Milovan Milic, Author at Devtech

What Sets Modern B2B Marketplaces Apart: Lessons from the Front Lines

Milovan Milic — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 15:34:06 +0000

According to Canalys Chief Analyst Jay McBain, 51% of B2B companies say cloud marketplaces will be an important way to sell to customers in 2025. But as marketplaces mature from simple product catalogs to complex digital ecosystems, the gap between those who scale and those who stall is growing fast.

Source: Canalys & Omdia, based on a global survey of 1,010 respondents (Feb 2025). Slide presented by Jay McBain at Beyond 2025

In our latest LinkedIn Live panel, we explored what sets successful marketplaces apart — with insights from industry veterans Michael Frisby (former Infinigate Cloud, Microsoft, and Cobweb) and Sebastiaan Heukels (ex-CloudBlue, Parallels, and Ingram Micro, now Solution Architect at Devtech).

Here are four key themes shaping the next generation of B2B marketplaces — and why they matter now more than ever.

1. From Product Catalogs to Personalized Solutions

Modern buyers don’t want to browse endless product lists — they want curated solutions that solve real problems. That’s why personalization and bundling are emerging as strategic advantages for cloud marketplaces.

Buyers expect marketplaces to:

Recommend solutions based on need
Offer personalized pricing
Enable multi-party offers that deliver real business outcomes

To meet these expectations, leading marketplaces are evolving rapidly. The chart below shows how hyperscalers, ISVs, and distributors are shifting their feature sets toward personalization, bundled solutions, and AI-driven buyer experiences.

And it’s not just about selling — it’s about reducing friction across the customer journey. AI-powered agents, as discussed in the panel, may soon assist in not just search, but AI assisted procurement, offering tailored product recommendations based on user profiles and past behavior.

This shift is also affecting who engages with marketplaces. While enterprises have led the way, panelists noted a growing uptick in adoption among corporate and upper SMBs — especially those seeking to simplify procurement across business units.

2. Operational Readiness Is the New Differentiator

Closing the sale is only the beginning. In today’s marketplace environment, growth is increasingly determined by what happens after the transaction — how fast you can deliver, how easy it is to onboard, and how well you retain.

How do different marketplace operators compare when it comes to SMB support, automation, and specialization?

The chart below, based on Zinnov’s research, highlights how different types of marketplace operators — from hyperscalers to ISVs — stack up on personalization, onboarding, and operational maturity. ISVs, in particular, are leading the charge in multilingual support and sustainability-focused listings.

Many marketplaces lose customers post-purchase — not due to product value, but because activation is too slow or clunky. As Sebastiaan put it: “If they’re not activating it… that’s a sure way for churn.”

Operational excellence goes far beyond technical integration. It’s a cross-functional mandate, and one that must be business-led — not just owned by IT, according to Michael.

He also called out the importance of data in shaping marketplace strategy:

How are buyers searching?
Which product combinations attract the most attention?
What are customers doing between registration and activation?

In other words, operational readiness means more than efficiency — it means insight, adaptability, and end-to-end experience design.

Here’s what high-performing platforms do differently:

They adapt to vendor readiness. Even when vendors don’t support full automation, leading marketplaces create a seamless customer experience by orchestrating manual steps behind the scenes.
They make operations a competitive advantage. Provisioning and billing aren’t treated as backend chores — they’re optimized as critical moments that shape customer trust and satisfaction.
They align from the inside out. GTM, product, and operations teams share a clear understanding of why the marketplace exists — and what success looks like.

3. Trust Is Built in the Billing Experience

While marketplaces invest heavily in sales and marketing, one of the most overlooked churn triggers sits quietly at the end of the process: billing.

Common issues like delayed invoices, confusing charges, or inconsistent formats can undo months of sales and support work. Worse, they make customers question the entire buying experience.

Frisby emphasized that billing should be treated as a first-class citizen in the customer journey — not a back-office afterthought. Marketplaces that invest in transparent, accurate, and timely invoicing are better equipped to retain customers and scale confidently.

4. Looking Ahead: AI Will Power the Next Wave of Marketplace Growth

While many marketplaces are still solving for onboarding and provisioning, the next horizon is intelligence.

Panelists highlighted the potential of AI not just for search, but for:

AI-assisted procurement based on customer profiles
Predictive bundling based on buying intent
Automated provisioning across vendors
“White glove” orchestration at scale

This isn’t about futuristic hype. It’s about using AI and automation to make personalization scalable, and to build stickier, more intuitive B2B experiences.

Sebastiaan Heukels discussed the potential for AI agents to eventually orchestrate bundles and guide customers from purchase to activation in a seamless, scalable way — though the industry isn’t quite there yet.

The opportunity? Becoming more than a place to buy — becoming a platform to succeed.

Final Thought

B2B marketplaces are entering a new era — one defined by solutions, speed, trust, and intelligence. The leaders of tomorrow aren’t just building platforms. They’re building ecosystems that customers want to stay in.

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Why the 2020s Are the Decade of Platforms and Ecosystems

Milovan Milic — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 13:22:58 +0000

The 2020s are shaping up to be a pivotal era, marked by the expanding influence of platforms and ecosystems, alongside significant shifts in consumer behavior, technological advancements, and business strategies. This transformation is largely propelled by the emergence of new ways in which we engage with technology and each other. In an Accenture survey, 76% of CEOs agree that current business models will be unrecognizable in the next five years — with ecosystems as the main change agent. Below, we delve into the key factors driving this evolution and the impact that platforms and ecosystems are having on the business landscape.

Evolving Consumer Behavior

The Pandemic’s Accelerating Effect

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation at an unprecedented pace. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, famously noted that we’ve witnessed “seven years of transformation in seven months.” This rapid change has been evident in various sectors, from education with the shift towards online learning to healthcare’s embrace of telemedicine, which, despite existing for over two decades, only saw widespread adoption in the face of the pandemic. Such shifts underscore a broader change in our buying behaviors and how we access services.

The Digital-First Shift: How Millennials and Gen Z Are Reshaping Engagement and Buying Behaviors

The preferences and behaviors of millennials significantly influence current trends, with insights from Jay McBain revealing that 75% of millennials prefer digital-first or digital-only interactions. This movement towards digital-first interactions highlights the changing expectations businesses need to accommodate.

Furthermore, the emergence of Gen Z into the workforce and consumer base presents additional challenges. Projected to constitute about 25% of the workforce by 2025, Gen Z brings unique preferences and buying behaviors that depart from previous generations. Rob Rae, observing as the proud father of four Gen Z individuals, points out their approach to interactions, purchases, and views on cybersecurity, highlighting a significant paradigm shift. This generation’s reluctance to engage in traditional forms of interaction, exemplified by their aversion to even answering a doorbell in person, underscores a broader trend towards selective, digital-first human interactions.

