Genesys Cloud enables independent software vendors (ISVs) to develop and deploy applications through the AppFoundry marketplace via a structured six-step onboarding process within the Genesys Ascend Partnership Program. The program encompasses partner registration, product roadmap validation, agreement finalization, solution building, commercialization, and go-to-market planning.
ISVs develop complementary software integrating with Genesys platforms using standard APIs (SIP, MRCP, SCXML, VXML, web services) or Genesys APIs and SDKs. Entry requirements mandate that solutions interoperate with Genesys products, meet quality and reliability standards through validation, and maintain compatibility with latest releases.
Partners must register through the Genesys Ascend Partner Portal using company-domain email addresses and sign the AppFoundry Partner Master Agreement. All prospective partners undergo comprehensive compliance review including restricted party screening, company verification, internet searches, and Secretary of State verification for U.S. businesses. Security and compliance requirements are foundational, requiring partners to implement security throughout the development lifecycle, perform vulnerability assessments, and achieve SOC 2 Type II, CAIQ, or CSA STAR certification. Additional requirements include maintaining GDPR-compliant Data Processing Agreements, providing Genesys-approved End User License Agreements (EULAs), and delivering comprehensive installation and operational documentation with ongoing technical support.
The program operates on a tiered structure (Bronze, Silver, Gold) based on aggregate gross recurring revenue. New partners enter at Bronze Tier upon listing their application. AppFoundry partnerships are provided at no cost, though Genesys Lab software fees apply individually. A free Developer Lab instance is provided to AppFoundry ISV partners. Partners retain full responsibility for establishing test labs, providing documentation, delivering technical support, managing updates, and maintaining claim accuracy. Annual compliance reviews occur in Q4, evaluating partners against key performance indicators based on cloud recurring revenue. When partners fail to meet KPI compliance, a recovery grace period is provided; failure to achieve compliance within this period results in tier demotion.
Partners receive technical enablement resources including access to the Genesys Care knowledge base, developer forums, SDKs, test plans, and on-demand services. The commercial model allows partners to list solutions on the marketplace portal, receive customer leads, co-market through Genesys events and digital campaigns, and directly compensate Genesys sales representatives for marketplace sales. Partners must obtain Genesys Cloud Certified Partner (CCP) certification before accessing technical support, receiving SDKs, or listing applications on AppFoundry. Partners must complete annual business questionnaires for ongoing risk assessment and compliance monitoring to maintain program participation and tier status. Genesys does not create, test, support, or warrant AppFoundry listings unless explicitly identified as Genesys-built solutions, and partners without active AppFoundry listings cannot use Genesys partner logos.
Before beginning the onboarding journey, Genesys emphasizes that the strategic priority is the growth and market adoption of the Genesys Cloud™ solution. Therefore, the AppFoundry team focuses on working with prospective partners to develop ISV applications for the Genesys Cloud Solution. For more information about becoming a Genesys AppFoundry ISV Partner and deploying your solution on the AppFoundry marketplace, see the AppFoundry ISV Partner Onboarding Guide.
Genesys collaborates with a wide range of software, hardware, and service AppFoundry ISV Partners from the world’s leading IT companies to innovators with expertise and market presence. To empower customers and enhance their experience, Genesys collectively delivers value through a broad spectrum of solutions that integrate or interoperate with each Genesys platform.
To kick-start your Genesys AppFoundry Marketplace onboarding journey, perform the following six steps:
Join the Genesys Ascend Partnership Program. To register as a Genesys Partner, see Genesys Partner Portal.
Validate alignment with Genesys AppFoundry program and product roadmap(s).
Finalize the Genesys AppFoundry partner agreement with legal addendums.
Build your solution.
Complete the commercialization phase to activate your solution for promotion and sale.
Create your AppFoundry go-to-market plan.
Objectives
Joining AppFoundry
The Genesys Ascend AppFoundry Marketplace gives an unprecedented opportunity to partners, developers, and customers to market their solutions to the Genesys customer base.
Objectives of the AppFoundry partner program
The objectives of the AppFoundry partner program are as follows:
Enhance Genesys’ customer experience and customer time-to-value.
Provide ISVs a clear path to market for solutions built on Genesys APIs, integrations, and anything that adds value to a Genesys environment.
