Confluent Announces OEM Program for MSPs, ISVs, and CSP

Confluent, has introduced the Confluent OEM Program, targeting managed service providers (MSPs), cloud service providers (CSPs), and independent software vendors (ISVs).

Program Overview

The Confluent OEM Program provides a comprehensive data streaming platform for Apache Kafka and Apache Flink. This initiative allows partners to globally redistribute or embed Confluent’s enterprise-grade platform.

Benefits for Partners

Partners can expedite the launch of real-time products and Kafka offerings, addressing customer demand for data streaming with minimal risk. The program includes expert implementation guidance and certification to support the launch of enterprise-ready offerings.

Commercial Terms and Support

The program offers flexible commercial terms tailored to partners' sales methods. Ongoing technical support is provided to ensure long-term customer success.

"As data-driven technologies like GenAI become essential to enterprise operations, the conversation has shifted from ‘if’ or ‘when’ a business will need data streaming to ‘what’s the fastest, most cost-effective way to get started?’” said Kamal Brar, Senior Vice President, Worldwide ISV and APAC, Confluent. “We help our partners unlock new revenue streams by meeting the growing demand for real-time data within every region they serve. Confluent offers the fastest route to delivering enterprise-grade data streaming, enabling partners to accelerate service delivery, reduce support costs, and minimize overall complexity and risk.”

Real-Time Data Streaming as a Business Requirement

The demand for real-time data has established data streaming as a crucial business need. ISG Software Research predicts that by 2026, over three-quarters of enterprises will integrate streaming data and event processing into their standard information architectures.

Challenges with Open Source Technologies

Teams often rely on open-source technologies like Kafka and Flink to meet real-time data needs. However, building and maintaining these technologies at scale can be costly and time-consuming. On average, it takes businesses over two years to bring self-managed Kafka to production scale, with ongoing development and operational costs running into millions of dollars annually. This resource consumption can hinder a business's ability to focus on differentiation and maintain a competitive edge.

Confluent OEM Program

The Confluent OEM Program addresses the challenges of self-managing open-source technologies, extending beyond Kafka and Flink. Managed service providers (MSPs) and cloud service providers (CSPs) can deliver a complete data streaming platform through Confluent, facilitating customer projects in AI, real-time analytics, and application modernization. Independent software vendors (ISVs) can embed Confluent within their products to power modern customer experiences with real-time data.

Program Benefits

Design Review and Development Support: Partners receive architectural guidance and hands-on development support from Confluent’s team.

Speed to Market: The program offers a ready-to-use data streaming platform with 120+ Kafka connectors, Flink stream processing, enterprise-grade security, data quality controls, and cloud-based monitoring.

Confluent Certification: Partners can launch with confidence, backed by Confluent’s certification.

Flexible Commercial Terms: The program provides commercial terms that align with partners' sales methods.

Expert Technical Support: Partners benefit from committer-led Kafka and Flink support, ensuring they can handle customer queries and issues effectively.