Appdirect

What is AppDirect

AppDirect is a comprehensive B2B subscription commerce platform that enables organizations to sell, buy, and manage recurring technology services. Its core purpose is to simplify the distribution and management of cloud-based products and services. The platform provides tools for creating digital marketplaces, automating subscription billing, managing reseller channels, and centralizing IT procurement. This allows businesses to launch their own application stores, sell third-party software, and streamline how they purchase and manage technology for their own use. Founded in 2009, AppDirect is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has grown to become a key player in the digital commerce ecosystem, powering millions of subscriptions for businesses worldwide.

AppDirect Features

AppDirect offers a suite of powerful features designed for digital commerce and subscription management.

• Marketplace Builder: Create and launch a fully branded, white-label marketplace. This allows you to sell your own digital products or services from third-party vendors.
• Subscription Billing: Automate the entire billing lifecycle for recurring revenue. The platform handles complex pricing models, prorated charges, invoicing, and payments.
• Extensive Product Catalog: Gain access to a large catalog of pre-integrated applications and services, including SaaS, IaaS, connectivity, and energy solutions. This makes it easy to bundle and resell popular products.
• Reseller Management: Onboard, manage, and support a network of channel partners or resellers. Provide them with tools to sell products through your marketplace, and track their performance.
• Procurement Management: For internal use, create a centralized portal for employees to procure approved software and services. This helps control IT spending and manage licenses effectively.
• Identity and Access Management: Manage user access with single sign-on (SSO) capabilities, ensuring secure and easy access to purchased applications.
• Reporting and Analytics: Access detailed dashboards and reports to monitor key metrics like sales, revenue, subscription growth, and customer churn.

AppDirect Pricing Plans

AppDirect's pricing is tailored to the specific needs of medium to large enterprises and is not publicly listed. The company uses a quote-based model where the final price depends on the modules required, the scale of the operation, and the level of customization.

Typically, the pricing structure is divided based on the solution being implemented:

• Monetization Suite: Aimed at businesses looking to sell digital services. Pricing is often based on a combination of a platform fee and a percentage of revenue processed.
• Procurement Suite: Designed for companies wanting to manage their internal IT purchasing. Pricing may be based on the number of users or the volume of transactions.

Prospective customers need to contact the AppDirect sales team to get a detailed proposal and a custom quote based on their business requirements.

AppDirect Free Plan

AppDirect does not offer a permanent free plan. However, it provides a 30-day free trial for businesses to explore the platform's capabilities. The trial typically includes access to core features for building a marketplace or setting up a procurement hub. This allows potential customers to evaluate how the platform fits their business model, test its functionalities, and understand the user experience before committing to a paid plan. To start a trial, you usually need to sign up on their website and may need to speak with a representative to configure the trial environment.

How to use AppDirect

Getting started with AppDirect depends on whether you are selling services (monetization) or buying them (procurement).

For Selling Services:

1. Initial Consultation: Contact AppDirect to schedule a demo and discuss your business goals. Their team will help you identify the right solution.
2. Platform Setup: Once you sign up, you will begin configuring your marketplace. This includes branding, setting up payment gateways, and defining your product catalog.
3. Add Products: You can add your own proprietary software or choose from the extensive AppDirect catalog of third-party services to resell.
4. Configure Billing: Set up your pricing plans, subscription terms, and any promotional offers within the billing module.
5. Launch and Manage: Launch your marketplace to the public or your partners. Use the dashboard to manage customers, track sales, and analyze performance.

For Buying/Procurement:

1. Set Up Your Portal: Work with AppDirect to create a centralized procurement portal for your organization.
2. Curate a Catalog: Select and approve the software, services, and applications that your employees are allowed to purchase.
3. Manage Users: Assign roles and permissions to employees, controlling who can purchase and what their budget limits are.
4. Streamline Purchases: Employees can now log in to the portal to request and access the tools they need, simplifying the entire procurement process.

Pros and Cons of AppDirect

Pros:

• All-in-One Platform: It provides a complete solution for subscription commerce, from marketplace creation to billing and reseller management.
• Large Partner Ecosystem: The extensive catalog of pre-integrated services offers significant opportunities for reselling.
• Highly Scalable: The platform is built for large enterprises and can handle high volumes of transactions and users.
• Customizable: Offers deep customization options to create a branded experience for customers and partners.

Cons:

• Complexity: The platform is feature-rich, which can make it complex to set up and manage without dedicated resources.
• Opaque Pricing: The lack of public pricing makes it difficult to estimate costs without engaging with their sales team.
• Enterprise Focus: It may be too powerful and expensive for small businesses or startups with simpler needs.

AppDirect integrations

AppDirect is designed for extensive integration, acting as a central hub for various technology services. Its primary integration capability is its vast catalog, but it also connects with essential business systems.

• Cloud Infrastructure: Integrates directly with major providers like AWS, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure for reselling and management.
• SaaS Applications: Connects with hundreds of software vendors, including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, DocuSign, and more.
• CRM and ERP Systems: The platform can be integrated with systems like Salesforce and NetSuite to sync customer data, sales orders, and billing information.
• Payment Gateways: Supports integration with various payment processors to handle global transactions.

AppDirect Alternatives

1. CloudBlue: A direct competitor from Ingram Micro, CloudBlue also provides a platform for managing and scaling a cloud marketplace. It is particularly strong for service providers and telcos.
2. Mirakl: A leading marketplace platform provider that helps businesses launch and grow their own online marketplaces. Mirakl is very strong in both B2B and B2C enterprise environments.
3. Zuora: While not a marketplace platform, Zuora is a leader in subscription management and billing. It is a good alternative for businesses that only need to manage the billing and revenue recognition for their own subscription products.
4. Vindicia: A subsidiary of Amdocs, Vindicia focuses on subscription billing and customer retention. It is a strong choice for companies looking to optimize their recurring revenue streams.
5. Recurly: Another popular subscription management and billing platform. Recurly is known for its ease of use and is often favored by mid-market B2C and B2B companies.

AppDirect API

Yes, AppDirect provides a comprehensive set of RESTful APIs that allow developers to integrate the platform's functionality into their own applications and systems. The APIs cover nearly all aspects of the platform, including marketplace management, user provisioning, subscription billing, and reporting.

To get API keys, you must be an AppDirect customer. Once you have an account, you can access the developer portal to create applications, generate OAuth credentials (client ID and secret), and view detailed API documentation. The keys are used to authenticate your API requests.

Example API Call (Conceptual): Here is a conceptual example of how you might use curl to fetch a product's details from the AppDirect API:

curl -X GET \
  'https://api.appdirect.com/api/v1/products/your-product-uuid' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json'

This command would send a GET request to the products endpoint to retrieve information about a specific product, using an OAuth access token for authentication.

AppDirect Affiliate program

AppDirect does not have a traditional, public-facing affiliate program where individuals can sign up for a link and earn a commission. Instead, it operates a more structured Partner Program, which is designed for businesses, technology advisors, and value-added resellers (VARs).

This program allows partners to leverage the AppDirect platform to sell technology services to their own customers. Partners gain access to the AppDirect catalog and receive commissions or preferred pricing on the products they sell. The commission structure is not publicly disclosed and is determined by the partnership agreement.

To join, interested businesses should visit the 'Partners' or 'Technology Advisors' section on the AppDirect website and contact their partnership team directly. The process typically involves an application and a consultation to determine if the partnership is a good fit.