The Shift from Push to Pull

Traditionally, marketing strategies heavily relied on pushing information to consumers. However, the landscape is now shifting towards a pull model, where consumers seek out trusted sources and solutions that meet their specific needs. Vince highlights the transition from traditional seller-driven interactions to a partnership-based approach, where consumers increasingly rely on trusted sources, such as reviews or recommendations from peers, to make technology decisions.

The Impact of Ecosystems

Strategic Partnerships and Revenue Growth

Ecosystems are not just changing consumer behavior; they’re revolutionizing how businesses operate and grow. Julian Martin underscores the critical role of strategic partnerships in aligning product development with market needs, presenting striking metrics from Mimecast’s own journey: Win rates are soaring by 50% when teaming with alliance partners, a significant upsell increase of 38%, and a remarkable reduction in churn ranging from 60% to 80%, varying by the size of the customer base. These statistics vividly demonstrate the importance of ecosystems in enhancing a company’s performance and customer retention.

Longevity Through Channels

The importance of channels in extending customer relationships and contract longevity cannot be overstated. Rob Rae points out that direct purchases typically result in a 3-year SaaS contract lifespan, whereas sales through managed service providers can extend it to an average of 15 years. This significant difference underscores the value of having a robust channel program as a cornerstone of business scalability and growth.

The Partnership Mindset in SaaS Organizations

Vince Menzione underscores the necessity of adopting a partnership mindset within SaaS organizations, marking a departure from traditional sales-centric approaches. Emphasizing new revenue opportunities, market access, and cost efficiencies, the partnership model requires an alignment of the entire C-Suite to ensure success. The transition to valuing partnerships over direct sales represents a crucial paradigm shift necessary for thriving in the current digital landscape.
In closing:

In closing: the 2020s are unequivocally the decade of platforms and ecosystems. This era is defined by a significant transformation in consumer expectations, the strategic importance of partnerships, and the profound impact of ecosystems on business models. As we navigate these changes, embracing the shift towards more interconnected and collaborative approaches will be vital for long-term success and growth.

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80% of B2B Partnerships Fail – How to Succeed?

Milovan Milic — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 13:48:20 +0000

In the first episode of Devtech’s #EcosystemTalks panel series, we’ve had the pleasure of hosting Rob Ray, CVP of Community and Ecosystems at Pax8, Julian Martin, VP of Ecosystem and Alliances at Mimecast, and Vince Menzione, CEO at Ultimate Partner.

One of the topics discussed was around the reasons most B2B alliances fail, offering insightful viewpoints and experiences worth reflecting on.

Deconstructing Partnership Failures

Gartner predicts that 80% of B2B sales interactions will occur in digital channels by 2025. Tech alliances stand at the core of many initiatives these days, often hailed as the cornerstone for mutual growth and market share expansion. However, a significant number of these partnerships do not achieve meaningful results.

KPIs to Measure Success

Julian Martin reflected on this issue, underscoring the critical importance of having key KPIs defined on how you are going to measure success (such as lead generation, number of co-sell opportunities, pipeline value generation, revenue won, etc.) and actively measuring them, making sure reasons for success are well understood.

Understanding the Customer’s Needs

Apart from the KPIs and metrics, Julian highlights the importance of understanding the customer’s perspective and what the customer wants, as no single solution will do everything.

The Right Organizational Focus

And, without a doubt, where channel initiatives sit inside the organization matters as well. At Mimecast, alliances and ecosystem initiatives had many different homes over the years: they were in “Strategy”, in “Product”, in “Product Marketing”, and more recently directly under CMO. This has been the turning point, as the world of marketing ecosystem for Mimecast was about lead generation, teaming up and co-selling together.

True Cost of Doing Business

Rob Ray shared insights around how often Managed Service Providers (MSPs) have a lack of understanding when it comes to cost of doing business in the channel, which ultimately hurts the viability of partnership and success. It’s about looking at the complete service delivery cost from an operational point of view, and ensuring you’re charging enough to offset your cost of partnering.

The Four Dysfunctions

Vince Menzione identified “the four dysfunctions” contributing to partnership failures: scarcity mindset, lack of executive commitment, insufficient proactive engagement, and a deficit of trust. These obstacles are critical to address for successful, long-term partnerships.

1. Scarcity Mindset

Organizations that believe in a scarcity don’t understand and embrace partnerships, and often times they would build walls around their IP thinking that’s how they will remain competitive. When Microsoft decided to focus on making partnerships a priority, and applied a more open, growth mindset, their stock went from $30 to $429 over a 10 year period.

2. Lack of Executive Commitment

Not investing to the right level of resources and dollar investments, and lacking executive commitment, often translates directly into these organizations not seeing the value in partnerships.

3. Insufficient Proactive Engagement

Often times, businesses are not aggressive enough in pursuing their channel strategy. This is especially true in working with hyperscalers, where organizations expect a role of “partner manager” to do the job for them, and they are not proactive and aggressive enough in their engagement.

4. Deficit of Trust

We talk about trust as being the foundation, the oxygen in the room. Without trust in the relationship, there is no relationship. It’s a transaction. To be successful, you have to get to a level of trust when you lock arms with another organization.

In closing: whether you are a B2B software vendor pursuing channel go-to-market motion actively, or if you are only just considering it, there are heaps of things to consider to ensure you are successful in these partnership and truly see revenue growth from them. Same applies if you are building and running your own marketplace; whether you are a Cloud Service Provider, distributors or an MSP, focusing on the right things will help set you up for success in the world of ecosystems.

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The ROI of Ecosystem Integration: Cost, Time, and Revenue Impact

Milovan Milic — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 08:16:01 +0000

In the swiftly changing digital landscape, businesses must pivot and adapt to maintain their relevance. Central to this adaptation is the role of ecosystems, which are key drivers of standout performance. According to PwC top companies are 1.6 times more likely than their peers to use ecosystems for competitive advantages, like reaching new markets, gaining unique customer insights, and accessing complementary skills.

That’s why it’s imperative to consider ecosystem integration as a key component of revenue growth strategy. Let’s delve into understanding the Return on Investment (ROI) of ecosystem integration concerning cost, time, and revenue.

1. Why Ecosystem Integration is Vital

In today’s fast-paced business environment, having a stellar product is just the starting point. The real challenge lies in ensuring its visibility and relevance across multiple channels and ecosystems. A HubSpot survey showed that 76% of business leaders believe ecosystems will be the main disruptor to current business models. By integrating into the right ecosystems, businesses can accelerate their revenue growth, enhance customer stickiness, and achieve superior lifetime customer value.

Leveraging the ecosystem edge: Top-performing companies tend to be 1.7 times quicker to market, 1.2 times more flexible and agile, and 2.3 times more inclined towards strong innovation.

Source: PwC – Tapping ecosystems to power performance, April 2023

Consider Mimecast’s journey, a cybersecurity ISV specializing in cloud-based email management. They had a vision: to supercharge their ecosystem strategy, leveraging the robust partner network they’d cultivated over time. By diving deep into various ecosystems and complementary solutions, Mimecast saw an opportunity to automate service ordering via APIs, enhancing value for their end-users. But here’s the catch – while they were keenly aware of the pressing need for a laser-focused ecosystem strategy, they grappled with limited insights into third-party cloud platforms and ecosystems. Additionally, striking a balance between their core R&D roadmap and the need for go-to-market acceleration proved challenging.

