September 27, 2011 : Capitalizing on Five Years of Strong Growth Helping Customers Build Cloud-Powered Businesses, Appirio Expands Teams in the UK, Japan and Beyond
San Mateo, Calif. – September 27, 2011 – Appirio a cloud solution provider that helps enterprises adopt, connect and extend cloud platforms such as salesforce.com, Google and Workday, today announced that Manish Sharma and Lori Williams will head up Appirio's operations in Asia Pacific and Europe, respectively. Mr. Sharma, who formerly led VMware's emerging products for Asia Pacific, will begin duties on October 1, 2011. Ms. Williams, who previously ran Appirio's U.S. consulting team, will begin immediately. Both will be responsible for building the new regional teams through a combination of organic and inorganic growth, and working closely with Appirio's strategic partners including salesforce.com, who last month made a second investment in Appirio. Appirio's initial focus this year will be on establishing a significant presence in the UK, where Appirio already serves a number of global and local companies, and deepening relationships in Japan. Appirio has had a strong presence in Japan since 2009 and seen consistent triple digit year-over-year growth in that country. Next year, Appirio expects to expand into other locales in Europe and Asia based on customer demand and the priorities of its partners – salesforce.com, Google and Workday.
A Growing, and Global, Opportunity for Cloud Computing
According to IDC (Worldwide and Regional Public IT Cloud Services 2011-2015 Forecast, Doc #228485, June 2011), public IT cloud services are expected to grow at almost four times the rate of the IT market as a whole. Public IT cloud service revenue will reach nearly $73 billion by 2015 – a 27.6 percent CAGR. Spending in Japan is expected to increase by 41 percent and spending in Western Europe is expected to increase by more than 35 percent.
"The incredible growth we're seeing in public cloud applications and platforms has opened up a huge opportunity for services firms that understand the space and have the resources and reach to help customers be successful," said Robert Mahowald, Research Vice President of SaaS and Cloud Services at IDC. "Making customers successful requires not just feet on the ground, but an appreciation for the nuances of the cloud model and the specific cultures and regulations of these regions."
Proven Leaders Guide Global Expansion
Mr. Sharma joins Appirio from VMware, where he was GM and Managing Director for Emerging Products in Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ). In this role he was responsible for sales, field operations and communications. Mr. Sharma joined VMware in 2006 prior to the company's IPO, and held positions ranging from country manager for Korea – where his team achieved 240 percent year-over-year growth – to APJ partner team lead where he managed the company's regional OEM, distribution, reseller and systems integration partnerships. Prior to VMware, he led teams at BEA Systems, WebMethods and Baan.
"I've met with hundreds of customers over the last few years talking about what they need from their IT and business systems," said Mr. Sharma. "Their requests often start with the agility and efficiencies of cloud platforms, but a close second is the need for a trusted cloud advisor. Appirio has been that trusted advisor in the U.S. and Japan for the last five years, and there is a huge opportunity in this region for that level of expertise."
Ms. Williams has been at Appirio since October 2009, where she led the company's customer service team and cloud management offerings. She took over as VP of the U.S. consulting team in July 2010 and has since grown that team more than 150 percent. Ms. Williams has a strong track record of building and managing high growth and international teams. Prior to joining Appirio, she was SVP of U.S. Services for global application development company Hisoft, and VP of customer delivery at data protection company Credant Technologies, and spent more than 10 years in various international services and product leadership positions at IBM and Lotus Development.
"Appirio works with some of the world's largest global brands, many of whom need a strategic partner that can easily be on the ground with their regional teams," said Ms. Williams. "I'm excited to have the opportunity to build Appirio's brand and presence in Europe, and bring the cloud expertise required to best serve these global and regional customers."
Useful Links
Manish Sharma's LinkedIn profile
Lori Williams' LinkedIn profile
Appirio's company website
Appirio Japan website
About AppirioAppirio accelerates the cloud-powered business, helping enterprises achieve real results from cloud applications and platforms like salesforce.com, Google and Workday. Appirio has worked with more than 250 enterprise customers including organizations like City of Los Angeles, Facebook, Flextronics, Home Depot, International Hotels Group, Japan Post Network, Ltd., L'Oreal, NetApp, NYU, Starbucks, Thomson Reuters and VMware. Appirio's technology-enabled professional services are supported by a team of 400 cloud experts and CloudSpokes, a nearly 20,000 person-strong global cloud developer community. The company's expertise and innovative brokerage technology have been recognized by organizations such as Bloomberg BusinessWeek, InformationWeek, Gartner, and IDC. Appirio has offices in the U.S. and Japan, and is backed by Sequoia Capital and GGV Capital.