Appfire’s Multi-Ecosystem Strategy Fuels Growth Through Acquisitions

Software creator Appfire has built tools and technologies for over 20 years, but acquisition-led growth coupled with a multi-ecosystem roadmap has brought the company to new users at a rapid rate over the past several years.

Apps built for Atlassian users now include Microsoft, Salesforce and Monday.com

The company was founded nearly 20 years ago to build application software to increase efficiencies within Atlassian for users of the popular platform. As with many independent software vendors (ISVs), Appfire’s mission was to empower users of existing technology through add-on and layered automations.

“Our mission is always to expand and augment the experience of solution providers and users within existing platforms such as Atlassian,” said Colin Puckett, the senior vice president of global channel and field operations.

Now, the ISV has spread outside of only serving Atlassian users through new technology within the Microsoft, Salesforce and monday.com ecosystems. The portfolio of solutions address automation and efficiency pain points across IT management, project workflows, migrations, and more.

“We want to tell a multi-ecosystem story and support our partners with the technology they use,” Puckett said. “There are multi-ecosystem partners, who offer services built around multiple companies’ technology, and they have, in some cases, multi-ecosystem customers who are using these products together across different workflows. We want to support all of those use cases.”

JXL the latest acquisition to add to the portfolio and team

In September the company announced it had acquired issue editor and organizer JXL, promising the deal would bring efficiency and ease of use to businesses utilizing Jira. JXL was one of the fastest growing apps on the Atlassian marketplace prior to the deal, according to the announcement.

Puckett also sees the acquisition as an opportunity to learn from JXL’s co founders, who he said the Appfire team had been following for some time before entering the acquisition talks.

“We have been watching their growth for a while, and cheering on their success from the sidelines,” Puckett said. “We didn’t just acquire great tech, we also acquired two amazing humans we can learn from and work with.”

Ultimately, the wider goal Appfire aims to accomplish through acquisition is to continue deepening their portfolio and building software that address business needs.

Partnerships built on trust, tech built on use case: how Appfire approaches the channel

Appfire has been channel-first since its inception, according to Puckett. Because of this, Puckett said he sees the growth of Appfire’s partner network a win-win for the ecosystems the company works within.

To build through ecosystems and best support the service providers and other channel organizations working within the networks of large technology companies, Puckett said he and the team work to understand the different dynamics at place within each and build trust with each provider over time.

“Solution providers don’t have to give us the time of day if we haven’t earned it,” Puckett said. “But we do want to be able to say to our partners, ‘hey, we’re working in a new ecosystem over here, and we think you should join us and grow with us,’ because ultimately, we want to see our partners succeed.”

Puckett is also following the needs of solution providers globally, especially as they continue to grow their businesses through wrap-around and value added service offerings that complement the technology they provision.

“When customers approach a service provider, they do so with a business problem they want to solve, not a list of apps they want to use,” Puckett said. “We want to provide those providers with additional ways to solve those business problems for their clients.”

ISVs are building technology to empower organizations everywhere. Learn more about QuantumStreet AI, an IBM FinTech partner, in their appearance on Channel Insider: Partner POV with Katie Bavoso.