Zuora, one of the startups that provides on-demand software to manage companies’ billing and payments, aims to take advantage of growing interest in cloud computing with a new product dubbed Z-Commerce, which will provide Zuora’s services to developers on cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services and Google App Engine.
The Redwood City, Calif. startup has already released three products: Z-Billing, which automates the billing process; Z-Payments, which integrates with PayPal to handle the actual payments; and Z-Force (perhaps the only Zuora application whose name isn’t completely self-explanatory), a billing and payment system that integrates with Salesforce.com. What Z-Commerce adds to the mix is as much about audience as it is about functionality — where the other applications targeted a company’s finance department, Z-Commerce is meant for developers to use directly.
The new product includes application programming interfaces (APIs) that let cloud developers access Z-Billing, Z-Payments, and Z-Force; the ability to add one-click order processing to any web site; a full web store; sample code; and more.
Like many other tech commentators, chief executive Tien Tzuo says this is the year cloud computing will really take off. The platforms are here, or will be soon — Amazon, Google, Salesforce’s Force.com, Microsoft’s Windows Azure — but what’s missing is a way for most of the developers to make money. That’s where Zuora’s “business cloud” comes in: Developers can focus on their product while Zuora handles the business infrastructure.
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
This is a direction that makes sense: As venture capitalist M.R. Rangaswami noted last year, one of the big opportunities for startups lies around services surrounding the big cloud platforms. Interest in billing systems delivered via the software-as-a-service business model seems to be picking up, too. Aria Systems just raised $8 million, and Vindicia is another competitor.
Zuora has raised a total of $21.5 million from backers including Marc Benioff, chief executive of Salesforce.
