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How big is Google Apps? It’s a difficult question to answer. While Google openly touts how its Android mobile operating system is a billion-dollar business, it’s tightlipped about the revenues and performance of its cloud-based productivity suite that competes with Microsoft’s Office portfolio.

Google Apps was conspicuously absent from Google’s recent quarterly earnings report, when the search giant announced record revenues and profits. Company executives talked about everything from search to mobility to geospatial to local earnings to the new Chrome operating system.

Some estimates place Google Apps’ revenue at $400 million annually. If that’s true, Google Apps represents about 1 percent of the company’s overall revenue.

That’s a paltry number in the grand scheme of things and has given critics ammunition to claim Google Apps is little more than a distraction to Google’s core business. However, there is growing evidence that Google Apps adoption is ticking up.

Cloud Sherpas, a Google Apps integration and support specialist, today announced a major expansion in the Asia-Pacific market. It bought New Zealand-based WaveAdept and is opening an office in Sydney to facilitate its growth through the Pacific Rim. It’s the third acquisition the Atlanta-based company has made in six weeks as it continues to add capacity in the U.S. and overseas to meet growing demand for its migration and integration services.

Backupify, a Massachusetts-based data management services specialist for cloud-based applications, yesterday launched a new channel program to give solution providers a data backup and recovery solution specifically for cloud-based applications, namely Google Apps.

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“The adoption of Google Apps has exploded in the past year, and increasingly companies rely on solutions providers to help move their operations to the cloud. Yet until recently, backup for SaaS applications have been the missing component of those deployments. A move to the cloud should not require a leap of faith,” said Daniel Stevenson, vice president of partnerships and alliances at Backupify. “Through our partner program, Backupify is empowering resellers with the tools and resources to extend the security of their customers’ cloud data while accelerating sales cycles and increasing revenue opportunities.”

The General Services Administration (GSA), the federal government’s procurement agency, yesterday completed its migration of 17,000 users from its legacy on-premise system to Google Apps for Government. Facilitated by Google partner Unisys, the Google Apps implementation is expected to cut GSA’s collaboration costs by 50 percent – or $15 million – over the next five years.

Several other government agencies and states have either adopted or are in the process of migrating to Google Apps. Google and Microsoft are fighting multiple court battles over the fairness of government contract bids as each tries to gain the upper hand in the public sector.

And various solution providers have told Channelnomics that they’re seeing a steady increase in demand for Google Apps as businesses look to trim their email and communications costs. One solution provider said the increasing demand for Google Apps has practically idled its Microsoft Exchange team.

Again, it’s hard to say how big Google Apps is or will become? It’s clearly the alternative. Unlike Google, Microsoft is more than willing to talk about its success in productivity applications. Office 2010, the latest iteration in Microsoft’s productivity software line, was one of the superstars in the software giant’s recent stellar earnings report. And Microsoft is reporting steady and growing sales for its newly minted Office 365 online productivity application service. Where Google’s apps revenue is somewhere in the millions, Microsoft’s sales is in the billions. And all expectations are Microsoft’s business will grow as it continues to integrate Office with such products as Skype, Lync and Dynamics.

Google, on the other hands, is banking on its Chrome operating system as a catalyst for growth. Google Apps comes with the subscription to Chromebooks. The new laptops, built by Acer and Samsung, are reportedly selling well in the consumer market. Acer reports there’s interest for the devices in the education market. But there’s no word on when Chromebooks will become available to businesses or the channel.

Solution providers have told Channelnomics that Google’s flat-rate pricing of $50 per seat is attractive, but it’s hard to make money on the resale of the service. Some solution providers have found revenue opportunities in migration services and add-on applications, such as security and backup. But many solution providers report integrating applications with Google Apps isn’t easy.

Perhaps the growth of services and products provided by the likes of Cloud Sherpas and Backupify will help facilitate the growth of Google Apps. The building up of a definable ecosystem around Google Apps is a strong sign that the service is growing and becoming a more significant offering in the market.

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Lawrence M. Walsh is CEO and president of The 2112 Group, a technology business advisory service that specializes in optimizing indirect channels and partner relationships. He’s also the executive director of the Channel Vanguard Council. He is the former publisher of Channel Insider and editor of VARBusiness Magazine. You can reach him at lmwalsh@the2112group.com.

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Larry Walsh:@lmwalsh2112| Channelnomics: @channelnomics

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