Through a strategic technology partnership with Devtech, Mimecast not only navigated these challenges but also reaped impressive results. Thanks to API integrations, they celebrated a 7% surge in average order value and a whopping 75% reduction in down-sell and churn. Plus, they tapped into a dozen new ecosystems, driving revenue upward.

2. Understanding the Costs

Diversifying sales channels and venturing into multiple ecosystems might initially seem like a daunting financial leap. But, with the right strategy, these expenses transform from mere overheads to calculated investments. Remember, the game isn’t about omnipresence; it’s about marking a significant presence where your audience resides. Dive into the world of ecosystem costs: from the foundational infrastructure elements influenced by TCO (total cost of ownership) to the innovation-centric research and development expenses that can be optimally shared among partners. While the maze of integration might appear complex, enlisting third-party specialists can simplify and economize the process. Constant upkeep, though persistent, is an avenue many choose to outsource for efficiency. Marketing endeavors need a shared approach, especially as traditional methods evolve. And, an essential note: never sidestep regulatory compliance—overlooking it can quickly turn from oversight to obstacle.

3. Time: The Hidden Variable

Navigating an ecosystem strategy without a clear plan is like taking a shot in the dark hoping to hit a target. Understanding the intricacies of the ecosystems you’re aiming for is essential before immersing yourself. Skipping market research might lead to errors that could negatively impact your ROI over time.

Powered by Ecosystems: Leading businesses are about 1.3 times more inclined than their counterparts to maintain a well-defined ecosystem strategy. Furthermore, they’re approximately 2.3 times more likely to derive over 60% of their earnings from ecosystems, with ambitions to amplify this trajectory.

Source: PwC – Tapping ecosystems to power performance, April 2023

Given the complexities of the ecosystem landscape, it’s imperative to allocate sufficient time for comprehensive research before solidifying any ecosystem strategy. This proactive approach not only aids in averting potential pitfalls but also ensures a smoother integration into new ecosystems.
Time-to-market is crucial. While diving into new ecosystems, one might feel overwhelmed by the perceived time consumption. But think of the time saved when tapping into ready-made audiences. Prioritize ecosystems based on your product’s compatibility and potential for growth.

4. Revenue Potential: The Ultimate Goal

With integration comes the promise of increased revenue, and the data doesn’t lie. The best companies are 2.3. times more likely to earn over 60% of their income from ecosystems, and they’re gearing up to amplify this number.

Jay McBain, a top analyst at Canalys, has said that we’re entering the “Ecosystem Era”. The market is shifting, and we need to change how we work quickly. Nowadays, with tech company values dropping and company boards looking to cut costs, there’s a bigger push for partnerships to bring in money. This is why teams need to show clearly how they’re making a difference.

Take, for example, the Japanese construction company Komatsu. They’ve masterminded an ecosystem that brings construction sites into the digital age using open platforms, apps, and IoT gadgets. This connects clients with various service and software solution providers. Through this, Komatsu has revolutionized how they deliver value to their clientele.

Partnerships play a pivotal role in boosting a company’s bottom line. In fact, the income generated through these alliances often forms a significant chunk of a company’s total earnings. What’s more, this kind of income is cost-effective, meaning it often requires less investment in terms of time, effort, and resources. Recognizing this, revenue optimization experts are now focusing more on enhancing partnership operations. Their aim? To streamline the process and make revenue from partnerships even more impactful and efficient.

Conclusion: The Integrated Future

Projected estimations show that numerous sectors are evolving into expansive ecosystems, aiming to fuel a $60 trillion economy by 2025.

Admittedly, this shift poses challenges for leadership teams accustomed to traditional competitive boundaries. Yet, swift adaptation is crucial. As ecosystems increasingly define superior performance, companies with a head start are positioned for further success. To capitalize on this, businesses must refine their ecosystem strategy, hone essential skills, and scout opportunities with a visionary perspective – before someone else seizes the chance.

As we navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape, one thing is clear: isolated systems are a relic of the past. The future belongs to integrated, interconnected platforms that offer seamless user experiences and drive collaborative growth.

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Legacy Platform in Real Life: Dissecting a Surprising LinkedIn Upgrade Experience

Milovan Milic — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 13:47:40 +0000

By Milovan Milic, CEO of Devtech

Our recent experience upgrading to LinkedIn Sales Navigator Advanced Plus reminds me that no matter how successful a company is, end users can still feel like we are in the 1990s instead of 2023—surprising in an era when a seamless UX should be table stakes. Companies that modernize their systems and platforms to create a unified user experience will win in the experience economy. Industry studies consistently show that a well-designed user experience can significantly increase conversion rates, enhance customer loyalty, and drive revenue growth.

The LinkedIn upgrade experience was surprising, particularly given the innovation that the company typically displays. LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman recently said, “Try to predict where it’s going in this volatility and skate to where the puck is going, not where it is.” I could not agree more.

What we thought would be a quick upgrade process required many ongoing touchpoints — over a whopping 19 days!

We initially engaged with a project manager regarding the license upgrade, and we found it surprising that there was no self-service portal. This is essential for digital-first companies. Hubspot indicates that 67% of customers prefer self-service over speaking to a support agent. Additionally, 90% of customers prioritize having an “immediate” response to a customer service question.

The upgrade process was laborious, with simple steps such as confirming the license count and the cost of upgrading taking significant back and forth. Promises of license delivery indicated “soon,” which left the user wondering, “when”? After a licensing delay, a flurry of emails again. We went 19 days without CRM integration and spent considerable time on repetitive and often unnecessary touchpoints. This resulted in considerable lost time and productivity.

On day 19, we finally received the licenses—and are now benefiting from LinkedIn’s incredible capabilities. But what a journey! These challenges are far too familiar and reflect the critical importance of modernizing systems and platforms across the enterprise. Innovation in UX is not just about technology; it’s about forging meaningful connections and growing together.

In our work with emerging companies and Fortune 500 organizations, we see shared challenges with modernization efforts, including:

Disparate systems need to come together with proper backend integration. The right integration strategy can help businesses connect disparate systems and ensure they communicate with each other seamlessly.
“Under the hood” legacy, clunky systems with limited process automation capabilities often prevent a seamless UX. Legacy applications form the backbone of many enterprises, yet they hold companies back from leveraging new digital technologies. These technologies are crucial to create modern experiences for customers and partners. IT teams need a way to rapidly connect legacy systems to modern applications while minimizing disruption to these systems.

Self-service portal capabilities allow users to independently manage their experiences, e.g., run purchasing processes, navigate upgrades, or buy new licenses. This eliminates the need for tasks such as manually signing DocuSign or communicating with a salesperson. This service, in turn, enables highly effective time-to-revenue for companies. This convenience also increases customer satisfaction and loyalty, which can lead to higher retention rates and increased revenue.

