INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Global interactive marketing provider ExactTarget (NYSE:ET) announced today it is opening its software as a service platform for software developers, creating the foundation for the largest cloud-based digital marketing app ecosystem.
The move makes ExactTarget’s Fuel platform open to developers and technology providers to build upon and integrate with ExactTarget’s suite of cross-channel marketing and automation applications, creating opportunity for developers to build apps that extend ExactTarget’s real-time digital messaging services to products and organizations worldwide.
"By opening our Fuel platform for third-party development, ExactTarget is once again revolutionizing the way developers and marketers alike can unlock the power of data and the cloud to connect with their customers,” said Scott McCorkle, ExactTarget’s president technology and strategy. “Fuel extends our capabilities to power advanced integration and real-time messaging and creates the foundation for an entirely new app ecosystem that will serve as a catalyst for digital marketing innovation worldwide.”
Developers and technology companies have began developing new applications and innovations on the Fuel platform as part of ExactTarget’s early access program that began earlier this year, McCorkle said. Early applications in development range from event marketing to advanced analytics and dashboards. ExactTarget clients, integrated partners, developers and technology companies are expected to have access to the third-party applications via ExactTarget’s HubExchange, the company’s online app store, during the second quarter of 2013.
Key advancements included in ExactTarget’s next generation Fuel platform include:
- REST APIs - Adds advanced, scalable application programming interface capabilities, enabling deeper integration across ExactTarget’s suite of products and expanding ExactTarget’s suite of SOAP APIs and pre-packaged integrations.
- Cross-Channel APIs – Makes ExactTarget’s email, mobile, social and Web applications fully accessible via API.
- HubExchange – Expands ExactTarget’s existing HubExchange model of select integrations to enable broader application development from developers and technology providers worldwide.
- Gears – Creates a new category of integration within ExactTarget products to extend ExactTarget product functionality with capabilities native in third-party applications.
ExactTarget’s Fuel platform is available to developers today as part of the company’s Early Access Program. More information about the Program is available online at http://code.exacttarget.com.
“The ExactTarget Fuel platform is among the most transactionally intense cloud platforms today, powering the cross-channel digital marketing and messaging of clients around the world,” said Ian Murdock, vice president, platform at ExactTarget. “By advancing our integration capabilities and opening our platform to third-party developers, we will accelerate innovation and create a new economy for entrepreneurs and developers to introduce game-changing technologies.”
ExactTarget’s Fuel platform was first launched in 2010 and serves as the platform for all ExactTarget applications, the Interactive Marketing Hub and the company’s advanced integration framework. The company offers productized integrations with leading third-party CRM and web analytics providers such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, salesforce.com, inc., SAP and Adobe Omniture to enhance the relevancy of interactive communications.
The launch of ExactTarget’s next generation Fuel platform comes during ExactTarget’s annual client conference Connections. More than 4,000 ExactTarget clients and partners from around the world are attending the event, which will run through Thursday. The event features keynote addresses from Michael J. Fox, illusionist David Blaine and executives from Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, reddit and the New York Stock Exchange. For real-time updates throughout the conference, follow @ExactTarget and the hashtag #ET12 on Twitter.
Connections ’12 follows ExactTarget Connections ‘11, an event that welcomed more than 3,000 marketers to Indianapolis and featured a lineup of industry thought leaders including Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia founder and Soledad O’Brien, award-winning CNN anchor and special correspondent.
About ExactTarget
ExactTarget is a leading global provider of email marketing and cross-channel interactive marketing software-as-a-service solutions that empower organizations of all sizes to communicate with their customers through email, mobile, social media and websites. ExactTarget’s powerful suite of integrated applications enable marketers to plan, automate, deliver and optimize data-driven interactive marketing and real-time communications to drive customer engagement, increase sales and improve return on marketing investment. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana with offices across North America and in Europe, South America and Australia, ExactTarget trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “ET.” For more information, visit www.ExactTarget.com.