Thursday, 14 December 2006

Salesforce.com’s AppStore Strategy for AppExchange Marketplace

Salesforce.com, a provider of on-demand business services, has made known its AppStore vision and monetisation strategy for the AppExchange marketplace. Customers will be able to use AppStore as a single source for trying, buying and deploying ...

Salesforce.com, a provider of on-demand business services, has made known its AppStore vision and monetisation strategy for the AppExchange marketplace. Customers will be able to use AppStore as a single source for trying, buying and deploying on-demand applications on the AppExchange, as per a statement issued by the company.

"For customers, AppStore will make purchasing on-demand applications as easy as buying music on iTunes, and for partners, AppStore will remove the burden and expense of building out a sales and distribution channel," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com.

More than 430 applications from over 230 partners are available today on the AppExchange. Built using the Apex on-demand platform, these partner applications are integrated by design with salesforce.com's suite of on-demand business applications and can be deployed with a few clicks, the company claimed.

Monetising the AppExchange Marketplace

According to the company, AppStore will be the catalyst to unlock the value of a virtuous cycle currently at work—a growing community of customers draws more developers and partners into the ecosystem. The development capabilities enabled by the Apex platform and language expand the range of applications available on the AppExchange; the growing diversity of applications inspires existing customers to expand their deployments and helps drive more subscriber growth.

The company claimed AppStore will provide a set of commerce, marketing and referral services that enable developers and partners to offer a good experience to salesforce.com customers.

Salesforce.com will provide AppStore services to partners for a revenue share per centage of closed deals that will vary depending on the level of services provided. AppStore services, including the AppStore Referral Program and AppStore Checkout, are currently scheduled to be offered in a phased approach throughout 2007, the company said.

"AppStore is a startup's dream," said Narinder Singh, Founder and CEO, Appirio. "Salesforce.com has removed key critical barriers to startup success. Providing a turnkey global distribution network will allow us to focus on coming up with innovative applications.

According to the company, the AppStore Referral Program will provide access to marketing services intended to increase demand for partners' AppExchange solutions. The Referral Program will be offered at two levels:

• Standard Referral
• Premium Referral