AppDirect Integrates Cloud Commerce Capabilities Into Comprehensive Platform

AppDirect at its Engage conference Tuesday unveiled the integration of several of its cloud commerce solutions into a comprehensive platform the channel can use to distribute and manage cloud-based software.

The San Francisco-based startup unified a stack of technologies obtained from six acquisitions with those built in-house to further enable enterprises, software vendors and channel resellers to deploy white-label software marketplaces.

The revamped platform combines components previously sold as stand-alone products for curating, monetizing and managing SaaS products from a multitude of vendors, AppDirect Co-CEO Daniel Saks told CRN.

[Related: AppDirect Buys Enterprise Search Startup Xendo, Plans Deep Integration]

"This enables endless capability for [partners] to configure things however they want, create their own bundles, merchandising capabilities, and bring multiple products to market in the digital economy," Saks told CRN.

AppDirect launched in 2009 with a vision to make it easier for businesses to adopt the SaaS solutions that were starting to proliferate in the market at the time, Saks said.

The company's product line started with a customizable online marketplace offering a curated set of cloud-based applications. But the larger goal was always a more-comprehensive and multifaceted platform, Saks said.

While the various products AppDirect later introduced — including a reseller management service — were tested and distributed independently of each other, Saks told CRN "on the back end we've been building a deep platform to change the way people use and consume software."

As the company scaled its business in recent years, it continued investing in integrating the solutions it developed and acquired that added capabilities including software management, billing, data visualization, deep search, single sign-on, and technical support.

The revamped platform, which includes Internet of Things and mobility solutions, will be available to the company's customers and channel partners on Jan. 1, 2017.

ProsperWorks, a cross-platform CRM vendor, turned to AppDirect to supply a solution to its network of resellers, said Michael Benayoun, director of channel sales at the San Francisco-based company.

"Overall we see AppDirect as a key part of our channel program, and the revamped platform puts all the capabilities we need to make sure we have automated subscription management and allows our resellers to self-serve so they make sales without our help," Benayoun said.

The CRM vendor plans to leverage the new platform to drive more business to its partners, he said.

"We plan on working with the folks at AppDirect to keep expanding our channel program so we can make the most of our integration and work with their ecosystem to make sure we offer our software through their massive network," he told CRN.

"There's a great opportunity for us to work together, and the combination of cloud monetization and management capabilities will make a big impact for us," he said.