Embarcadero Technologies today announced the availability of a new version of the AppWave business platform and PC app store designed to help independent software vendors (ISVs) improve their customer experience and drive new revenue growth.

AppWave for ISVs expands on the Embarcadero experience with AppWave for enterprise customers and their end-users. AppWave simplifies and expedites how desktop PC software is marketed, sold, delivered, tracked, and maintained, allowing existing client-server apps to be delivered more as a service. [Disclosure: Embarcadero Technologies is a sponsor of BriefingsDirect podcasts.]

Available via a free download, the AppWave platform gives users access to more than 250 free PC productivity apps for general business, marketing, design, data management, and development including OpenOffice, Adobe Acrobat Reader, 7Zip, FileZilla, and more, said Embarcadero, based in San Francisco.

AppWave users also can add internally developed and commercial software titles, such as Adobe Creative Suite products and Microsoft Visio, for on-demand access, control, and visibility into software titles they already own. Customer apps can also be converted for use on AppWave, via AppWave Studio tools.

Easily acquired apps
The AppWave platform converts valued, but often cumbersome business software into easily consumed and acquired "apps," so business users don't have to wait in line for IT to order, install, and approve the work tools that they really need without delay.

With AppWave, companies have a consumer-like app experience with the software they commonly use. With rapid, self-service access to apps, and real-time tracking and reporting of software utilization, the end result is a boost in productivity and lowering of software costs. Pricing to enable commercial and custom software applications to run as AppWave apps starts at $10 to $400 per app.

There's a dynamic shift under way in the PC software market. Software as a service (SaaS) and the consumerization of IT have changed the way software is acquired and used. Vendors such as Salesforce.com and Google originated in the cloud, and Microsoft is moving its Office franchise to cloud-based streaming. Even enterprise IT is transitioning to a services-delivery model. End-users now expect the flexibility of mobile apps on their desktops, and ISVs must look for ways to meet these evolving demands.

To me, ISVs need to play both offense and defense in this new climate. They need to provide their customers ongoing value in the existing apps and delivery models, while also providing a path to the future, especially for mobile tier deleivery. AppWave for ISVs helps provide more runway for existing code, while setting up an on-ramp to the pure SaaS and cloud models. This is a revenue path too, allowing for licenses to continue from existing apps, even as services revenues develop.

What's more, using AppWave, ISVs can show their customers how the total costs of supporting apps goes down, via more precise payments based on actual use. So the AppWave path also works for enterprises as they need to transition to a services and pay-as-you-go model.

I can easily see too where Embarcadero may create it's own (or a partner) network to deliver AppWave apps from a cloud. This would be a "push" strategy for ISVs, and a "pull" strategy for enterprises as end-users could discover and procure apps with out the need for much IT involvement. Think of it as a vending machine for software, either from the corporate network or the cloud. For now, however, the AppWave use is for on-premises apps in enterprises.

“As a software vendor, we developed AppWave’s unique application delivery and consumption experience for our own enterprise customers,” said Wayne Williams, CEO of Embarcadero Technologies. “We’ve seen the benefits in revenue growth and customer satisfaction, and we believe other software vendors can emulate that success using AppWave for ISVs.”

AppWave for ISVs
Among the benefits in the new version of AppWave for ISVs:

• ISVs can deliver new capabilities to market much sooner using AppWave’s frictionless “push” delivery model, keeping customers always up to date. They can instantly offer a full portfolio of on-demand applications, including beta and trial versions as well as updates and upgrades, without recoding or modifying existing products.
• Through AppWave, ISVs can provide entire product portfolios on site at an enterprise for end-user review, trial, and use.
• AppWave assists ISVs through new and expanded licensing opportunities. New users are acquired through peer referrals and on-demand trials. ISVs can also take advantage of integrated promotional capability including streaming banners and automated electronic direct mail to cross-sell additional applications, up-sell instant upgrades to fuller featured versions of products already being used, and offer other services designed to drive higher levels of customer retention, including extended service contracts.

User benefits
Customers and end users can also benefit from the new version's feature, including:

• App discovery – Smart AppLinks and powerful search capabilities lead users to the right apps, delivering increased productivity and satisfaction.
• App broadcast and socialization – Apps are published and streamed on-demand from AppWave, eliminating lagtime and the burden on enterprise IT.
• App streaming – Desktop PC software is transformed into zero-install, zero-footprint apps that stream from public or private clouds.