Wondering how to leverage the cloud to sell your products and partner better with hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud? I’m not surprised! This is the subject of ongoing conversations I have with SaaS companies. Go-to-market tactics that come up always include leaning into Cloud Marketplaces (CSPs).
A must-have for SaaS companies looking to scale, CSPs offer a trusted and curated selection of enterprise-grade software solutions, as well as services from an array of providers. Trillions in IT spending continues to drive cloud adoption and marketplace throughput has kept pace, doubling every year over the past five years.
Hyperscalers are committed to growing their cloud marketplaces in lockstep with their partner programs. While laggards are falling behind, early adopters are getting ahead. Why? Simply because they’re meeting buyers where their budget is.
Here are five areas where cloud marketplaces can put you on pace to win faster:
Streamlined Procurement & Time to Value
Traditionally, procuring software and services can be time consuming, involving internal approvals, submission for a PO, invoicing, and security reviews.
Time is money, and CSPs reduce what could take weeks down to hours by simplifying procurement. Specifically, cloud marketplaces streamline the procurement process by providing a centralized platform where businesses can discover, evaluate, and purchase solutions with just a few clicks. And streamlined procurement inevitably and positively impacts the Time to Value (TTV) measure (which you should be monitoring as a SaaS business leader incidentally).
AWS, for example, offers Procurement System Integration, enabling customers to integrate the AWS Marketplace with their procurement systems through Commerce XML, an industry standard open communication protocol. What’s the result? This efficiency centralizes procurement and streamlines approvals.
What’s more, it saves time and resources for the buyer while accelerating revenue generation by driving products to market faster for the seller. Everyone wins.
More Exposure
Growth requires reaching new customers in specific industries and markets. According to [SOURCE], AWS has over 330,000 customers who spend 80 percent more on third-party ISV applications. And compared to traditional selling, partners close a higher percentage of deals when transacting through the AWS Marketplace. How much higher? A whole 27 percent back in 2023.
Listing your SaaS product on a CSP instantly exposes you to customers seeking solutions like yours, as well as to CSP’s account teams in search of positioning your solution with their customers. What’s the win-win here? Significantly shorter sales cycles and accelerated revenue growth.
Agility
At Drag37, we’ve seen firsthand just how perfectly positioned CSPs are to help you drive new feature adoption and capabilities for existing/new customers in new markets and industries. For instance, a Drag37 customer came to us with the goal of accelerating their international footprint. So we merged their marketplace presence and co-selling relationships with CSP account teams to source and close significant new business opportunities faster than their average sales cycle … and at a higher price point.
The name of the game here? Agility. It’s what ensures SaaS businesses can seize emerging opportunities without being hindered by distribution, marketing, or procurement bottlenecks.
Earned Trust
For SaaS companies, gaining a buyer’s trust is a huge challenge. While impressive technology helps, it is only half the battle. To earn the buyer’s trust, you also need to be listed on established marketplaces.
Since cloud marketplaces have strict validation processes to ensure that only secure, highly functional, supported, and reliable solutions are listed, buyers are more likely to trust a listing on the marketplace, even if they aren’t familiar with the seller. Products and businesses listed on established marketplaces gain an instant boost in credibility, which paves the way for effective associative brand recognition, effective co-marketing, and deeper customer relationships
Simplified Billing
CSPs enable SaaS businesses to offer a number of flexible pricing options. Pay-as-you-go, annual, bring your own license, free-tiering, and custom payment schedules are just a few of the options available to sellers aiming to maximize the reach of their CSP listing. Billing for marketplace-listed software is integrated into the buyers’ cloud billing, making it easier for companies to use existing committed cloud spend on new software purchases rather than use other non-strategic distribution channels.
Embraced Cloud Marketplaces
Ready to make a strategic move that will supercharge growth and even give you a competitive edge? Embrace cloud marketplaces! Whether you provide business applications, security, infrastructure management, or data management, customers expect to find you on a cloud marketplace. Period! The last thing you want to do is push those customers to competitors, all because you were unsure how to get your listing up and transact business on a cloud marketplace. Drag37 not only helps you launch your listing, but also guides you in aligning your go-to-market execution with hyperscaler partner program strengths.
Those who embrace cloud marketplaces are poised to reap substantial rewards, unlock new avenues of success, foster innovation, and secure their position as leaders in their industries. At Drag37, we’re your partner in maximizing all the benefits of cloud marketplaces – Let’s talk.
