enhances customer “stickiness,” he said.

Sebastian does not charge extra for the Google Apps offering. Instead it is included in the cost of broadband service.

According to NeoNova, Sebastian is one of 16 customers with multiple domains that the managed services provider has converted to Google Apps so far this year. In addition, NeoNova said it has more 12 additional customers lined up for conversion.