Announcing new investments in Microsoft AppSource
Over the past several days we have shared details of several new investments in Microsoft AppSource at our global conference, Microsoft Inspire. For those of you unable to attend, I thought I would give you highlights. We’ve heard your feedback and are responding by continuing to build out an intuitive marketplace that enables customers to buy confidently, meet evolving business needs, and get more done. Let me highlight just a few of these investments below.
Discover, try, and buy
We’ve listened to what customers have asked for, and we’ve made updates to the AppSource interface that allow for easier discoverability, trialing, and purchasing.
We’re excited to announce the improved discoverability features now available on AppSource. Customers are now able to more easily browse the marketplace through new app gallery filtering and easily sort by available trials, pricing models, and ratings to find the right app. We’ve also added Microsoft preferred solutions badging that highlights offerings selected for quality, performance, and ability to address customer needs within specific industry or solution areas.
New ways to buy
New purchasing capabilities for 3rd party Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offers are now available on AppSource, making it easier than ever to trial a solution and then buy if an offer meets a customer’s business needs. The options to choose per-user licensing, with monthly or annual terms, provide greater flexibility to buy apps online.
A global partner ecosystem to meet customer needs
These investments are buoyed by Microsoft’s trusted global partner ecosystem that offers apps at every stage of the business cycle. Below are just a few examples of customers leveraging our new investments to bring impactful offerings to their business:
Contract Zen - “Microsoft AppSource gives us global-scale awareness and distribution. Customers can find and buy our software with confidence from one trusted source, knowing that it works seamlessly with other Microsoft software and technologies. In addition, ContractZen can be sold through Microsoft’s direct sales force and Microsoft’s 70,000 cloud resellers.”
Qunifi - “As a per-user SaaS offering, publishing Call2Teams in Microsoft AppSource has given us rapid and unrivalled access to international markets and to the Microsoft CSP partner ecosystem. We’re excited about the free-trial capability in the marketplace that enables customers to trial services such as Call2Teams that do things differently, without risk.”
Letsignit - “Customers’ ability to buy Letsignit licenses directly from Microsoft AppSource is the most natural way for our users and resellers to buy. We could not have imagined a better trusted partner to manage Letsignit’s invoicing.”
Crossware - “Because our solution is built for O365 and runs on Microsoft Azure, it has been important to leverage Microsoft AppSource to reach customers directly with a level of trust and legitimacy. And by publishing a transactable offer, we had our first sale in the first few days, opening a new global revenue channel for Crossware directly through Microsoft.”
As we release new features within AppSource over the coming months we will be posting them on the Microsoft AppSource blog. If you are attending Inspire, make sure to stop by our booth in the Community Zone at Microsoft Inspire.