Jigsaw today announced that it has released a suite of APIs and an accompanying toolkit that enable developers to modify their companies’ Web, desktop, and mobile applications to allow for access to Jigsaw’s enormous business contacts database.
The business directory version of Wikipedia, Jigsaw is a leading provider of business contact and company information, data completely generated by the company’s user base. In the spirit of content-sharing, the company is also launching the Jigsaw Developer Program, whereby companies integrating Jigsaw can give free Jigsaw data away or resell the data to their customers, effectively monetizing their own services. Additionally, if their customers already have Jigsaw accounts, developers can enable them to acquire Jigsaw contact data through their applications.
Despite the economic downturn, Jigsaw has proven its undeniable utility many times over by attaining profitability the past three quarters. The company’s revenue has been doubling for the past four years.
CEO Jim Fowler sees revenue doubling again for 2009. If he’s right, the company’s success will be attributable in no small part to intelligent ideas and forward-thinking implementations, like today’s API release.
With almost a million registered users on Jigsaw exchanging contact information, different people and companies are going to want different avenues to access the giant database. The release of these APIs empowers developers to construct those avenues, ensuring that every Jigsaw customer will be happy with at least one solution available.
Proof of the simplicity of integrating applications with Jigsaw, eighteen companies have already joined the Jigsaw Developer Program, including Jobvite, Marketo, and SugarCRM.
Marketo, for example, has embedded a Jigsaw icon into its social sales application, Marketo Sales Insight. Customers who click the icon gain access to phone numbers and email addresses of 13 million Jigsaw contacts.
Seeing as how a score of companies are already planning on taking full advantage of Jigsaw’s new APIs, it’s clear that this will be a big hit for the company.
