Publishing editions

This page covers the three key steps for publishing editions of your app in the Marketplace partner account:

1. Adding and mapping features
2. Setting pricing of editions
3. Submitting for review

Before you begin

Before you start publishing your editions, go through the build instructions and ensure that you have made the required changes in your app code.

Note that your current app will default to the standard edition as soon as these changes are made. You can then diversify the app by adding different features to the standard, as well as the advanced edition in your partner account.

A few key things to note:

• Your current app features should be classified under the standard edition.
• Your existing pricing will apply to the standard edition and the customers will be transitioned accordingly.
• You can adjust the price of the standard edition just as you normally would (in case you want to make any changes to the pricing irrespective of the editions).
• You can further diversify the app by adding different features to the standard and advanced editions in your partner account.

Get started

After you've ensured that your code is compatible, follow the given steps to start publishing:

1. Log in to your Marketplace partner account.
2. Select the app you want to publish editions for.
3. Navigate to the Editions tab to get started. This will be visible only for apps that are feature-flagged. You can only see these apps if you have the required listing and pricing permissions on your account.

Once you're inside the editions tab, you will be guided through the next steps.

1. Add and map features

To begin, you'll need to add all the features you want to provide across your standard and advanced editions, describe these features, and then map them to their respective editions. Features will appear in the app listing in the order that you provide here.

Follow the given steps:

1. Select Add feature to start adding a new feature.
2. Provide a concise name for the feature by adding the Feature name within 40 characters.
3. Add a short Feature description within 150 characters to clearly explain what the feature does.
4. From the dropdown, select either standard or advanced, depending on the edition you want to map the particular feature to.
5. Ensure that you add one unique, additional feature to your advanced edition apart from all the standard edition features that automatically get added.
6. Once you've filled in all the details, select Add to save it to the list of features for the selected edition below. Note, all features from your standard edition are included in the advanced edition by default.
7. You can edit the feature details once they have been mapped, change the selected edition from the dropdown, or drag and drop the feature from one edition to another.
8. Ensure all added features are correctly listed under their respective editions. Review the list of features and their descriptions to confirm accuracy.
9. After mapping all features to their respective editions, click Next to proceed to the Set pricing section.

Best practices for adding feature details

While adding feature details, remember that you can add features that are provisioned in your code, as well as service features.

Features that are embedded in your app code have specific functionalities or characteristics that enable users to perform tasks or achieve certain outcomes.

Service features, however, provide additional value, support, and functionality to users. These are not directly embedded in the code, but are essential for enhancing user experience. For example, 24x7 support or a dedicated customer success manager would make good service features.

Ideally, your advanced edition should have more substantial distinctions than just additional services. Think about how you can create more value holistically.

Below are a few key practices you can follow while deciding the names of your features and describing them.

Feature name

A good feature name should clearly and accurately describe its function. If the feature already exists in the industry, use the established name to maintain familiarity. The name should be easy to remember and, above all, intuitive. Aim for a self-explanatory feature name that conveys its purpose at a glance.

Feature description

Apart from conveying what the feature does, a well-crafted feature description should also communicate the benefits of the feature.

Consider the following when writing your feature description:

• Think about how the feature helps your users, along with its outcomes and advantages
• Avoid technical jargon. Keep the description short, simple, and easy to understand.
• Pre-emptively answer any potential questions users might have about the feature.

2. Set pricing of editions

Before setting the pricing of your editions, refer to the pricing and packaging guide to understand the factors that can impact pricing, as well as the best way to finalize your price points.

Once you have a fair understanding of what you want your prices to be and you've added and mapped your features, you can start setting the pricing of your editions.

The current pricing edition of your app will default to the standard edition once editions are deployed in your code and your customers will be transitioned accordingly. We highly recommend you communicate all changes in pricing editions and the upcoming editions with your customers well in advance.

To set the pricing:

1. Go to the Standard edition tab and see what your current prices look like.
2. From the dropdown, select whether you want to set custom pricing or you want the pricing to be a percentage of your parents product's prices.
3. Go through the monthly rates and start adjusting the pricing. The Price Guidance feature helps you compare the tier price for your cloud apps against the same tier price for server and average price of all Data Center apps. Read more about pricing guidance here.
4. Once you've decided the monthly rates, review the Total per month to ensure accuracy.
5. Switch to the Advanced edition tab to set pricing for your advanced edition now.
6. Similar to the steps above, go through the monthly rates and use the Standard edition pricing for your reference.
7. Review the pricing you have set and once you're done, select Next to to get a preview of your editions, and submit them for review.

3. Submit for review

In the last step, you can preview how your editions will look on the app listing and submit them for review.

Follow the given steps:

1. Cross-check the pricing you have set for both editions and confirm your user tier.
2. Verify your feature names and click on the expand to check the feature descriptions as well.
3. Once you're done verifying, select Submit for review. A support ticket will be created as soon as you submit and it will be constantly updated for you to keep track. 1. The usual turnaround time is 1-2 business days. Note, if you only made changes to the pricing of your standard editions, no approval is required and the changes will be live within 24 hours.
4. Keep track of the support ticket to understand whether your editions have been accepted or rejected.
5. Once accepted, select Copy link from the top right of the page to share your editions with your customers during the EAP phase.

How will my editions be reviewed?

Once you have submitted your editions for review, an ECOHELP JSM support ticket will automatically be created. This ticket will notify the app review team about the new submission.

You, as the submitter, can interact directly with the review team within the ticket. If you do not have access to the ticket, contact support to request access.

The submission will undergo a review that is specific to the edition submitted. The app will be tested against both standard and advanced features as defined by you, ensuring that licensing validations are correctly implemented.

If the edition is rejected, review the provided feedback to understand the reasons for rejection. Take the necessary corrective actions and resubmit the edition for another round of review. Once the edition is approved, it will be made available for customers to upgrade.

To make sure your app doesn't get rejected, follow these tips:

• Adhere to the brand guidelines.
• Make sure your advanced edition has one unique, additional feature apart from all the standard edition features that are automatically included in it.
• Check the app's behavior in different edition states, focusing on proper license implementation. For example, features exclusive to the advanced edition should be disabled when the standard edition is active. Conversely, these features should be enabled when the advanced edition is selected.
• Make sure the documentation you provide to your customers is detailed so that it's clear to them how they can try the editions of your app on their end.