We applaud LinkedIn Chief Product Officer (CPO) Tomer Cohen and the rest of the LinkedIn team for continued innovation that benefits its 900 million (and growing) users worldwide. Yet LinkedIn, like most of today’s companies, can benefit from accelerating critical modernization of next-generation platforms to deliver an exceptional, seamlessly integrated UX that will only leave us wanting more. The key is an end-to-end digital innovation strategy that puts the user in the center. As a leader, are you willing to let outdated experiences hold back your potential?”

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The Journey from Legacy to Cloud-Native: Navigating 5 Key Pitfalls

Milovan Milic — Thu, 17 Aug 2023 09:26:58 +0000

By Milovan Milic, CEO of Devtech

A recent study by McKinsey shows that a staggering 70% of all digital transformation projects fail. This statistic is a sobering reminder that the journey is rife with challenges that can derail even the most well-intentioned initiatives. Businesses can’t afford to be mere spectators in an era where digital disruption is the norm. Becoming a digital innovator is vital to remaining relevant in the face-paced world of technology.

By 2024, more than 45% of IT spending is projected to shift from traditional legacy systems to cloud-based solutions.
Gartner, Inc.

The cloud is at the heart of successful digital transformation strategies. This trend indicates a market that is increasingly ready to transition from outdated IT infrastructures to more advanced cloud-native technologies. Yet the journey from legacy to cloud-native is not easy. In our work with emerging companies and Fortune 500 enterprises worldwide, we see five common pitfalls that are addressable through the right cloud migration approach.

1. Map cloud migration to business strategy and vision

A fundamental error in the cloud migration journey is a need for a well-defined strategy and vision. According to Unisys, over one-third, (37%) of U.S. businesses fail to realize notable benefits from cloud computing, mainly because they need to integrate their adoption plan as a core part of their broader business transformation strategy. Without a clear roadmap that aligns with business objectives, projects often quickly devolve into disconnected initiatives, leading to inefficiencies, wasted resources, and missed opportunities.

It’s critical to thoroughly understand business drivers, objectives, market trends, and customer needs. With this insight, you can identify how cloud solutions can enhance operational efficiency, scalability, and customer experiences. Then, craft a comprehensive plan that outlines the cloud migration strategy, resource allocation, and projected outcomes

Source: Rackspace

Ongoing communication with key stakeholders is vital to ensure a shared understanding of how cloud migration and modernization will drive value. Engage teams through regular updates and workshops to foster a collective commitment to the transformation process. Measure and quantify the impact of cloud adoption on key performance indicators to demonstrate the contribution to the business’s bottom line. By consistently aligning cloud initiatives with the business vision, digital innovators can position their companies for sustainable growth, competitive advantage, and technological resilience.

2. Don’t underestimate the complexity

Imagine building an IT system/platform over a 10 to 20-year span. By now, it’s likely still a monolith structure, riddled with significant technical debt and accompanied by limited or outdated technical documentation. As a CIO or CTO, you own modernizing this behemoth – the nucleus of your company’s intellectual property. Driven by intense business pressures and the allure of quick wins, you ambitiously earmark a six-month timeframe for the project’s initial phase. Half a year seems ample on paper, creating the illusion that monumental progress is doable. However, the reality of such undertakings often diverges dramatically from initial expectations.

Companies can avoid the pitfalls of haste and help ensure successful cloud migrations by comprehensively assessing the existing infrastructure, applications, and data. This evaluation helps identify potential challenges and create a well-structured migration plan. Further, consider adopting a phased approach, where critical workloads are migrated incrementally, which allows for thorough testing, troubleshooting, and optimization, and helps minimize the risks associated with a rushed migration. Regular communication, training, and involving relevant stakeholders also help ensure a smoother and more successful transition to the cloud.

TSB Bank in the UK undertook a significant IT migration process to move customer data from an old system managed by its former owner, Lloyds Banking Group, to a new one managed by its Spanish owner, Banco Sabadell. The bank had assured customers that this shift would be smooth. Upon execution, many customers found themselves locked out of their accounts; some reportedly had access to other customers’ details, while others claimed money had disappeared from their accounts. This IT fiasco was partly attributed to underestimating the complexity of such a large-scale migration, leading to significant reputational damage and regulatory scrutiny.

To address these challenges, invest in in-depth research and analysis of the migration approach and develop a thorough migration plan that covers all identified complexities. The Bloomberg article mentions, among other things, that “Due diligence in the discovery and planning phases is critical “. Collaborate with stakeholders for alignment and buy-in, do the research, and identify potential issues. Importantly, seek expert guidance for valuable insights and set realistic timelines accommodating unforeseen complexities. By following these steps, executives can navigate the intricacies of IT modernization and cloud migration, reduce wasted resources, and achieve successful outcomes.

3. Ensure the right skillsets

Ensuring a successful migration to the cloud hinges on having a team with the right blend of expertise in legacy systems and modern cloud-native technologies. This is often a challenge as internal teams have predominantly worked on a legacy, outdated monolith behemoth and have yet to acquire the relevant experience of cloud-native tech at scale.

One-third of respondents say they lack the expertise needed for cloud modernization.

Rackspace

Ensuring successful cloud migrations requires melding legacy system understanding with modern cloud-native expertise. Many businesses entrenched in legacy systems grapple with this shift. Symantec, a cybersecurity giant historically dominant in antivirus solutions, faced the complex task of transitioning to cloud-native services in a landscape with agile startups. Their challenge was technological and involved aligning their seasoned team with evolving cloud paradigms. Symantec’s journey exemplifies the intricate dance between leveraging deep-rooted expertise and adapting to the demands of modern cloud-native transformations.

To ensure the right skillsets, identify platform-specific expertise gaps and assemble a multidisciplinary team. Cloud architects devise migration strategies and architecture, while cloud engineers manage implementation and integration. DevOps engineers streamline collaboration, security experts handle risk assessment and compliance, and data professionals manage migration and optimization. Change management specialists are also critical to facilitate the cultural shift. Agile methodologies are vital and should be supplemented by external partners if needed. Balancing internal and external expertise, fostering a learning culture, and monitoring performance ensure alignment with cloud strategy.

4. Don’t neglect security and compliance

The complexity of modernizing legacy systems is compounded by “Security by Design” concepts. Consider the case of FireEye, one of the largest cybersecurity ISVs in the US (now part of Trellix). In 2020, FireEye’s cloud acquisition marked a strategic investment to accelerate its transformation as a cloud cybersecurity player. However, a sophisticated security breach, where attackers targeted and accessed FireEye’s internal systems a significant setback and derailed the company’s plans.

Additionally, Capital One’s significant data breach, which exposed the personal information of more than 100 million customers, was caused by a cybercriminal exploiting a vulnerability in the bank’s cloud infrastructure. While Capital One was migrating a significant portion of its IT operations to the cloud, the breach highlighted the complexity and potential risks of such a transition. The breach raised concerns about security measures, access controls, and overall risk management in the cloud environment.

