Unit4 has launched a new App marketplace to support its growing ecosystem around ERPx. The new Unit4 Marketplace will provide a location where Unit4, as well as ISV, Reseller and Service partners, can showcase their bespoke applications and connectors that work with Unit4 applications. At launch, there are five partner apps listed and nine partner solutions. Unit4 has also listed eight of its own products that companies can add to their ERP implementation. These are
- Unit4 Industry Mesh Plus Package
- ERP Procure to Pay
- FP&A – Financial Consolidation
- ERP Projects Package
- Unit4 eRFx by Scanmarket ( a Unit4 Company)
- Success4U
- ERP Expenses
- ERP HR Package
What does a Marketplace listing include?
Unlike other marketplaces, the Unit4 Marketplace comes with many features and information that many others lack. It does not offer the ability to download the applications and start using them on a trial basis or provide a means to automate the implementation and agreements to start using them. However, the range of information is impressive. Each product page includes the following:
- Overview: A brief description and slides, including information and screenshots of the app
- Features: A more detailed breakdown of the features and benefits of the application
- Reviews: A customer reviews section, which is currently empty in most cases with the option to mark out of five stars, only Unit4 customers can leave reviews
- Questions: This allows Unit4 customers to leave questions for partners to answer. Only Unit4 customers can leave questions, and it is unclear whether these are always public.
- Policies & Support: Includes additional information such as terms and conditions, privacy policy, and support contact details.
- Categories: Lists the functional areas of the product, the compatibility with Unit4 ERP versions, the developer type, industry and region.
- Resources: Additional resources available to download, such as relevant whitepapers and further product information
- Editions and Pricing: Different editions and pricing information
Users can filter applications by each category listed above or use the search function to filter based on a word.
What apps are on the Marketplace?
The new Marketplace is a natural extension of the Developer4U program launched in March 2021. Developer4U is a program that supports the development of applications by partners and offers access to development environments, technology training, and support to develop applications. The initial nine applications that have been created through this are:
Econnect Invoice Solution: A fully automated administration service for both AP and AR
GCON4 iConnect: Unit4 ERPx Data Migration & Management Tool
GCON4 MFL: Unit4 ERP Data Migration & Management Tool
iCorp Complex Billing: Software simplifying complex billing. Covering the complete order-to-cash cycle
Icorp Credit Management: The Icorp Credit Management software provides templates, structure, alerts, automation and insights.
Icorp Efficient Quoting: Configure Price and Quote solution
Icorp Time Tracking: Time entry and tracking solution
Pagero e-invoicing: Digitally exchange invoices with all your customers and suppliers via Pagero Network
Proactis Rego: Accounts Payable Automation
In addition to the solutions above, there are also five partners apps included:
Arribatec eSigning: Electronically sign documents through Unit4
Tellit DocumentControl: Increase invoice quality on incoming EHF/Peppol invoices
Tellit ELMA-Lookup: Automatic maintenance of BIS30-relation
Tellit Monitoring: Monitor your international credit risk
Tellit Scanning: OCR scanning of invoices in Unit4 ERP using machine learning
Tom Vandezande, Arribatec Business Services EVP, Arribatec said, “We are very pleased to be a part of Unit4’s Marketplace and the opportunities it presents, and it is a modern way to offer value-add solutions to both existing and new customers. Being one of the first partners to release an application in the Marketplace demonstrates our commitment to Unit4, and we will continue to develop more add-ons that can benefit their customers’ business transformation journeys.”
More applications will come in the coming weeks and months, with Dan André Nylænder, Head of Product Development, Tellit Solutions, adding, “We are excited to be one of the first partners globally to join the Unit4 Marketplace and have six apps ready for the launch. This is a testament to our investments in innovation, integration, and automation on the Unit4 ERP platform. The Unit4 Marketplace will enable us to offer our value-added services and solutions to new customers globally.”
Unit4 claims that it will launch with 45 solutions in place, though initially, there seem to be only 22. Suppliers can join anytime, and Unit4 will reveal further details about how ISVs and partners can obtain a listing. It will be interesting to see how quickly it can expand the Marketplace and, more importantly, how frequently customers will turn to it.
Mike Ettling, CEO of Unit4, commented, “The launch of Unit4’s Marketplace demonstrates our commitment to a highly networked and connected product and partner ecosystem and will offer both customers and partners a central hub to find and deploy new functionality. Now that it is launched, we look forward to expanding the Marketplace and welcoming more partners to join this global community.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Arguably Unit4 has been very late to the party with a Marketplace, lagging behind Infor. However, while the Marketplace is currently lacking in terms of volume, it has most of the details that will make it useful for customers, including pricing. It does lack integration to the Unit4 application platform, especially to ERPx. Hopefully, this will come in time.
If Unit4 can attract other ISVs to the platform, such as Tipalti or other applications that already integrate into Unit4 but with no formal partner relationship, this could further boost its prospects.
Organisations looking to list products need to get existing customers to enter reviews as quickly as possible. This is one element of the content that seems lacking. The other, though not critical, is how organisations update their listings as they update their solutions.
There is also no apparent certification process in place for the listed solutions. It is unclear how the applications work and whether they are completely built on the ERPx platform, hybrid or integrated into Unit4.
