This articles presents multiple concepts around the Maestrano products that enterprise partners need to understand in order to better select how they want to customise their platform.

1 - Deployment

3 options are offered for deploying the Maestrano solution. Each option corresponds to different requirements.

1.1 - Maestrano multi-tenant environment on AWS

Description:

In this option, Maestrano deploys a new instance of the front-end application and connects this application to multi-tenant instances of back-end core components: Maestrano Hub, Impac!™ and Connec!™. A virtual separation ensures that no data is shared between each tenant. 

For which situation:

This option enable a quick deployment and reduces the cost of the project.

This option is suitable for:

• Clients that do not have strong requirements around data management (data manipulation outside of Maestrano, regulatory requirements)
• Clients that want a quick way of testing some capabilities on the platform: Proof-of-Concept where either no real customers will be on-boarded or if there is no expectations to keep the data after the POC.

1.2 - Virtual Private Cloud

Description:

Maestrano deploys a new instance of all components (front-end application, Connec!™, Impac!™, Maestrano Hub, Nex!™) in a new environment created for the client on the cloud provider selected by the Enterprise customers.

Maestrano has managed deployment on AWS or Azure. The client has full access to all components. Deployment is facilitated by Nex!™, our platform as a service. 

For which situation:

This is the preferred deployment option for production roll-out for our Enterprise customers. The environment can be managed by Maestrano or by the Enterprise customers and configured to satisfy different requirements.

1.3 - On-Premise

Description:

Maestrano deploys a new instance of all components on the Enterprise web servers. 

For which situation:

This option may be chose by companies that have strict restrictions in the use of cloud technologies or in countries where no cloud providers offer a viable option. 

2 - User and Identity management 

2.1 - User management:

Maestrano Hub, Maestrano orchestration component, is fully accessible through API and enable our clients to manage users from third party services.  (to be completed)

2.2 - Single Sign-On:

Single Sign-On consist in using the identity of a third party service to access a service, here Maestrano. The user does not need to create credentials to access Maestrano and uses the identity created on that external service to be identified by Maestrano.

The Single Sign-On is related to the user management and user creation. 

• Just-in Provisioning: user creation is managed by Maestrano Hub, based on information provided on the user by the Single Sign-on Process.

• Creation of user via API: users are frist created 

3 - Billing 

3.1 - Applications licence fee

Applications natively integrated with Maestrano supports Single Billing. 

Single billing means that the users are charged for their external application consumption by the platform. All invoices from applications are aggregated in a single invoice on the platform.

The billing can be deactived and applications can be charged externally to the platform.

3.2 - Platform licence fee

It is up the Enterprise owning the platform to define the business model of the platform. The users can be charged a licence fee or not. This licence feed needs to be defined and be different to the licence fee the Enterprise is charged by Maestrano.

4 - Marketplace 

The Marketplace is one of the core component of the Maestrano experience. It is on the marketplace that users will find the applications that they will connect to the platform.

The marketplace can be deactivated from a front-end perspective so users cannot select which applications they can add to their accounts from the Maestrano front-end but another application. Another solution is to let the platform administrators select the applications for each of their customers from the admin panel.

4.1 - What is the Maestrano marketplace?

The Maestrano marketplace presents some well established characteristics of marketplaces and some other more specific characteristics.

4.1.1 - Well established characteristics of a marketplace:

4.1.1.A - "classic" marketplace

A marketplace is a space where buyers meet suppliers to purchase a product*. Without exception, the products are not proposed by Maestrano.

4.1.1.B - Closed by design

The marketplace build by Maestrano is a closed one:

1. Applications must be vetted by Maestrano before being featured by Maestrano (like the Apple App Store).

2. However, Maestrano does not currently check for updates on the applications (which is different from the Apple App Store for example where each update is verified by Apple) as the concept of updates is not applicable to SaaS - users do not choose to use updates or not, updates are pushed to the SaaS product for all users.

3. Enterprise customers can select among the applications available.

4.1.1.C - Built to let the user discover new products

On the marketplace, users can browse to discover the products. Some common features are built to help the user discover products that are interesting to them:
- search
- filter by category
- reviews by other users
- ability to ask questions that other users can answer

4.2.2 - More specific characteristics:

4.2.2.A - Purchasing applications from the marketplace

Some applications offer the ability to user to purchase directly from the marketplace, without having to access the software provider website. For those users, Maestrano leverages Sign Single On capabilities to use the identity of the user on Maestrano to create an account with the provider.

Other applications cannot be purchased through the marketplace, users need to access the provider website directly to sign-up and purchase their licence. Those applications are presented on the marketplace because they support data-sharing with the platform.

4.2.2.B - Single billing

For the applications supporting the purchase through the marketplace, the provider then sends bills corresponding to the charges generated by the user through their account. Those bills are aggregated by the marketplace into a single invoice. The credit card of the user is charged for the amount of the invoice. We say that those applications support "single billing" as the user only sees a single bill in the marketplace.

4.2.2.C - Data-sharing

Most applications presented on the marketplace synchronise some of the user data with the platform. Data-sharing is at the core of the Maestrano platform.

4.2.2.D - Some applications are offered by Maestrano.

Those applications are applications whose code is open source. Maestrano is provisioning an instance of those applications on Next!, Maestrano platform as a service.

Other applications are hosted by the applications providers.

4.2 - What products are presented on the Maestrano marketplace?

The Maestrano marketplaces presents software that will be consumed as a service, to the exception of MYOB account right which is desktop application.

Some applications may offer mobile versions of their software but the users are always redirected to the web version of the software.

4.3 - What is the workflow for purchasing an application on the marketplace?

For users supporting single billing (that are therefore purchased through the marketplace), the administrator of the organisation can select the application from the marketplace to add in the organisation account.

Then any user that has access to the organisation (this access defined in the settings of the organisation) can launch the application to trigger the creation of an account. The first user launching the application becomes the administrator of the application. If the application offers several levels of licences, this can decide which licence they want to use.

4.4 - How do users know how much they will be charged for using each application?

The user is presented with an indicative pricing in the marketplace before adding the application in their account.

The users are then presented in each application with pricing information when they select the licence they want to use.

4.5 - Can users transfer their purchase on the Maestrano marketplace to another person?

No. Once a user has contracted with an application provider, he cannot transfer its contract to another user.

4.6 - After they has purchased an application, how do users cancel a purchase?

Users can cancel a purchase by deleting their applications from their account. This action is performed from the app launcher, at the top of the workspace.

4.7 - What happens to the subscription initiated on the marketplace after a user leaves the platform?

Subscriptions are canceled. Users can contact directly the application providers to discuss how they can continue tho

5 - User on-boarding

There are two main processes for user on-boarding:

5.1 - Customer companies are created by the Admin of the platform

This first process ensures that the customer account is ready when the client first arrives. The Admin has the ability to connect the client applications and creates their dashboard before the client is on-boarded.

When their account are ready, the Admin can send the invitation for each individual user to login in the individual accounts they have created.

This process is usually followed by professional services companies.

5.2  -The customer creates their account

In this process, the customer will register on the platform by themselves. The user will be responsible for creating their organisation, connect their applications and invite team members.

Users can be invited to follow this process by an Admin user. In that case, the user invited will receive a link to register. 

This process is usually followed by companies serving large numbers of customers, using the platform to attract new customers.