In cloud-native settings, 41% of organizations choose to weave security into every stage of software development.
Palo Alto Networks

These incidents underscore the importance of integrating robust security measures from the onset of modernization efforts. Transitioning to cloud-native computing demands a distinct security approach compared to legacy software systems. In cloud-native environments, 41% of organizations favor integrating security solutions throughout the software development lifecycle. Companies looking to modernize successfully should prioritize secure architectural design, continuously monitor for vulnerabilities, and invest in cutting-edge security tools to protect against breaches as they transition to the cloud.

5. Avoid rushing the process

The mantra for every company should be test, refine, then test again, and test some more. Cybersecurity giant Trend Micro faced the consequences of moving too quickly a few years ago. In their keenness to launch a cutting-edge cloud security solution, they rolled out an update with unforeseen vulnerabilities. Attackers exploited these security flaws and were able to get unauthorized access to customer data.

In digital innovation and migrating to the cloud, haste can cost dearly, emphasizing the need for diligent planning, sound execution, and rigorous quality assurance over sheer speed.

The journey from legacy systems to cloud-native environments carries significant challenges in the swiftly evolving digital landscape, underscored by the sobering 70% failure rate in digital transformation projects. The central role of the cloud in successful transformations is clear, yet pitfalls loom for every company.

To help ensure success, understanding how to navigate five common pitfalls is critical. Alignment with business vision is paramount. Underestimating complexity, witnessed in incidents like the TSB Bank scenario, necessitates meticulous planning, expert guidance, and comprehensive testing. The right skillsets are crucial, as legacy-to-cloud shifts challenge established teams. Pay attention to security and compliance, as impatience can lead to errors.

A judicious approach, integrating strategy, expertise, security, and pace, is essential to navigate this complex journey successfully.

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6 Top B2B Fintech Companies and How Digital Innovation Made Them Successful

Milovan Milic — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 08:54:10 +0000

In 2022, the B2B fintech sector in Europe attracted four times the investment compared to its B2C counterpart.

Investors find B2B fintech companies attractive because they have a greater revenue potential, focus on specific niche markets, and always aim to differentiate themselves from the competition through innovative features and products.

But not all B2B fintech companies are created equal. Some focus on creating unique products, while others find new, untapped markets and serve their needs with the help of the latest technology. In all cases, digital innovation is key to the success of these companies. Companies that are more innovative—like these six successful UK companies—are more likely to thrive in the competitive fintech landscape.

1. Revolut

Revolut identified the need for the use of digital technology and mobile apps to make banking easier for users more than a decade ago. In the early 2010s, the founders of Revolut saw that smartphone adoption and use were on the rise and that there was a market for digital banking apps.

They started working on a digital banking app and launched it in 2015. Its primary appeal was the ease of sending and receiving money, cryptocurrency, and P2P payments all over the world. It offered all transactions at interbank exchange rates and charged no fees on currency exchanges.

The app quickly gained popularity because it was easy to use and was a faster and more secure alternative to conventional banking. The app, and the services offered through it, are a good example of using digital innovation to win over a largely untapped market.

Revolut’s B2B products include standard banking services with support for crypto and more than 25 currencies for teams as well as customizable payment systems and gateways.

Revolut also offers a prepaid debit card in over 30 countries. The company is currently valued at $33 billion.

Revolut’s success can be attributed to identifying market trends, prioritizing user experience, implementing innovative features, and continuously improving the application. Even though the company captured the market early, it didn’t lose its market share to similar products. That’s because it kept improving its app and used the latest technology—case in point—its use of machine learning technology for fraud detection and prevention back in 2018.

Revolut’s success is a prime example of how technological innovation can help companies achieve great success.

2. Wise

Wise took an age-old, tried-and-tested business model and modernized it. The founders realized that banks charge a hidden fee by offering less favorable exchange rates. They created an MVP using the Grails framework, with one of the founders writing the first few thousand lines of code himself. They spread the word through unpaid marketing campaigns to get their first few users.

The company started with a peer-to-peer model and cut out bank exchange fees entirely by matching people that wanted to transfer money from one country to another with others that wanted to do the opposite. When a match was not available, Wise used its own funds.

The company grew slowly for the first two years, but aggressive marketing campaigns, where it targeted banks for not being transparent, helped it get new customers. As it grew, the company switched to a microservices architecture for scalability. It also formed partnerships with challenger banks from all over Europe and integrated its app with their partners as well as Facebook Messenger. This use of API integrations helped the company increase its reach and cater to a wider audience.

Soon the founders realized that they could target the B2B market as well. The company offered borderless accounts to businesses and freelancers and enabled companies to make international payments through its API. These features, coupled with the company’s great reputation and marketing strategy, helped Wise become successful.

Its B2B products include a payment system for businesses, business debit cards and employee debit cards, and the Wise platform—a cross-border payment solution for businesses. The company is currently worth $6.6 billion.

Wise’s journey showcases the power of modernizing a traditional business model with the help of digital technology. Without tech, a peer-to-peer model is just the centuries-old Hawala system. With tech, it becomes a billion-dollar business operating globally.

The fact that the founders were quick to launch an MVP and switch from a monolithic structure to microservices as soon they faced increased traffic shows their proactive approach. They focused on digital innovation as much as their business model and marketing strategies and succeeded on all fronts.

3. Blockchain.com

Blockchain.com started as a Bitcoin blockchain explorer and saw the potential in creating a cryptocurrency wallet, which led to explosive growth in the early 2010s. Its blockchain explorer enabled users to examine transactions and study blockchain, and it also offered an API that helped companies build on Bitcoin.

Giving its users access to such a vast database through an easy-to-use interface helped the company build trust, so when it launched its own crypto wallet, it became widely adopted. The company also partnered with Checkout.com last year to help its users convert fiat currencies into crypto easily. It is also planning to launch its Visa card in the US.

The company’s B2B products include Bitcoin and Ethereum, USD Coin, Tether, and more than 300 altcoins through its platform called Radial. Even though we are going through a crypto winter, Blockchain.com is likely to be valued at $4 billion.

Blockchain.com’s journey exemplifies the success of recognizing the potential of blockchain technology and leveraging it to build innovative products. The world’s biggest database on blockchain led to a digital wallet, and the digital wallet led to a Visa card, cementing Blockchain.com’s position as a leader in the crypto industry.

4. Paddle

Paddle was founded in 2012 to help SaaS companies in subscription management, renewals, and reporting. The company also built regulation compliance, fraud detection, and payment routing into its platform, giving SaaS companies all the features they need for payment management and transaction monitoring.

By offering a complete payment infrastructure, it takes away the need for SaaS companies to maintain a separate tech stack just for payment management. For example, a SaaS company that uses Paddle doesn’t need a fraud detection system, compliance software, and invoicing software, among others. Instead of dedicating resources to managing and integrating a vast technology stack, these companies can simply use Paddle to handle payments and focus on their core products.

