Blockchain database startup Fluree invests in channel sales
Fluree has formalized a partner program for offering its blockchain-based data management technology. The startup said it aims to recruit a diverse set of channel partners.
Fluree PBC, a blockchain-based data management startup, is looking to transition to a channel-based sales model. To aid this effort, the company has introduced the Fluree Partner Network, a channel program targeting ISVs, systems integrators, VARs and cloud providers interested in building Web3 applications.
Veteran technology entrepreneurs Brian Platz and Andrew "Flip" Filipowski launched Fluree in 2016. Platz and Filipowski had been instrumental in starting up other successful data management vendors, such as Platinum Technology, which CA Technologies purchased for $3.5 billion. Based in Winston-Salem, N.C., Fluree currently has 16 employees.
Fluree's data management platform is available in free and enterprise editions. According to the company, the platform offers immutability, data integrity and the ability to join disparate data sets through semantic graph technology. Users can query both historical and future information. To secure data, the Fluree SmartFunctions feature enforces permissions whenever external parties access information.
Making progress
Fluree said it has gained traction in the market, with its offerings used in a broad spectrum of industries -- supply chain, financial services, healthcare, education, agriculture and food supply -- and the public sector. In June 2019, Fluree raised $4.7 million in venture capital, led by 4490 Ventures with participation from Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund.
The reshaping of its partner programs is a logical next step. More than 8,000 developers, ISVs, systems integrators, VARs and cloud providers have worked with the Fluree platform since its product launch in 2018, according to the company.
We identified each type of partner and developed resources such as support and research-and-development teams for them.
Robert 'Buck' FlanniganVice president of global partners, Fluree
The Fluree Partner Network integrates its previous channel resources into a formal program. "We identified each type of partner and developed resources such as support and research-and-development teams for them," noted Robert "Buck" Flannigan, vice president of global partners at Fluree.
Global aspirations
Fluree would like to do indirect sales through a diverse group of partners -- ideally, about 10,000 globally -- by the end of the year. "We have been mainly U.S./North America focused and want to expand more into Europe and Asia," Flannigan said.
Researcher MarketsandMarkets predicted the global blockchain market would increase from $1.2 billion in 2018 to $23.3 billion in 2023, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 80.2% for that period. One missing piece has been application development infrastructure. Fluree is trying to provide the data management element and looking to resellers for help in making its mark in this emerging space.
