A cloud marketplace is a software catalog operated by a major cloud provider, such as AWS Marketplace, Microsoft's commercial marketplace or Google Cloud Marketplace. Customers can find, buy and be billed for third-party SaaS products through their existing cloud account. For B2B SaaS companies selling to larger organizations, a listing can simplify procurement and give buyers a way to buy within budgets and agreements they already have.
Why buyers use them
Large companies often have committed spending agreements with a cloud provider and established procurement with that vendor. Buying software through the marketplace can mean one fewer new vendor to approve and a single bill. Each provider sets its own rules on which purchases count toward committed spend, so check the current terms.
- Consolidated billing through the cloud account.
- Standard contract terms offered by some providers.
- Private offers with negotiated pricing for specific customers.
- Possible use of existing cloud budgets, depending on provider rules.
What it means for the seller
Listing usually requires integrating with the provider's metering or entitlement APIs, accepting the provider's fees, and going through a review. The marketplace is mostly a procurement route rather than a discovery channel: many buyers arrive having already chosen the product and use the marketplace to purchase it. Some providers also run co-selling programs with their own sales teams.
Connecting it to search and content
Buyers who prefer to purchase through a cloud marketplace often search for whether a product is available there. Stating availability on pricing and procurement pages, and linking to the listing, answers that question. Reporting should record marketplace transactions with their original acquisition source so the channel that won the deal still gets credit.
Example
Removing a procurement step
Hypothetical company Ordwell Security sells a cloud monitoring product to large companies. Several deals stall in vendor onboarding. It lists on a major cloud marketplace and offers private offers there, and adds a section to its pricing page explaining how to buy through the marketplace.
Common mistakes
Treating a listing as a lead source
Few buyers discover products by browsing these catalogs. Plan for it as a buying route, and keep generating demand elsewhere.
Questions
Not usually for enterprise deals. Sales still negotiates, and the marketplace handles the transaction and billing.
