Interactive turns broker with SaaS marketplace launch

Australian IT services firm, Interactive, is set to play the part of software broker in the local landscape, following the launch of its new software-as-a-service (SaaS) app marketplace.

The Alliance marketplace is the latest offering from the company’s Software Services division, aiming to offer Australian-based SaaS providers a single platform into a local small to medium-sized business (SMB) community.

Interactive software program manager, Rachel Armstrong, said that the marketplace will be a "one-stop-shop" for the company’s SMB client base, providing choice of software options in horizontal markets such as customer relationship management (CRM), human resources (HR), sales, communications, operations and finance.

“There are marketplaces popping up across the globe, but Interactive Alliance is unique,” Armstrong said. “Our aim is to partner with a select group of relevant, Australian-based, best of breed SaaS vendors whose products directly support our customer’s businesses,” she said.

“We see ourselves as brokers connecting our valued customers with truly brilliant SaaS products that solve real challenges,” she said.

Interactive, which touts itself as the largest privately owned multi-vendor hardware maintenance company in Australia and New Zealand, and counts Microsoft, VMware and Cisco among its partners, is now on the hunt for SaaS vendors to fill out its Alliance marketplace.

Specifically, the company is seeking expressions of interest from SaaS vendors that have a “proven solution with satisfied customers to back it up”.

The company said that this partnership opportunity would best suit SaaS vendors with a product ready to move from start-up to scale-up.

Alliance partners will immediately become partners of Interactive, serving up selected SaaS vendors with direct entry to Interactive’s 2000-strong army of SMB customers.

Furthermore, alliance partners will receive dedicated sales facilitation from Interactive, as well as 24/7 Australian-based tier-1 product support, network and security monitoring, hosting discounts as well as access to marketing, and learning and development resources.