Paddle was valued at over $1.4 billion in 2022 and continues to grow as new subscription-based software companies adopt the platform.

Paddle’s success story showcases the value of identifying technological problems and solving them for specific markets. The company consolidated the features offered by multiple tools on just one platform and secured its position as a market leader in its niche.

5. Thought Machine

Thought Machine identified the need for legacy banks to modernize their digital infrastructure back in the early 2010s and created a banking platform called Vault to do just that.

Through Vault, Thought Machine gives legacy banks everything they need to move from legacy banking systems to a modern, cloud-native core banking platform. The platform enables banks and financial institutions to provide their customers with secure and personalized banking services while also streamlining their internal operations.

Vault is built on modern technology and architecture, which allows it to provide scalability, flexibility, and resilience. The platform is designed to handle high volumes of transactions, support multiple currencies and languages, and seamlessly integrate with other banking systems. It offers advanced capabilities, such as real-time data processing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. These features enable banks to provide personalized experiences to their customers and create their own innovative financial products from within the platform.
Thought Machine was valued at $2.7 billion in 2022.

6. LeaseQuery

LeaseQuery was founded in 2011 as an accounting software that provided journal entries and forecast reports to businesses that needed to understand the financial impact of their lease portfolio. With time, the company added new features and started to help businesses meet regulatory compliance.

The company also offers an integration hub that connects its software applications to all kinds of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) programs and databases, and it migrated its legacy lease accounting software to modern architecture with Devtech’s assistance.

LeaseQuery caters to tens of thousands of accounting professionals across the public and private sectors—a feat that would have been impossible without the use of digital technology. Instead of offering accounting services the conventional way, the company chose to create a software to offer its services at scale. It now has more than 2,000 customers.

Innovation is the only way to thrive in fintech

Every fintech company discussed in this article identified a problem to solve and a market to cater to and then used the latest technology in the most innovative way to achieve its goals. In an environment where new competitors emerge every day and technology evolves at a rapid pace, the B2B fintech market will continue to see exciting and highly innovative digital products.

Want a software expert’s perspective on your B2B fintech infrastructure and products? Partner with Devtech to find creative ways to improve your products.

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How To Create a Digital Transformation Strategy for Your Financial Services Organization

Milovan Milic — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 08:39:47 +0000

The rapid growth of fintech firms has created significant pressure to accelerate digital transformation to help achieve business objectives. But most of the effort that goes into digital transformation is focused on customer-facing products and services—only 23% of financial institutions have achieved complete digital transformation.

Complete digital transformation means transforming all aspects of your business, customer-facing and internal, with the help of the latest technology. Complete digital transformation in fintech can be achieved by focusing on the following:

Upgrade your legacy systems and invest in new technologies

Legacy systems cannot match the speed and efficiency of modern technology. Imagine using Microsoft Dynamics CRM 1.0 in the age of Microsoft Dynamics 365—you’d lose out on all the latest features, built-in integrations, and advanced capabilities.

Most business leaders know they need to upgrade their legacy systems but put it off to avoid the challenges of transitioning, which can be addressed with planning.

Combine new tech and legacy tech. Upgrading mission-critical systems can disrupt daily operations and productivity. Minimize the impact by integrating new technologies alongside existing systems and gradually migrating data and processes. This allows employees to adjust to the new software while maintaining smooth operations throughout the transition.
Invest in employee training. Train employees to adapt to modern systems, as they may struggle to transition from legacy systems. Investing in training enhances their job skills and performance, facilitating a smooth adjustment to new processes and technologies.
Choose subscription-based tech. Upgrading software incurs both obvious and hidden costs, including licenses, infrastructure, and the time and resources needed for migration. Cloud-based software with a pay-as-you-go subscription plan reduces migration expenses, while the investment in migration yields improved productivity and performance. Expertise is crucial to avoid costly mistakes and optimize the migration process.

Devtech worked with a hosting company to transition from a legacy billing system to a custom-built automated billing and provisioning system. The legacy system required a lot of manual work, and the company wanted its new system to completely automate all processes from sign-up to ordering of services through its website.

We helped the company build a scalable, automated system that reduced its customers’ ordering time. We also built immediate billing and invoicing capabilities, eliminating the need for manual processes and reducing billing time from three days to under 10 minutes. The investment the company made in upgrading its legacy systems helped it shave more than two days of manual work for each transaction.

Launch a range of new digital products and services

Traditional financial institutions competing with fintech companies can achieve digital transformation and increase customer engagement and satisfaction by launching new digital features. When trying to launch new products and services, there are two major challenges:

Technology infrastructure and integration. Launching new digital products/services demands a scalable technology infrastructure and seamless integration with existing systems. Begin by defining the necessary technology stack and architecture. Next, create a roadmap for technology upgrades, integrations, and enhancements.
Market fit and customer adoption. Lack of clarity about the target audience, competition, or customer preferences hinders the alignment of new digital products/services with market needs. Conduct thorough market research, gather feedback, and iteratively refine offerings based on customer insights. Launch an MVP to test the waters before building a full-featured product.

Remember when you had to physically go to the bank and ask for a statement? That changed when banks launched their web and mobile apps, and now you can access your bank statements online 24/7. Now, in the age of neobanks, where some banks exist exclusively online, there’s no need to visit the bank at all. Think along these lines and see which major customer pain points you can address with the help of the latest technologies. Use mobile apps, robo-advisory platforms, chatbots, and AI-powered features to help your customers achieve everything they want with just one visit to your app or website.

Utilize agile methodology for rapid development and delivery

Organizations that don’t use agile methodologies for software development suffer from lengthy iterative development cycles and don’t have the flexibility to adapt to customer needs quickly. Switching to agile methodologies as part of your digital transformation initiatives will help shorten your release cycles and deliver high-quality digital products and services to your customers.

The shift to agile methodologies empowers organizations to embrace flexibility, respond to feedback, and gain a competitive edge in a digital world. However, such a shift is not without its challenges.

Adopting agile methodology is a major cultural shift. A hierarchical, control-oriented, or rigid culture may clash with the collaborative, iterative, and adaptive nature of agile. Implementing agile practices necessitates a significant cultural shift and a change in how the entire development team operates.
Your entire software development team will need training. You will need to invest in certification training courses like PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) and SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager (SAFe POPM). The entire team taking multiple courses and certification exams will cost money, as well as multiple hours per person every week for at least a month. But this investment is critical to ensure the team can take advantage of new capabilities.

You can address these challenges by investing in certification training courses, educating your team about the advantages of agile methodologies, and bringing in external experts to guide the organization through the transition.

Devtech helped Virgin Trains overcome major roadblocks in building its new cloud platform with the help of agile methodologies. The company’s previous methodology resulted in slow release cycles, which made it unable to turn its MVP into a full-featured product. With the help of agile methodologies, and improvements to the software development life cycle, we accelerated testing and deployment times significantly, accelerated the product roadmap, and built a full-featured, cloud-based platform that performed at seven times its usual speed. If you are not using the agile approach to software development, it should be high on the list of your digital transformation initiatives.

