In software terms, an ecosystem is where different businesses act as a unit within a shared market for software and services, typically underpinned by a single platform. Marketplace is similar to Apple’s App Store or BlackBerry’s App World but, in this case, users can make use of a range of best-of-breed recruiting and staffing apps without leaving the Bullhorn platform.

Companies that have joined the Bullhorn Alliance Partner Programme include Broadbean, CareerBuilder.com, Daxtra, Monster Worldwide, RealMatch and ZoomInfo. Natasha Jeary, senior partner at recruitment and support services consultancy Blue Silicon, one of the first Bullhorn users in the UK, told Recruiter that having a full range of products and services that integrate seamlessly will increase overall efficiency within the industry. Richard Essex, head of corporate sales at Broadbean Technology, adds that often the best suppliers are ones that focus resources on their own product and outsource additional features via strong integration. “No one company can be an expert in all aspects of recruitment technology, so tried-and-tested integration is a great way to add client value, improve functionality and lessen the need for clients to look at alternative products,” he said.

Phase two of Marketplace will have a transactional side so users can purchase and switch on an application directly from the site, although Bullhorn’s UK managing director Peter Linas said that this will not be the case with more complex software. Regarding what apps can be expected in the future, he said it was down to the developers’ imagination.

“We’ve looked at what recruiters are using today and gone for software that is fundamental to their businesses but even we don’t know what developers might come forward with,” said Linas. “I do know that there is an SMS app coming through so recruiters can send SMSs from the system.”

Jeary would like to see more software available for recruiters to offer key clients as part of the recruitment package, “which would perhaps allow them to post vacancies directly into the system and onto agency job boards”, she said.

Marketplace is the fruition of Bullhorn’s Project Rain Forest, which Recruiter reported on in September when the software company announced its intention to open up its application programming interface to development partners.
http://marketplace.bullhorn.com