Capriza Launches Partner Program To Help VARs And SIs Capitalize On Enterprise Mobility Push

Venture-funded Silicon Valley company Capriza is rolling out a formal partner program for the first time, based around the firm's easier-to-implement approach to creating mobile app solutions for enterprise workforces.

Capriza offers software that aims to bridge the gap between legacy business applications and mobile devices, by allowing existing pieces of business app functionality to be quickly turned into simple "micro" apps, without a need for coding or APIs.

"In a traditional mobility approach, there is a whole lot of functionality that all go together. Here you can actually pick and choose what you want to put on a mobile device," said Jamal Shah, managing partner at Toronto-based Causal Effects, a value-added reseller and digital transformation consultancy that's partnered with Capriza over the past year.

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For instance, instead of taking all seven pieces of functionality that go together in a particular enterprise application and turning them into a mobile version, "with Capriza you can hide 2-6 and jump straight from one to seven," Shah said.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Capriza was founded in 2011, and has a total of 30 partners so far. The company is now looking to recruit additional partners with its formal partner program, which is focused on VARs and systems integrators, said Aharon Weiner, head of business development and head of the partner program at Capriza.

Incentives in the program include steep discounts on Capriza licenses for resellers, while partners can also generate revenue by delivering services in connection with the deployment of Capriza's technology, he said.

Capriza is not requiring partners to invest in completing certifications prior to selling the product, but the company does offer certifications in technology, sales and marketing, Weiner said.

For initial sales opportunities, Capriza expects take the lead on delivering the project while the partner shadows and gains knowledge, he said.

"For partners that join, usually we will be running after joint opportunities in the same quarter," Weiner said.

At Causal Effects, offering Capriza's technology allows the firm to "change the conversation around mobility with customers," Shah said.

"We can change the conversation to say, 'You don't have to mobilize everything. You can focus on the high-impact activities, and only mobilize those to begin with,'" he said. "You can focus on what really matters to your customers, and do it very quickly, without having to touch legacy code. And you can do it while continuing to evolve what you do over time, rather than having to do it in big chunks."

Causal Effects Managing Partner Ray Gilbert said that Capriza executives have made themselves very available to speak directly with potential customers. "That's priceless," he said. "That lets us offer [executive availability] to customers, and know we'll get supported."

Gilbert also said that Capriza's partner program is "quite attractive" in terms of incentives, with the program offering the "upper quartile of what you can get from getting rewarded while being a partner."

Capriza employs 120 and has raised $75 million in funding to date. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz, CRV, Tenaya Capital and Allen & Company.