Transition from partial automation to hyper-automation

Hyper-automation means automating every process possible in your organization. With the help of hyper-automation, organizations gain higher operational efficiency, reduce errors, and improve accuracy. It also gives the organization the ability to scale operations rapidly.

With automation technologies and intelligent bots handling routine tasks, businesses can handle increased volumes without significant human intervention. The integration of AI and ML enables systems to learn and adapt, leading to continuous process improvement and increased productivity. Hyper-automation also enables end-to-end automation of complex workflows, eliminating bottlenecks and reducing the time required to complete tasks.

Every company uses some kind of automation. Almost 80% of finance leaders have either implemented or plan to implement robotic process automation (RPA). Even if we put RPA aside for a second, the lead management process in most companies is automated thanks to marketing and sales automation tools. But going from partial automation to hyper-automation has the following challenges:

Complexity of integration. Integrating various automation technologies, AI algorithms, and existing systems can be complex. You have to deal with compatibility issues, data silos, and the need to redesign or restructure processes to enable end-to-end automation as well as data integration.
Employee concerns about possible job displacement. Your employees may worry that some job roles will become redundant after you achieve hyper-automation.

You can address these challenges by using a data integration tool (or integration platform) that connects all software systems in your organization. This way, you will have complete control over your organizational data. You can also address employee concerns by reskilling and upskilling them and modifying their job roles in a way such that they reap the benefits of hyper-automation.

Think of an insurance company, where processes such as claims processing and policy administration are already automated. To achieve hyper-automation, the company would need to automate other processes such as claims assessment, underwriting, customer onboarding, fraud detection, policy renewals, and customer communication. That is a long list of processes, and each would require a customized solution.

The company would first need to invest in:

RPA to automate repetitive and rule-based tasks
Natural language processing (NLP) to extract insights from unstructured data
Machine learning and AI to improve decision-making and personalize customer interactions
Self-service portals and mobile apps to empower customers to manage their policies, file claims, and obtain real-time updates
A data integration tool to manage all the data being generated by these tools
Data analytics tools to monitor and measure the performance of its hyper-automation initiatives

As you can see, the above is a complex undertaking where multiple new systems will need to be implemented before you achieve hyper-automation. However, the rewards are worth the investment and effort. By transitioning from partial automation to hyper-automation, the company would reduce the time it takes for them to process claims dramatically, and that will help them improve customer satisfaction and retention.

Transition to microservices for scalable software products

In monolithic architecture, all functionalities are tightly coupled within a single application, and if one thing breaks, the whole app stops working. Microservices architecture promotes scalability and flexibility, enabling organizations to develop, deploy, and maintain complex applications more efficiently.

A microservices architecture is an architectural style in which an application is structured as a collection of loosely coupled, independent, and autonomous services. Each service represents a specific business capability and is responsible for a well-defined set of functions. These services communicate with each other through APIs. If one service breaks, the rest of the app works as usual, giving you time to isolate and fix problems.

Switching to a microservices architecture is a better option for financial services apps because these are feature-heavy apps that need continuous modifications as a result of changing regulations and customer expectations. The following are the two top challenges you may face when switching to a microservices architecture:

Increased complexity in distributed systems. Managing and coordinating communication between multiple independent services can lead to potential issues like service discovery, network latency, and ensuring data consistency across services. Use API gateways to facilitate seamless communication between services and employ resilient communication patterns such as circuit breakers and retries to handle service failures gracefully.
Operational overhead and infrastructure complexity. With microservices, the number of services increases. Each service needs to be deployed, monitored, scaled, and maintained independently, which leads to increased operational overhead. Use containerization technologies like Docker and orchestration tools like Kubernetes to automate the deployment and scaling of services.

Though not a financial service, the journey of Netflix from a monolithic architecture to a microservices architecture is a well-documented success story of digital transformation. As the company grew, it realized the need for scalability, flexibility, and faster innovation, which led to the decision to transition to a microservices architecture. To change the architecture of its app, the company:

Invested in DevOps (automated testing, continuous integration, and continuous delivery pipelines) to enable rapid and frequent releases of new features and enhancements across its microservices ecosystem
Adopted an agile development approach, where teams could work autonomously and release updates more frequently
Decomposed its monolithic application into smaller, more manageable services
Deployed an API gateway to handle authentication, routing, and load balancing and provide a unified interface for clients to interact with the underlying microservices
Adopted a distributed data management approach to allow services to operate independently without relying on a centralized database
Implemented containerization and orchestration using tools like Docker and Kubernetes to ensure efficient resource utilization and high availability

Moving to a microservices architecture helped Netflix achieve unprecedented performance and scalability. But changing the architecture of an app is not a small project. So, plan carefully, execute it, and reap its benefits.

Take a page out of LeaseQuery’s book

LeaseQuery, a cloud-based accounting and lease management software, was growing too fast, and its technology processes were unable to keep up. The company identified a need for a major transformation in its software development lifecycle (SDLC) processes and reached out to Devtech for help.

We helped this digital innovator become a digital transformer through:

Upskilling and knowledge transfer
Automating the product release schedule and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline
Implementing a new infrastructure as a code platform
Migrating its infrastructure to a new automation system for deployment management

Ultimately, the partnership was successful, and LeaseQuery was able to completely transform its processes with the help of new technology. Read the detailed account of how Devtech helped LeaseQuery and see how you can leverage a global partner with deep software engineering expertise to help you in your digital transformation journey.

Don’t wait to act on digital transformation

Some organizational leaders understand the importance of digital transformation but put it off because it’s too big of a commitment. However, in light of our experiences, digital transformation should be prioritized over other projects. Just a few years ago, we were discussing digital transformation with companies that opted to postpone it and prioritize other projects.

Then, the COVID pandemic caused a global lockdown and forced many companies to make major changes to their processes and technology stacks. When some of those same companies returned to their digital transformation projects, they were met with bigger challenges and lots of missed opportunities.

Don’t miss out on the opportunities provided by digital transformation. Contact us to discuss your requirements today.

The post How To Create a Digital Transformation Strategy for Your Financial Services Organization appeared first on Devtech.

Devtech Appoints Seasoned Technology Executive Michael Carr as CFO

Milovan Milic — Wed, 24 May 2023 10:23:40 +0000

Carr will help company scale globally to deliver digital innovation services to clients

LONDON, May 24, 2023 – Devtech, a leader in digital innovation services for emerging and Fortune 1000 businesses, today announced the appointment of Michael Carr as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective immediately. Michael is a seasoned technology entrepreneur and executive with more than 25 years of finance, operations, and leadership experience. Michael is responsible for Devtech’s financial strategy and operations globally.

“I am thrilled to welcome Michael as Devtech’s CFO,” said Milovan Milic, CEO of Devtech. “Michael’s extensive experience in finance and operations, combined with his proven leadership skills, will be instrumental in helping us scale to meet the needs of our clients across fintech, cloud, cybersecurity, and telecom.

