Set up your customized online app store with the BMC Marketplace solution

App stores are very well known in the consumer world, and now their popularity is rapidly increasing in enterprise environments. According to Gartner, by 2017, 25 percent of enterprises will have an enterprise app store for managing corporate-sanctioned apps on PCs and mobile devices.

Recently, BMC Software introduced a new product called BMC Marketplace. This is a cloud-based app store for companies who want their own private label marketplace for their enterprise applications. The BMC Marketplace service provides the templates and tools needed for organizations to set up their own customized online app stores where they can sell their own software and services as well as products from their partners.

The BMC Marketplace solution is deployed as a SaaS solution that can manage everything from app branding, licensing protocols, custom-built app search taxonomies and monetization of mobile, desktop and other applications. Instead of building their own marketplace from scratch, users can now leverage BMC’s Marketplace technology to set up a fully functional marketplace within 6-12 weeks.

A few additional features from Marketplace include:

• Social capabilities so that customers can see peer ratings and reviews

• Automated tools that enable partners to easily publish applications, while you retain control over approval and workflow processes

• Transaction processing and fulfillment including auto provisioning to streamline delivery

• Even lead distribution and tracking with your partners so you can work jointly on deals

The Marketplace differs from the standard private-label e-commerce platforms, and it is built specifically for technology companies in mind. For instance, it can sell a cloud service offering that draws on multiple providers, or application that has both desktop and mobile components.

The service is also unique in that it can be accessed from both desktop computers and mobile devices. If you have a mobile app, the BMC Marketplace can handle the fulfillment, management and installation on that users device, without having to go back to iTunes.

The cost of the BMC Marketplace service varies on the size of the implementation, based on the sales volume and a monthly fee that is worked out between BMC and the customer.

Finally, here’s an interesting remark for the BMC Marketplace by Christine Dover, Research Director, Enterprise Applications and Digital Commerce Research at the IDC Software Business Solutions Group: “Customers and partners have been asking for faster, better ways to experience and deploy software. The answer clearly is the app – particularly mobile apps. BMC Marketplace will transform how businesses automate the publishing and purchasing of on-line applications, drive and track sales leads, and increase sales velocity and efficiency.”