Provide easy access for customers to access an attractive and easily searchable catalog of partner solutions and/or Genesys-built integrations to third parties.
Foster collaboration and alignment with Genesys sales.
The AppFoundry partner program offers the ISV partnership program to its partners. This program provides ISVs with a path to market their solutions via a feature-rich marketplace listing portal that allows our customers to browse and search for new solutions that solve problems or add value within their Genesys environment.
When customers express interest in a listing, the customer lead is captured and delivered directly to the listing party and the Genesys sales representative supporting that account. Also, the ISV partnership program enables ISV partners to co-market their solutions at Genesys events, through webinars, digital marketing campaigns, and the press. A separate marketing guide provides more details.
The ISV partnership program provides a commercial model that allows partners to directly compensate Genesys Salesforce for sales of apps listed in the marketplace. Direct compensation for sales representatives helps foster alignment and collaboration with Genesys sales. The ISV partnership program is specially designed for ISVs committed to teaming with Genesys to enhance their customer experience. The ISV partnership program offers complementary software applications that integrate or interoperate with the Genesys platforms.
Entry criteria
AppFoundry ISV partner entry criteria
The AppFoundry ISV partner entry criteria are as follows:
Solutions must interoperate or integrate with one or more Genesys products through standard APIs, including SIP, MRCP, SCXML, VXML, and web services, or Genesys APIs/SDKs. For more information about authorized integrations when using Genesys APIs/SDKs under Genesys Cloud, see Genesys Cloud.
Solutions, products, or integrations must meet Genesys standards for quality and reliability through validation.
Partner must show commitment to an ongoing partnership and demonstrate incremental customer value as perceived by our mutual customers.
The partner to build and integrate the ISV application into Genesys Cloud.
Genesys’s and the partner’s latest solution/product releases must maintain integration/interoperability.
If the free trial instances of Genesys Cloud are idle for more than six weeks, Genesys deactivates the free trial instances.
Genesys AppFoundry Partner Management, business development, or product management approves the partner.
Partner must sign an AppFoundry Partner Master Agreement (APMA), evaluation agreements, and associated SDK agreements, where applicable.
Assign schedules for the APMA. For more information about the schedules, see the Genesys AppFoundry Legal.
Partner to sign up with an email address associated with a domain name close to their company name. Individual developers register with an email address associated with their business domain name. Registration requests with email addresses associated with an email service, including Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and iCloud, are denied.
Genesys developer support team and Genesys product management review all ISV AppFoundry applications to ensure that the solution uses the most modern and supported method of integration with one or more relevant Genesys platforms. For more information about the requirements, see the Installation Readiness, Style Guide, and Security Guidelines.
Genesys does not create, test, support, or warrant any AppFoundry listings unless explicitly noted in the AppFoundry that the solution is built by Genesys. The partner is required to comply with the following criteria:
Use industry standards to build security as part of the systems or software development life cycle.
Perform security defect management in code before production.
Verify that the software suppliers adhere to industry standards for systems/software development life cycle security.
Review the application for security vulnerabilities before deployment in production.
Accomplish SOC 2 Type II, CAIQ, CSA STAR, or other application security assessments.
The minimum requirements for AppFoundry ISV Partners are as follows:
Have a ready-to-go GDPR-compliant Data Processing Agreement (DPA). Genesys can provide a DPA template, if necessary.
Have a Genesys-approved EULA available for acceptance by its customers when listing on AppFoundry.
Conduct internal testing to confirm the integration/interoperability of each solution with Genesys products and verify that it meets Genesys’ requirements. The partner is responsible for providing the test lab, plans, and results at its own cost.
Provide solution installation documentation and solution operation documentation through an online platform to maintain high-quality standards.
Document each solution and its integration/interoperability with Genesys Cloud.
Use third parties to assist with testing (Genesys PS, Genesys partners, and more).
Provide technical support associated with the solution.
Provide solution updates, upgrades, and alignment with the most recent Genesys software versions.
Responsible for the accuracy of the representations, claims, and statements made during and after the verification/validation, and for contracting the solution on its own EULA.
Maintain a Genesys lab for ongoing testing and support of their solution, or to schedule and pay for use of Genesys-hosted lab environments.
Note:
Genesys developer support does not review the partner’s self-validation test plan and results.
