Open Platform is a strategic initiative aimed at making Business Catalyst an extensible platform, and we're happy to announce the public launch of Open Platform.
With this initiative, we open our platform to the strong partner community that are both experts in the needs of small businesses and great web developers. Using the BC Open Platform, advanced partners can build functionality on top of BC (and package it as apps), and the rest of Business Catalyst community can enhance their customers' sites by installing those apps. The new applications, that appear in BC websites Admin section, will enrich Business Catalyst current modules using REST APIs and JavaScript SDKs.
What is Open Platform, and what types of applications can we build with it?
Open platform relies on three pillars to transform Business Catalyst into a truly open business platform:
- The Business Catalyst partner community
- An app marketplace where apps are published, purchased and installed from
- A full-fledged developer program with access to REST APIs, developer documentation and forums
There are many applications you can build on top of the Open Admin platform. From photo galleries with drag & drop image sorting (we're giving the gallery away for free), to team management apps (also free), to full Backup solutions, Menu editors, product editors, deeper Google Analytics integration, and much more.