Busy business and IT professionals, application providers, and advisers to those in the IT industry are quite familiar with the landscape of things to come, especially where cloud-based computing is concerned. However, for the average person who is making a living in wholesale or retail, these topics may not seem to be immediately relevant. In a special interview with Christophe Primault, one of the founders of GetApp.com, we get a chance to see how this technology benefits people in the wholesale and retail business, and how it can make a difference for you today.

[TTW] You’ve got a very impressive company mission statement, but at first glance it seems that you’re offering virtually everything to everybody! Since it’s a lot of information to digest in one sitting, would you like to narrow it down a bit, to help us understand how your services provide an advantage to the people who drive the wholesale and retail industry? Is there really an advantage to using cloud based apps, instead of just staying with traditional ones?

[CP] GetApp.com is organizing the largest vendor independent online marketplace for business software Cloud-based Applications. It means that we help companies of all sizes to find exactly the right business apps without having to wait around. For example, we also show App-to-App integration points, which is very useful if you want to make sure that your CRM (Customer relationship Management) App is working with your email marketing App. Companies of the wholesale and retail industry have generic business needs such as accounting, HR management, CRM, etc., and they will find a vast choice of apps with decision support tools in these categories and specific needs such as e-commerce tools, labeling, catalog management, traceability, POS solutions or store management. We have also categories that only show applications for this industry. The main advantages to using cloud based apps are ease of use, pay as you go and access everywhere. They require less integration and internal IT resources. You can also test before you buy, and therefore make sure that the App you are choosing is perfectly suited to your needs. Many small businesses who never bought business software because of cost and complexity and were running their companies “on spreadsheets” are now turning to web based apps. Cloud apps are very popular for sales force automation, collaboration, conferencing, accounting & billing, CRM, email marketing and e-recruitment. Ironically enough, the weakened state of the current economy appears to be benefiting Cloud Apps adoption, since they offer a better total cost of ownership for users!

[TTW] Your site also mentions that GetApp.com offers additional services such as: authentic peer reviews, interactive online tools to select deployment methods, and ways to contact multiple providers for shortlisting purposes. For those of us who aren’t so technically savvy, we’d like to know how the peer reviews are truly authentic?

[CP] If a vendor enters a review that is coming from a client feedback as an example, it will be clearly stated on top of the review. This being said, it is very difficult to find out if a review is genuine, but there are indicators to watch for to identify a real review, such as the balance between pros and cons, and the description of the context of the review.

[TTW] And why would we want an online tool to suggest deployment methods?

[CP] Because despite the obvious benefits of on-demand apps it is not always a straight call. There are many factors to take in consideration such as need of 100% availability, number of users, regulatory environment, data privacy… we have set up a very powerful tool that helps you ask the right questions and gives a detailed recommendation on the best deployment method for a specific need.

[TTW] Are shortlist queries tailored to fit my operation?

[CP] Yes, when providers add their apps to our database, they specify what type of clients their solution is suited for. When you make a shortlist query, you also have to give information on your business and requirements. Before sending your request, we make a first automatic match, and then qualify even further manually.

[TTW] As I browsed your site, I saw that you and your cofounder Manuel Jaffrin are not only experienced managers of software companies, B2B marketing, Internet start-ups, and new technologies… but you’re even Triathletes during the off-hours! It also says you’re from Barcelona, Spain. As you probably know, the wholesale industry in the USA is an enormous base of operations for Hispanic and South American entrepreneurs and businesspeople. Does this mean you are able to work with Spanish-speaking companies just as easily as you would provide services to native English speakers? Are there any plans to expand your languages to cover the fast-growing Chinese, Indian, and other markets as well?

[CP] Well, it is true that we are based in Spain, but our business is truly global, and only a small percentage are coming from Spain. Currently, most of our users are based in North America, UK, Australia, and India, which as you probably know, is a country that has a very “bubbly” ecosystem of quality tech startups. Our site is in English, which clearly is a barrier to Spanish-speaking companies, but if you have basic industry knowledge in English, you can find an App, get a first level of understanding, and then to the vendor website where you will find a product description in your language if the App is available in your region. This being said, the first localization of GetApp.com will be in Spanish, I don´t think English is an issue for the Indian business community. The Chinese market is a very interesting one, but the market of Cloud-based Apps is still very limited there, and will not be our priority for the near future.

[TTW] It’s been a pleasure talking to you, Christophe. Any other last-minute thoughts you’d like to share with our readers? Any announcements you’d like to make about projects in development?

[CP] Yes, in fact this interview is very timely, as we are currently launching a software evaluation center where users will find additional resources to help them with their choices, such as CEO interviews and independent analyst reports. We trust that GetApp.com will become the vendor-neutral preferred marketplace for businesses looking to buy new business software. Thanks for your time, it was also a pleasure talking to you.

For additional information, please register with GetApp.com, by signing up for Registration for Cloud Apps Vendors.