Carr has led the global expansion of multiple successful technology companies. Most recently, he served as Amgine Technologies’ CEO, guiding the business through private fundraising rounds, re-building the company’s technology platform, acquiring top corporate travel clients, and expanding the company’s patent portfolio. Carr also served as the CFO of Ingram Micro’s Cloud division, helping the company grow to more than 1,500 employees and leading successful international acquisitions.

“I am delighted to join Devtech as CFO, as I see a tremendous success story unfolding as the company rapidly expands to help our clients leverage digital technology to innovate and scale,” said Michael Carr, Devtech CFO. “I am excited about being part of this journey and contributing my knowledge, experience, and energy to Devtech.”

Carr has deep experience building and expanding businesses across North America and Europe. He has also held senior positions at companies including InQuent and SoftCom (acquired by Ingram Micro). In addition to serving on Devtech’s board of directors, he is also a board member of publicly traded Givex Corporation (TSX: GIVX), a Canadian-based electronic payments and gift card company with a presence in more than 25 countries.

About Devtech

Devtech is a global digital innovation services company that helps emerging and Fortune 1000 businesses transform, scale, and disrupt their industries through next-generation digital and cloud technologies. The company combines deep cloud domain knowledge with expertise in software product engineering, user experience, and creative design—to deliver end-to-end solutions that drive desired business outcomes. More information about the company can be found at https://devtechgroup.com.

Contact Information

Dunja Bajic
PR & Communications Manager
[email protected]

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Making the Most of Cloud-Based Marketplaces with API Integrations

Milovan Milic — Tue, 16 May 2023 09:52:42 +0000

Cloud marketplaces are enjoying explosive growth at the moment, with some estimates placing them at $50 billion in size by the end of 2025.

These marketplaces give vendors access to large customer bases along with marketing support. That’s millions of dollars in potential sales, if you know how to use these marketplaces to sell your products and services.

Using API-based integration can help companies utilize these marketplaces to expand the user base and increase sales. But tackling multiple marketplaces, each with its own API ecosystem, is a hassle. Also, there’s the issue of keeping up with technological advances made on these platforms by constantly updating your APIs. If you can find a way to overcome these challenges, there’s endless potential to grow your sales.

How APIs help you achieve marketplace integration

APIs act as a bridge between different software systems, allowing them to communicate and work together. They define a set of rules and instructions that govern how software components can interact with each other and the functions, commands, and data formats that one software system can expose to another. APIs allow you to connect your products with the marketplace’s infrastructure and ecosystem and enable functionalities such as product listing, provisioning, billing, and usage tracking.

APIs also facilitate the automation and orchestration of various processes involved in software delivery and management. They allow you to automate tasks such as product deployment, scaling, monitoring, and maintenance, thereby enhancing the overall user experience and operational efficiency.

Generally, cloud-based marketplaces provide multiple APIs, each dedicated to the following functions:

- Listing and discovery: To fetch product descriptions, pricing information, and other relevant metadata from the vendor to the marketplace.
- Provisioning and deployment: To initiate a service and create respective account, or to configure infrastructure resources (e.g., spin up virtual machines or the instance of the product) and provide an automated service delivery once someone makes a purchase.
- Billing and subscription management: To handle billing and invoicing, accurate tracking of usage, subscription tiers, and payment processing.
- User authentication and single sign-on (SSO): To eliminate the need for customers to remember multiple login credentials.
- Monitoring and analytics: To take data, such as active users, API calls, and resource utilization, from the marketplace to the vendor.

4 challenges in using APIs for marketplace integration (and how to overcome them)

While APIs promote seamless integration between the vendor’s software and the marketplace’s platform, their use is not without its challenges. Software vendors and service providers complain about platform integrations being difficult and too many API ecosystems to manage when dealing with multiple platforms. The following are some common challenges with API integration, along with ways to overcome them:

1. Use API gateways for security and access control

APIs exposed to the marketplace can prove to be vulnerable to cyberattacks and unauthorized access. Implementing industry-standard security protocols like OAuth 2.0 or JSON Web Tokens will help with authentication and authorization. Also, using API gateways serves as a security measure, too, (besides helping manage all APIs) because such gateways come with robust security features to manage access control.

2. Design APIs with scalability and performance issues in mind

While marketplaces provide the underlying infrastructure and platform capabilities to handle scalability and performance, as a vendor, your APIs have to be able to handle high volumes of API requests. Design APIs with scalability in mind, utilizing scalable infrastructure and employing techniques like caching, load balancing, and horizontal scaling. Employ cloud-based infrastructure services such as auto-scaling and content delivery networks (CDNs) to handle high API request volumes.

3. Provide backward compatibility for new versions of your APIs

Over time, you may need to introduce updates, improvements, or changes to your APIs. Your existing integrations and customer applications may rely on specific API features or behaviors. Provide backward compatibility as much as possible and use versioning techniques such as URL paths or request headers to handle different API versions.

4. Test your APIs for functionality and load before you deploy

Perform functional testing, integration testing, and load testing to identify and address potential issues before building API integration into the marketplace. Use automated testing frameworks for API endpoints, performance testing tools to simulate high loads, and continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) practices.

Doing all of the above on your own can be resource intensive. You will need dedicated teams of developers managing multiple API ecosystems and constantly updating them. We address this challenge in part by supporting more than 35 API ecosystems and helping partners like Huawei, Acronis, and Mimecast manage their integration projects.

How we helped Mimecast 7x its average order value

Usually, companies focus their efforts on product depth or breadth, but rarely both at the same time. If you can invest in R&D and do both, you will give yourself a greater chance of retaining your customers.

We helped Mimecast integrate with various channels and cloud ecosystems. As a result, the company saw a 7x increase in average order value, a 75% reduction in down-sell and churn, and an 8% increase in revenue retention.

Mimecast, a popular cloud cybersecurity services provider, faced challenges in prioritizing internal engineering teams between product development and third-party platform integrations. The company partnered with Devtech to tap into our expertise and knowledge about channel and cloud ecosystems on demand, allowing it to shift priorities as needed. The company had three major challenges:

1. It needed to integrate with multiple cloud-based marketplaces and security operations and management platforms and did not have a scalable solution to do that.
2. It faced the common challenge of having to deal with too many API ecosystems.

To help the company overcome these challenges, Devtech:

- Built several integrations into cloud marketplaces to help Mimecast sell more through channel.
- Built several integrations into third-party security platforms (SIEM, SOAR, etc.) to enable Mimecast customers to get security insights from Mimecast service into the security operation platforms.
- Used our experience of working with third-party cloud platforms to define the right integration approach for specific ecosystems.

With the help of Devtech’s channel enablement, Mimecast was able to accelerate its channel strategy execution, penetrate new markets, and increase revenue potential. Read the detailed account of how Devtech helped Mimecast and see how you can leverage a global partner with channel enablement expertise to help you empower your partners.

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