There's a lot to think about when building an app marketplace, which may seem overwhelming. That's why we created this planning framework – to guide you through the most important considerations, questions, and steps, including:

• Common goals when building a marketplace

• Key roles in an app ecosystem

• Common use cases for apps

• How to begin moving forward

1. Common Goals

Companies can have a variety of goals when building a marketplace, like expanding product functionality, revenue generation, meeting industry expectations, and differentiation.

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2. Ecosystem Roles

While ecosystems can vary, it’s important to think through the three key roles (marketplace owner, app developer, and end user) and what they will need to succeed.

3. Use Cases

As your ecosystem grows, you're likely to progress from one to many different use cases, including internal product features, web integrations, downloadable files, and lead generation, among others.

4. Next Steps

Get started by defining your requirements, building (or buying) your marketplace, and adding internal, third-party, or iPaaS apps.