Userful recently announced its new Ecosystem Partner Program. The program is designed to strengthen the integration and interoperability between Userful and leading companies to deliver enhanced solutions for mission-critical environments.

We sat down with Robert Huijsmans, chief operating officer at Userful to discuss the program’s genesis, future and more.

rAVe: You recently announced the Userful Ecosystem Partner Program. Tell us a little bit about the program.

ROBERT HUIJSMANS: Our Ecosystem Partner Program is designed to bring together complementary solutions from vendors in diverse ecosystems with Userful’s software-defined AV-over-IP platform. Our platform empowers enterprise IT teams to deploy AV solutions for multiple use cases (i.e. control rooms, meeting rooms, digital signage and streaming services) under one common and scalable system architecture. Simple to use and secure to operate.   

Our ecosystem partners are leaders in their field, specializing in certain aspects in their respective industries — whether it be in IOT, video analytics, big data, building automation, etc. This program allows for those vendors to jointly test and integrate with the Userful platform, providing their customers with an enhanced user experience and a simplified workflow for day-to-day operation. 

Our teams work together to validate solutions through testing, software enhancements and certification and collaborate to develop joint go-to-market strategies in order to grow our businesses together. 

rAVe: How did the idea for this new initiative develop?

RH: Userful began collaborating with display manufacturers several years ago by integrating components of our platform inside the operating system of smart display vendors and our partners and customers discovered the added benefit of a pre-certified solution early on. 

With the increasing pace of innovation and the increasing need for interaction between sources and applications from diverse ecosystems, our customers started requesting new features and functionalities and we have been introducing those on our product roadmap over time. 

For Userful, this is not a net new initiative, but an acceleration of our existing program and taking a more proactive approach given the latest technological developments in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, smart building systems, video surveillance, conferencing, etc.  

rAVe: How will this program benefit your customers?

RH: Customers can rely on Userful and its Ecosystem Partners to provide best-in-class application integration that are pre-tested and reliable to deploy. It reduces the need for expensive and custom integration work, simplifies purchasing and makes deployments faster and easier. Additionally, moving to software based solutions means customers are continually receiving product updates — ensuring the combination continues to work over time.  

rAVe: What advantages does this program bring to your partners?

RH: Our team works with our partners to develop strategies for well thought out go-to-market plans based on product enhancements and sales and marketing collaboration. Our partner’s sales teams will know with confidence that the combination of services they provide is validated and proven to work flawlessly. 

As the partnerships develop, we open new revenue streams and access to markets that each partner is interested in growing. Together, we are able to amplify our mutual market share of ideal customers by providing unique value propositions tailored to our shared strategic goals. 

Additionally, partners make each other’s products better. Certified solutions and deep technical integrations provide us both with a total product offering that is greater than the parts upon which it is built. 

rAVe: If our readers would like to learn more about the Userful Ecosystem Partner Program, where can they find additional information?

RH: If anyone would like additional information, they can learn more at https://www.userful.com/ecosystem-partners or they can contact the Userful team.

rAVe: Anything else you’d like to add?

RH: Userful’s Ecosystem Partner Program is expected to grow and develop into a key differentiator in the marketplace for us in the coming years. We’re looking forward to welcoming new partners and expanding our opportunities together.