AppFoundry partners, without a listing in AppFoundry, are not titled to use a partner logo with Genesys.
ISV program requirements and benefits
Tiered partner program
The tiered program features provide benefits at different levels, based on the aggregate gross revenue generated within the AppFoundry program. The aggregate revenue is defined as the sum of Genesys’s total gross billing to the end customer or reseller and the partner’s total gross billing to the end customer or reseller.
Joining the tiered program
To join the tiered program, perform the following:
Partners must ensure that they have an application listed as an ISV application on Genesys Cloud.
Each new partner joins the AppFoundry ISV partner program with the Bronze Tier.
Optionally, partners can provide Genesys’ Common Terms of Service for an ISV application. For more information about the common terms of service, see Common Terms of Service.
Partner tiering
Genesys annually evaluates each partner’s compliance with the program guide requirements before changing each partner’s category, tier assignment, and economic benefits. Genesys measures and reports the performance on a set of cloud recurring revenue, defined as a KPI. Official compliance and applicable program changes to this KPI are assessed annually.
The timelines for the compliance reviews are as follows:
Compliance review takes place in Q4 and is based on the applicable recurring revenue and training certifications from the ongoing calendar year.
The KPI is defined as the recurring annual gross revenue earned through sales. The KPI is the sum of gross sales, partner invoices, and Genesys invoices. This KPI is subject to change annually with the AppFoundry program guide.
When the partner is deemed to be non-compliant with the KPI during the annual compliance review, a recovery grace period is granted. If the partner fails to achieve compliance within the recovery period, Genesys changes the partner’s tier.
Program requirements
As AppFoundry partners are encouraged to invest in marketing campaigns offered within the program and share revenue with Genesys, AppFoundry ISV partnerships are provided free of cost. Genesys AppFoundry’s primary strategic goal is to extend Genesys Cloud adoption. Genesys Lab software fees are charged individually based on the solution requirements. A Genesys Cloud Developer Lab instance is provided free of cost to the partner.
AppFoundry ISV partner requirements
The AppFoundry ISV partner requirements are as follows:
Continuous integration/interoperability with the Genesys and partner latest solution/product releases in place.
Genesys Cloud Certified Partner (CCP) before accessing Genesys Technical Support.
Genesys Cloud Certified Partner (CCP) before receiving the Genesys SDKs (where available).
Genesys Cloud Certified Partner (CCP) (if using the Genesys Platform SDK for integration), wherever available.
Follow the Genesys process when opening Genesys technical support tickets.
Follow the Genesys Code of Conduct.
Completion of Genesys Cloud Certified Partner (CCP) before listing their ISV application for Genesys Cloud on AppFoundry by one or more employees.
AppFoundry ISV partner program benefits
The AppFoundry ISV partner program benefits are as follows:
Partner Benefits
Program Level Benefits
Technical Enablement
Access to the Genesys Care knowledge base, Genesys developer forum, and Genesys AppFoundry community.
Access to Genesys Technical Support (requires the Genesys Certified Support Professional and a valid lab or production license).
Access to Genesys Lab software to validate their solutions with the Genesys Suite.
Integrate Genesys SDK with the Genesys customer experience platform.
Access to the Genesys test plans for self-validation, if available.
Access to the Genesys On-Demand Services (ODS) or professional services for a fee.
Partner Enablement
Access to the Genesys Ascend Portal for AppFoundry ISV partners.
Access to the partner webinars.
Access to the Genesys Partner Network Community.
Marketing
Option to join internal and external marketing activities.
Compliance
Partner network program guidelines
All potential new business partners are required to submit a partner application online through the Partner Network Program portal created in Salesforce. After submitting, an auto-generated email is sent to the Ethics and Integrity team to conduct a compliance review.
During the review, the following due diligence measures are conducted to rule out the potential red flags:
Restricted party screening is done on the partner and listed shareholders holding more than 10% ownership.
Restricted party screening is done on executives listed in the application.
Internet searches, including Google search and LinkedIn, are conducted on the company name and executives.
The company website is reviewed.
Various international company registry websites are checked as and when applicable.
The Secretary of State websites are checked if the business is in the United States.
If there are no issues after the review is completed, the application is approved.
After joining the Partner Program, the partner must fill out a business questionnaire annually for a follow-up risk assessment.