AppDirect Partners with Mural to Optimize Customer Experience, Boost Marketplace ROI

San Francisco, CA, November 4, 2013 – AppDirect, the leading cloud service marketplace company, announced today that it is partnering with Mural, the market leader in activating and up-selling third-party SaaS solutions, to deliver high-touch customer onboarding services for software offered on AppDirect-powered marketplaces. By partnering with Mural, AppDirect is not only able to deliver higher ROI for its marketplace partners, but can also enable a better customer experience for end users.

“Small businesses are excited about using cloud-based software, but they often need help finding and setting up the solutions that are right for them,” said Daniel Saks, co-CEO of AppDirect. “By partnering with Mural, we’re able to help our marketplace partners deliver the best possible customer service in a way that is simple and seamless to end users.”

For AppDirect marketplace partners, Mural’s services can deliver increased customer satisfaction and retention, as well as more customer referrals. Research shows that half of small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) feel it is important to buy cloud services from a provider with local personnel, while 31 percent feel this is critical. With it strong focus on customers, Mural offers this type of localized experience.

In addition, Mural can provide higher up-sell and cross-sell opportunities for software products, helping to boost marketplace revenue and ROI overall. Moreover, utilizing third-party customer support and on-boarding services can be more cost effective than building and training teams from scratch.

"We recognize the challenges SMBs face when moving their IT to the cloud. Mural provides solutions that get SMBs' cloud services activated fast, easily, and affordably," said Steve Zimba, president of Mural. "We also educate SMBs on how to get the most out of their cloud services, and we help our cloud-ISV and service-provider partners up-sell additional services. We are excited to support AppDirect and AppDirect's marketplace partners to help SMBs realize the full value of their cloud services."

Mural supports an ever-expanding portfolio of products—including Box, Mozy, Microsoft Office 365, Google Apps, and more—and its team of experts can help customers with any level of technology expertise, from beginner to advanced. In 2013 alone, Mural has helped more than 100,000 users, mostly SMBs, adopt cloud-based software and services.

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 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.

About Mural
Mural perfects the customer experience for cloud and managed IT services, providing a unique combination of tools, methods, data analytics and content in Platform MaaX. Our on-boarding, support and up-selling programs are widely recognized for increasing sales, usage and customer satisfaction. For more information, visit gomural.com.