salesforce.com's 100,000+ customers now have a new option for streamlining SaaS sourcing across the enterprise: Private AppExchange. And, the price is right at $0. Free? Yes, free(!) but, don't assume this won't impact your costs.
Last week at salesforce.com's massive Dreamforce event, Forrester had the opportunity to learn more about some of salesforce.com's recent announcements -- including the Private AppExchange. This free add-on feature for salesforce.com users lets companies set up an AppStore that is private, personalized, and custom populated for their own company. The Private AppExchange lets organizations "distribute any app, to any user on any device through a central, secure store, using Salesforce Identity to grant employees instant access to the apps they need. Organizations can customize the store with own categories and branding."
The Private AppExchange could help sourcing executives address goals for enabling SaaS sourcing that we frequently hear about, such as:
- Lets users quickly discover and deploy solutions that meet their business needs
- Supports collaboration and idea-sharing across all users at all levels of the company
- Adheres to corporate standards (integration, data rules, security, contracting, and more)
- Ensures favorable pricing based on overall corporate relationships and usage
- Showcases the specific SaaS solutions already in use within the company
And, the Private AppExchnage could address some of the challenges that go along with setting up and managing a central SaaS storefront, including:
- Challenges to build a portal that is easy to navigate and yet meets corporate goals
- Difficulty getting the right solutions onto the portal
- Facilitating key user needs such as try-and-buy, provisioning, and purchasing
Pros?
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