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Cloudflare Apps launched to boost web services, SaaS app deployment

The new platform will help developers distribute apps to millions of users on the Cloudflare network.
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer
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(Image: Cloudflare)

Cloudflare has launched Cloudflare Apps, a free suite designed for SaaS businesses and application deployment.

Announced on Tuesday, the new platform will allow website owners to more easily install third-party services in their own internet applications, and it has also been designed to help developers to distribute SaaS applications to everyone on the Cloudflare network.

The app platform also opens up the Cloudflare network to third-party developers and gives them the APIs necessary to build apps compatible with Cloudflare's infrastructure -- as well as get paid for what they build.

Cloudflare Apps is supported by a new $100 million developer fund from three of the DNS service provider's investors -- New Enterprise Associates, Venrock, and Pelion Venture Partners -- which will be distributed to companies interested in building applications, pushing the adoption of the platform forward.

"Until now, only Cloudflare's own team could develop applications that take advantage of its scale," the company said. "The Cloudflare Apps platform opens Cloudflare's network to third-party developers. The Cloudflare Developer Fund helps finance applications built on the Apps Platform from investors who understand the scale and reach of Cloudflare."

Currently, roughly 50 applications are available on the platform, including those from VigLink, Oracle, and Zendesk.

"VigLink has always focused on empowering publishers, and the launch of Cloudflare Apps is a watershed moment," said Oliver Roup, CEO of VigLink. "Incremental publisher revenue is delivered without compromising user experience, now a single click away from more than 4 million of the web's savviest publishers. A better Internet isn't just faster and safer, it's more lucrative too."

Read also: How cybercriminals earned $100,000 just by sending a DDoS threat email

In February, researchers discovered a leak on the Cloudflare network, which resulted in customer SSL data being exposed and open to the public.

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