The project team introduced several innovations into business processes on the way to the goal of occupying a fifth of the Russian cloud services distribution market by the end of 2021.
The leading Russian VAD distributor, MERLION, entered the cloud distribution market in the autumn of 2018, presenting its new project, MerliOnCloud, within the framework of the international MERLION IT Solutions Summit, and declaring its goal to occupy a fifth of it by the end of 2021. During this time, some changes have occurred in the strategy and business processes because the project - namely, the team - monitors all market trends, changes in demand from potential partners and customers, and the degree of developers' willingness to cooperate. The main change in 2020 was the expansion of the partner pool to include retailers and marketplaces.
The MerlOnCloud team noticed that many online stores are trying to sell digital goods, but they are experiencing certain technical difficulties. The demand for digital goods and services was shown by the realities of 2020 and analysts' estimates. In particular, according to the iKS-Consulting report, it is Software-as-a-Service in the future until FY2022. is the most dynamically growing segment of the cloud products market - its volume is expected to double over the next three years: from 56.5 billion rubles. At the end of FY19 to FY2022 projections, 94.7 billion rubles Consumption standards and models are also transforming: against the backdrop of the e-commerce market growth, users want to receive products and services immediately after payment. They are increasingly showing interest in digital goods. Moreover, they prefer to pay only for what they use, without unnecessary options, choosing a subscription model of use.
In this regard, the MerliOnCloud team has focused on resellers who will be able to sell digital goods and services connected to the MerliOnCloud platform to their consumers, just like any other goods from their catalog on the site. At its core, the MerlOnCloud platform is a ready-made solution for selling digital goods and services; it connects manufacturers and resellers and allows you to build a cloud business according to a ready-made model for any online store or marketplace. As a result of their online stores' integration via API with MerliOnCloud, retailers receive a working platform with full automation of purchases and sales, including an expansion of the product range, controlled pricing, a convenient settlement system, and all this without logistical costs and the need to enter into agreements with developers as MerlOnCloud does it for them.
Selling digital goods is convenient and demanded. They do not need packaging, storage space, logistics costs, or customs duties. The user receives the purchase electronically immediately after payment. MerliOnCloud allows you to sell both ESD keys and subscriptions. It should be noted that the platform with ready-made integrations is provided to partners and retailers for free, you just need to connect to it via API for seamless integration with the online store's product catalog and accounting system. If necessary, the MerliOnCloud team is ready to assist in this connection. After setting up the API, the partner can withdraw all products from the MerliOnCloud catalog or form the desired assortment from the positions of interest to him; thus, descriptions of the products and their illustrations will be automatically displayed on his website.
Among other benefits, cooperation with MerliOnCloud gives retailers an accelerated profit from instant commodity-money exchange and settlement with suppliers after the sale and receipt of money from the client. The partner earns on the resale of digital goods, retaining a certain percentage of each customer's purchase.
In connection with the focus on retail, the MerlOnСloud team has revised the product catalog; a wide range of products most demanded by users has been added, and a new product classification has been introduced. Now the product catalog comprises gaming and entertainment services, cybersecurity products, SaaS (maintenance as a service) office applications, accounting and reporting, IP telephony and communications, and business applications for accounting and control.
As part of the current strategy, MerliOnCloud entered all online stores in 2020, including marketplaces (both large and small-scale businesses). Citilink, which started working on the platform for Saas solutions, is among those with whom the integration has already been carried out.
Another type of partners, system integrators, will benefit from corporate solutions and products on the platform on which they can earn by offering their clients: MyOffice, UseDesk, Mango Telecom, etc.
“We all found ourselves in a 'new normal reality' this year,” says Dmitry Spiridonov, General Manager at MerliOnCloud. "The way of life and the format of work has changed for all of us, offices of the new generation and the "army of remote workers" need more and more digital products. Cooperation with retailers will allow us to "reach" them, end-users, and I am sure that in the aggregate, all this will become a real driver of progress and development of our joint business with developers and partners."
Currently, partners on the platform have access to products from 59 vendors: more than 2,700 products (2,400 ESD keys and 350 SaaS subscriptions), including 800 products for the B2B segment, 117 entertainment services, 1,840 game services. The technical support of MerlOnCloud carries out service 24x7.
All news
