White label SaaS and the role of iPaaS explained

Sales and Marketing have become unanimous with one another in recent years; both groups are increasingly data-focused, and the need to align activity between them has never been more important. This has led to the birth of MarTech and SalesTech, a range of tools and technologies built to support both groups to achieve their goals, reach new customers, and do so in a way that is both simple and cost-effective.

From CRMs to email marketing platforms to social media management, today there are countless applications available to marketers and salespeople alike. The problem is that there’s no one master application, software or service that can single-handedly do it all—that’s where white labelling comes in.

So how does white labelling work?

According to That Company, white labeling in the digital world is best described as ‘when your company purchases another company’s services and presents them to the customer under your brand name’.

But what do those services look like? Before we go any further it’s important to understand the differences between Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS). They may sound similar but they play very different roles in creating a complete white label solution:

• SaaS: is a vendor-hosted software that is made available to customers via the Internet—think Google Drive, Slack, or Salesforce. For example: an email builder such as Mailjet is a SaaS solution that can be embedded into other Martech software. Linked with a website tracking platform, this allows end users to send specific email campaigns to customers who have enquired via the website depending on their location, pain point or business size. This example of a white-labelled SaaS is limited to email building only.‍
• iPaaS: is a cloud-based integration tool. It lets users integrate the typically singular SaaS-based applications mentioned above (both cloud-based and on-premises) so that data can freely flow between them. For example: here at Appmixer, we have created a fully customizable embedded iPaaS that offers end users a plethora of native integrations with various cloud apps—at scale. This empowers them to integrate either their internal systems or third-party cloud applications such as CRMs, analytics, AI components, databases or payment systems (and many, many more!)  as they see fit.
  

Simply put, a white-label SaaS allows companies to embed a generic solution like an email builder, adjust the look and feel of it to fit their branding, and resell it to their customers. White-label iPaaS, on the other hand, helps companies embed a solution specifically related to integrations and automation, and thus, helps their customers connect their tool stack together and automate routine tasks.

For example, a SaaS provider may embed iPaaS to enable its customer to create their own integrations with other services. One customer may want an email to go to a certain department or individual every time a website enquiry is submitted while another may wish to schedule a calendar event or send a group Slack message - or both!

iPaaS embedding allows SaaS providers to offer these integrations as they seize the benefits of new customers and growth opportunities without wasting resources or getting bogged down in the technical know-how needed to manage or manually integrate their solution with complex software. This offers end users the freedom and creativity to build bespoke, automated workflows in an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface with zero coding required.

It’s as easy as one, two, three

1. Let's say you are a MarTech vendor, for example. Up until now, your focus has been on email marketing, but you want to strengthen your proposition and attract new customers. So you decide you want to incorporate integrations that let your customers pull data from other sources (be it a CRM, Webhooks, or other marketing tools) or automate their email marketing workflows. The problem is you don’t have the time or budget to invest in these services.
2. In this instance, you would subscribe to an embedded iPaaS provider, receive a blank software package that you can brand and embed in your product as your own, and sell that ‘white label’ solution to your customers. Ideally, this service will include an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that enables your users to quickly and effortlessly build integrations that speak to their pain points - without ever having to write a single line of code.
3. The result is a perfectly packaged product that will excite existing customers and convert new ones. It will be branded as your own, and your customers will never know that it didn’t cost you the time, money and skills you don’t have - they’ll just feel happy and heard! And the best part is that once the product’s in their hand, you’re free to scale your integration requirements in line with growing demand.

What does this mean for MarTech & SalesTech?

MarTech and SalesTech are constantly evolving to service the shifting targets and demands of their users. Success is no longer determined by whose solution is best, but by who is enabling those individual applications to be brought together for deep insights, creative integrations and intuitive automations. 

Many MarTech and SalesTech SaaS vendors are already harnessing embedded iPaaS to enable their customers to orchestrate their prized applications and navigate innovative integrations via a white label service. These vendors have capitalised on expansive product opportunities without the research, resources and risk typically needed to integrate another application with their own.

In doing so they have positioned themselves to remain relevant and reactive while satisfying the market needs of new and old customers alike. Those who have been slower to adapt should act quickly to deploy a fast, flexible and cost-effective white label solution—or risk losing their valued customer base to the competition.

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This has been the first blog in a six-part series on the benefits of white label SaaS for MarTech and SalesTech vendors and the vital role iPaaS integrations in helping them stand out from an increasingly saturated marketplace. From now on, we will be outlining a vital step in white labelling, covering useful metrics, key automation and practical advice on how to resell white label services.

Keep an eye out for part two, which will explore the main benefits of white label iPaaS.