Events

CeBIT and the Launch of Deutsche Telekom’s Marketplace: What it Means

By Dan Saks / March 19, 2012

Deutsche Telekom's CEO, René Obermann, announces the Business Marketplace.

I recently returned from the CeBIT conference in Hanover, where CEO René Obermann announced the launch of Deutsche Telekom’s new Business Marketplace. It was a great opportunity for the AppDirect team to engage with CeBIT’s attendees about the future of cloud service marketplaces.

There was a palpable sense of excitement throughout the entire event, as industry giants announced new initiatives left and right. René Obermann and Angela Merkel spoke about the importance of a “secure cloud” in Germany, and the level of protection this technology will extend to business data. The renewed focus on the needs of businesses combined with a leveled playing field for developers is creating a unique opportunity that large telcos like Deutsche Telekom are starting to take serious note of.

Deutsche Telekom announces cloud initiatives at CeBIT 2012.

Deutsche Telekom’s primary goal at this year’s CeBIT was the promotion of their new cloud offerings, making the Business Marketplace an unmistakable focal point. Their marketing team orchestrated a beautiful, exciting plan for the launch. Television advertisements have been airing across Europe, and the Deutsche Telekom presence at CeBIT--with an eye-catching demo greeting arriving attendees on the massive screens--was a huge draw, attracting many of the conference’s 300,000 plus visitors over the course of the event.

Deutsche Telekom's impressive CeBIT 2012 booth.

The Business Marketplace will be going live to SMBs this summer, but it’s already generating some impressive buzz. Within the two days after Obermann’s introductory presentation at CeBIT, the story appeared in the press dozens of times. The Marketplace is also drumming up an extremely promising level of interest amongst the developer community; ISVs are eager to distribute their app to millions of businesses in Germany and across Europe.

For our part, the AppDirect team has been thrilled to partner with Deutsche Telekom to launch a marketplace that stands to change the face of IT in Europe. Even in its earliest stages, the reception of Deutsche Telekom’s Business Marketplace is proving that telcos, ISPs and other service providers are ideal candidates to broker cloud services.

• These companies already have relationships with millions of business customers upon which to build.
• Those relationships come with valuable customer data which can be used to recommend customized offerings, and create targeted bundles.
• Existing services can be integrated with new cloud offerings, creating added value for customers interested in cloud adoption, but wanting to hold on to the services they’re familiar with.

Members of Deutsche Telekom's cloud team with Daniel Saks, CEO of AppDirect.

By employing the cloud service brokerage strategy, Deutsche Telekom will become the cloud partner that its millions of business customers are looking for. The loyalty and lifespan of those customers will be dramatically increased as they receive innovative, business-critical services from a provider they already know and trust.

To read more about why now is the perfect time for your organization to follow Deutsche Telekom’s lead, check out our recent blog post, 5 Reasons You Should Be Launching Your Cloud Service Marketplace in 2012.