AppDirect Cited by Independent Research Firm as Offering a Competitive Advantage to Accelerate Ecosystem Success

SAN FRANCISCO – August 16, 2023 – AppDirect, the world’s leading B2B subscription commerce platform, has secured a position among 12 PRM solutions in the Forrester Wave:™ for Partner Relationship Management, Q3 2023 report.

As providers increasingly monetize their products through indirect sales in external channels and ecosystems, the significance of PRM solutions has grown, playing a vital role in streamlining and automating partner management processes, and helping companies simplify and optimize their operations.

In its report, Forrester states, “AppDirect is on a mission to empower businesses to find, buy, and manage the technology they need to thrive. The volume of marketplaces and transactions through them have exploded in recent years. Its PRM solution, launched nearly five years ago, combined with its marketplace platform, presents a unique competitive advantage to accelerate ecosystem success.” [1]

"We’re delighted to receive this prestigious recognition," said Nicolas Desmarais, Chairman and CEO, AppDirect. "While we are not a pure play PRM, this acknowledgement of our PRM strengths complements the recognition as a leader that we received in The Forrester Wave™: Marketplace Development Platforms, Q4 2021 report,' he added. 

AppDirect believes these recognitions strongly reinforce AppDirect's position as the single platform that providers need to monetize their products and thrive, and its strategic vision of unifying providers, advisors, and buyers on a dynamic platform within a multidirectional ecosystem. A March 2023 article by The Boston Consulting Group emphasized the value of ecosystems, stating, "The most powerful aspect of a business ecosystem is its modular structure––the components of the platform are designed independently yet function as an integrated whole. To maintain and increase revenue, these components can be enhanced, altered, or replaced depending on shifting customer demand and preferences."

B2B technology consumers are changing how and where they buy technology products, and the AppDirect ecosystem gives service providers the ability to meet their customers wherever they are. Increasingly, that’s through third-party companies that help businesses procure optimal products to fit their needs—including strategic technology advisors, trusted software vendors, and others.

In its report, Forrester concludes, “Organizations interested in cultivating a partner ecosystem to sell first-party and third-party digital and physical products through marketplaces should consider AppDirect’s solution.” [1]

Nigel Pegg, Vice-President and General Manager at Coupa commented on the changing nature of partner management in light of the market’s shift towards ecosystems. "Traditional PRMs are one piece of the puzzle in managing partner relationships in today's ecosystem environment, where we proactively share and collaborate on opportunities across multiple levels,” he said. “With AppDirect we have a central hub for managing our ecosystem, where our marketplace integrates seamlessly across all our PRM tools, and allows us to manage dynamic partner relationships. This adds tremendous value for our customers, generates leads for sales teams, and allows us to continually expand our ecosystem. No standalone PRM would have allowed us to achieve these results."

About AppDirect

AppDirect is a San Francisco-based B2B subscription commerce platform company that brings together technology providers, advisors, and businesses to simplify how they buy, sell and manage technology. More than 1,000 providers, 10,000 advisors, and 5 million subscribers rely on the AppDirect ecosystem of subscription marketplaces to power their innovation, growth, and success.

About Coupa Software

​​Coupa is the cloud-based Business Spend Management (BSM) platform that unifies processes across supply chain, procurement, and finance functions. Coupa empowers organizations around the world to maximize value and operationalize purpose through their business spend.

[1] Source: The Forrester Wave: Partner Relationship Management, Q3 2023, July 24, 2023, By Hannibal Scipio with Maria Chien, Sarah Morana, Arianne Burnette