UPDATED 03:19 EDT / JULY 01 2016

NEWS

Microsoft “AppSource” leak suggests new business app store is coming soon

Microsoft seems to have let slip that it’s secretly building a new web store focused on business apps. The leak came by way of a Twitter user going by the handle “WalkingCat”, who has developed a knack for poking around Microsoft’s sites and uncovering interesting stuff. His most recent leak prior to this revealed more information on Microsoft’s upcoming HoloLens device.

In yesterday’s leak, WalkingCat posted a screenshot of the business app marketplace, called AppSource, which seems to be a service aimed at helping businesses find apps for specific tasks. For instance, it lets business users search various categories of available tools, such as “Customer Service” applications.

The AppSource site will also let users “refine by category” which gives further options such as analytics, collaboration, finance, human resources, marketing, productivity, sales and others. There’s also a “refine by industry” option that lets companies search according to whatever it is they do, such as agriculture, distribution, financial services, government, manufacturing and professional services.

It seems that the AppSource website was accidentally put online by someone at Microsoft before being taken down after around an hour. The URL http://appsource.microsoft.com/ no longer works. But during the time it was online, people including WalkingCat were able to browse through the entire site. He also looked at Microsoft’s documentation for the site, which says that app developers will have to offer a free trial for users if they’re hoping to charge money for them. In addition, developers will need to integrate their apps with Azure Active Directory, Microsoft’s cloud-based authentication and identity service. All apps will have to undergo a review after being submitted, before being placed on AppSource, the documents revealed. Saying that, there is possibility that AppSource will never see the light of day. WalkingCat noted with some amusement that when clicking on the “How it works” page, a video of 1980s pop legend Rick Astley signing the hit song “Never Gonna Give You Up” popped up in place of any information about the machinations of the new service.

Does that mean WalkingCat was successfully “rick-rolled” by Microsoft? Unfortunately we’ll probably never know if that was the case – the site has now been taken offline, and the Astley video could well have been a dummy/joke video placed there by an engineer while awaiting the official one. At least someone at Microsoft has a sense of humor :)

It’s not immediately clear if AppSource is something entirely new, or perhaps a rebranding of Microsoft’s existing business app store called Windows Store for Business, which was launched in 21 markets last year.


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