AppDirect Opens Marketplace APIs; Empowers Providers to Build Stores for Apps, Other Digital Products

San Francisco, California, July 30, 2013 – AppDirect, the leading cloud service marketplace company, announced today that it is opening APIs to its entire award-winning platform, a move that offers full marketplace functionality—including single sign-on, unified billing, provisioning, and more—and extends AppDirect’s catalog of more than 150 cloud apps to any service provider looking to create a robust marketplace for applications and other digital products. A first in the cloud services brokerage industry, the new AppDirect Marketplace APIs provide unprecedented access to powerful back-end marketplace technology while allowing for complete customization of the front-end user experience.

“At AppDirect, finding innovative ways to sell and distribute applications around the web is one of our top priorities. That’s why we’re so excited about opening the gates to our platform with our new AppDirect Marketplace APIs,” said Daniel Saks, President and co-CEO of AppDirect. “We strongly believe that opening platforms with APIs is becoming a preferred strategy in the cloud industry, and we’re proud to help lead the way in creating a standard for the delivery of web-based products.”

With the AppDirect Marketplace APIs, service providers can quickly implement comprehensive solutions for complex marketplace features and functionalities that would take months or years to develop from the ground up. Specifically, these include:

• Flexible billing that can accommodate virtually any billing scenario, including subscriptions, one-time payments, metered usage, tiered-usage payments, and more.
• Identity access management that includes single sign-on for all applications, web properties, etc.
• Sophisticated provisioning for seamless delivery and management of applications and other digital products.
• Advanced marketplace features such as comparison tools, user ratings and reviews, search capabilities, recommendation engines, and others.

The APIs also simplify the product onboarding process by enabling service providers to offer every application in the AppDirect catalog, including solutions from leading software vendors such as Google, Microsoft, Symantec, Box, McAfee, Carbonite, WebEx, YouSendIt, DocuSign, Mozy, and many more. Moreover, the APIs can be used to build a powerful developer portal that allows service providers to streamline the integration of additional applications and web-based products.

By using AppDirect APIs to power the marketplace back-end, service providers can utilize in-house development and design expertise to create custom storefronts and target customers more effectively. In addition, service providers can use the AppDirect Marketplace APIs to launch marketplaces faster and at a lower cost, helping them bring applications and web-based products to market more quickly, and realize revenue sooner.

For AppDirect, opening access to its Marketplace APIs not only enables the company to rapidly iterate on growing customer demand for its technology, but also expands the AppDirect platform and catalog across a wide range of providers in a variety of industries. “Until now, AppDirect has operated as a ‘traditional’ SaaS provider by offering a Marketplace-as-a-Service platform to power the application stores of global companies like Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, and Staples,” Saks explained. “With the launch of our Marketplace APIs, we’re solidifying our position as the leading cloud distribution platform. These APIs give us the opportunity to take our technology, and the company as a whole, in exciting new directions.”

AppDirect recently announced the availability of its Marketplace APIs to its developer community and has generated considerable interest from ISVs. The company plans to announce the launch of its first API-driven partner marketplace within the coming weeks. For more information about the AppDirect Marketplace APIs, please visit: www.appdirect.com/developers.

About AppDirect
AppDirect is the leading cloud service marketplace company dedicated to revolutionizing the way businesses run. Its award-winning platform connects businesses, brands, and developers through a global network of partner marketplaces. Based in San Francisco, AppDirect powers the marketplaces of trusted companies around the globe—including Comcast, Staples, Deutsche Telekom, TeliaSonera, Rackspace, Swisscom, Appcelerator, and more—and has helped millions of businesses discover, buy, and manage the best cloud-based software and services.