Prescriptive Guidance

There are many complexities inherent in managing Platform Ecosystems, not the least of which is being able to provide ISVs/developers with succinct, personalized technical guidance in a scalable and automated manner. Conventional approaches to informing developers with information and insights about migrating to and innovating on new technology platforms is cumbersome and confusing at best. Developers are burdened with wading through a multitude of documentation, and other sources to find recommendations and best practices to resolve issues.

SpikeSource addresses this challenge by providing targeted Prescriptive Guidance in the form of automated technical recommendations and instructions unique to each ISV's application. This guidance provides developers with timely and actionable remediation such as migrating to a new version or product, and leveraging underutilized features.

Hyperlinks delivered by SpikeSource via email or an RSS feed provide developers with self-service access to technical content which requires no manual support from the platform vendor. Platform vendors can then track and analyze the resulting “click streams” and gain keen insights into technology uptake and the effectiveness of their product marketing and evangelism programs. By collecting additional information every time an ISV tests or retests their applications, SpikeSource provides continuous visibility to the dynamics within and across the partner ecosystem.

Stakeholders across Marketing, Product Management, Engineering and Support functions use click-thru and download information for comprehensive analyses, gauging technology uptake and measuring consumption of remediation content. For example, Marketing can identify adoption trends to improve program targeting or correlate ISV program participation with logo status. Likewise, Engineering can evaluate information aggregated across the entire developer community or a particular segment and then drill down on any ISV application to evaluate or investigate specific issues. Providing access to this information across multiple departments and multiple stakeholder roles enhances corporate collaboration, improves partner satisfaction and ultimately drives more revenue for the platform vendor.