Confluent OEM Program Eases Real-Time Data Delivery

Confluent, Inc., the data streaming pioneer, today announced the Confluent OEM Program. The new program for managed service providers (MSPs), cloud service providers (CSPs), and independent software vendors (ISVs) makes it easy to launch and enhance customer offerings with a complete data streaming platform for Apache Kafka® and Apache Flink®. With license to globally redistribute or embed Confluent’s enterprise-grade platform, partners can bring real-time products and Kafka offerings to market faster and easily monetize customer demand for data streaming with limited risk. The program makes data streaming a high-margin part of the business with expert implementation guidance and certification to help partners launch enterprise-ready offerings; flexible commercial terms that match the ways partners sell; and ongoing technical support to ensure long-term customer success.

"As data-driven technologies like GenAI become essential to enterprise operations, 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.”

The need for real-time data has cemented data streaming as a critical business requirement. According to ISG Software Research, “by 2026, more than three-quarters of enterprises’ standard information architectures will include streaming data and event processing.” To meet this need, teams often turn to popular open source technologies like Kafka and Flink. However, building and maintaining open source software, especially at scale, quickly becomes prohibitively expensive and time-consuming. On average, self-managing Kafka takes businesses more than two years to reach production scale, with ongoing platform development and operational costs exceeding millions of dollars per year. Over time, solutions built with open source Kafka and Flink consume more and more engineering resources, which impacts a business’ ability to focus on differentiation and maintain a competitive advantage.

Grow faster with enterprise-grade data streaming

The Confluent OEM Program alleviates the burdens of self-managing open source technologies while going far beyond just Kafka and Flink. MSPs and CSPs can easily deliver a complete data streaming platform through Confluent, providing a hassle-free solution for unlocking more customer projects across AI, real-time analytics, application modernization and more. ISVs can embed Confluent within their products or applications to cost-effectively power modern customer experiences fueled by real-time data. Confluent simplifies data streaming by eliminating the operational complexities of open source deployments, accelerating delivery times, and ensuring customer success through ongoing expert support. Secure, governed data streams can be available wherever needed—on premises, at the edge, and in the cloud.

OEM Program benefits include: 

• Design review and development support – Build your data streaming offering with architectural guidance and hands-on development support from Confluent’s team with over 1 million Kafka development hours logged.

• Speed to market – Accelerate time to value with a complete, ready-to-use data streaming platform including 120+ Kafka connectors, Flink stream processing, enterprise-grade security and data quality controls, and cloud-based monitoring.

• Confluent certification – Launch confidently with proof that your product or data streaming offering is approved and backed by the industry leader.

• Flexible commercial terms – Package customer-facing offerings easily with commercial terms that match the way you sell.

• Expert technical support – Bring committer-led Kafka and Flink support to your business and easily handle any customer question or issue.

Hear from Confluent’s Launch Partners

“Businesses undergoing digital transformations rely on Infosys for technologies that meet rigorous enterprise requirements and ensure long-term success,” said Dinesh Rao, EVP and Co-Head of Delivery, Infosys. “By leveraging Confluent’s advanced data streaming solutions, we can complete customer projects more efficiently, with minimized risk and reduced costs. Our customers benefit from comprehensive platforms that include pre-built connectors, native stream processing, data quality controls, enterprise-grade security, governance, monitoring, and more.”

“Customer demand for data streaming has skyrocketed as businesses strive for a competitive edge through application modernization, real-time analytics, and AI,” said Dongliang Guo, Vice President of International Business, Head of International Products and Solutions, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. “With Confluent, we were able to deliver a complete, enterprise-grade Apache Kafka managed service on Alibaba Cloud with minimal time and engineering effort. Partnering with Confluent, the leading Kafka experts, allowed us to quickly unlock new business potential in Asia Pacific while lessening the costs and complications typically associated with launching a new service."

"Processing over 7 billion real-time payment transactions per month for leading financial institutions worldwide comes with exceptional performance expectations,” said George Sam, Co-founder and Business Head, Mindgate Solutions Pvt. Ltd. “By leveraging Apache Kafka from Confluent, we ensure our RTP UPI payment platform can handle the increasing demand for real-time transactions with unparalleled efficiency and reliability. Through this partnership, we reaffirm our dedication to delivering innovative, scalable, and resilient payment solutions to clients globally, highlighting our commitment to providing cutting-edge, robust solutions worldwide."