Good Technology lays off five per cent of staff

Good Technology has let five per cent of its workforce go as part of a shift toward selling its software through carriers such as Cingular and Sprint, the company confirmed.

About 100 people with the mobile-software maker were notified of the layoffs a mere six months after the company went on a massive hiring spree for salespeople in California and North Carolina.

Good sells wireless email and office productivity software products similar to those that Research In Motion made famous with its BlackBerry device and service.

The layoffs primarily impact Good's inside sales force, which sold GoodLink wireless corporate email service and other bundled software contracts to value-added resellers such as CDW and Software House and hardware vendors such as Dell.

Good said a small number of employees remain but the majority of sales will now be handled directly by Cingular, Sprint and any other wireless carriers Good is planning to partner with in Europe and the US.

Terry Austin, president of worldwide sales and marketing, said: "We've worked very closely with the carriers as we moved into these relationships, and we've come up with a new model that is consistent with their organisations. There is no need to have inside sales." Now that Good is working with the carriers, Austin noted, it has a sales force of about 6,000.

A former Good employee who asked not to be identified said the layoffs made no sense. The source said the inside sales force regularly brought in multiple contracts worth tens of thousands of dollars, with corporate deals for 70-seat licences a daily occurrence. A record 250-seat licence for a single customer was recorded back in February, the former worker said.

Good's $1,500 starter package includes one year of support from Good, which can also be broken down into smaller plans.

Good's sales tactics include 30-day trials of the product, which Austin said resulted in a full-fledged commitment to Good products 90 per cent of the time.

Michael Singer writes for CNET News.com