Microsoft is excited to share our latest strategic investments in the Microsoft commercial marketplace to unlock Azure IP co-sell benefits. Year on year, we have seen a 138% increase in marketplace sales and 214% in Azure IP co-sell revenue made on the marketplace. Today, we are announcing that having a transactable offer published on the commercial marketplace is a new baseline requirement to access co-sell benefits, and we’re partnering across our ecosystem to help organizations transition to the marketplace and access maximum benefits to grow their profitability.
Our customers are increasingly seeking to discover, try, and buy applications online, driving rapid growth in cloud marketplaces with continued expansion ahead. That is why we are positioning the Microsoft commercial marketplace as an essential platform for co-selling with Microsoft sellers and unlocking sales growth by helping customers make the most of their committed cloud investments. As a Microsoft partner, you can seize this enormous market opportunity by selling your co-sell eligible cloud-based apps on the Microsoft commercial marketplace.
Today, we are also announcing new capabilities, Azure IP co-sell benefits, and updates to our criteria for eligible Azure solutions. These changes can help you:
- Expand into new sales channels and markets by harnessing the power of our global reach: achieve global scale and accelerate your growth by selling on the commercial marketplace — and increase opportunities to sell with Microsoft sellers and other partners.
- Expedite deals with a simplified sales process: sell your Azure solutions on the commercial marketplace to reach customers directly while saving time, cost, and effort. Microsoft facilitates customer purchases, allowing for streamlined customer setup and management in one location.
- Unlock sales growth by helping customers maximize their committed cloud investments: by selling in the commercial marketplace and having a co-sell eligible solution, you can reach millions of Microsoft customers who are driven to buy your solution to make the most out of their cloud investments — further fueling sales.
New capabilities in the commercial marketplace
To help you sell with Microsoft, we are releasing new commercial marketplace enhancements and capabilities. These include multiparty private offers (currently in private preview), which empower partners to come together to construct custom deals, and for eligible solutions, sales count towards a customer’s cloud commitment. Initially, multiparty private offers will be available for partners to sell to customers purchasing in the United States. While any partner can participate, the partner making the sale must have a U.S. tax profile for marketplace in Partner Center. Availability to customers in the United Kingdom and Canada will follow the U.S. release, with other markets to follow. Selling partners will need tax or VAT profiles to sell to customers in the respective countries.
We are also providing the ability for partners and sellers to indicate intent to transact through the commercial marketplace, bringing alignment upfront in the deal-making process. As part of our commitment to partners everywhere, we’re always working on identifying additional commercial marketplace enhancements and capabilities that will better support you, however you do business.
New criteria to access Azure IP co-sell benefits
Co-sell — or collaborative selling — is a benefit of your Microsoft Cloud Partner Program membership and can include digital sales motions, account or territory strategic planning, or collaborative selling with Microsoft sellers. As you invest in your partnership with us and grow your business, we’ll also invest in your organization through additional co-sell benefits. Beginning on July 1, 2023, we will focus on the new criteria for your organization to receive Azure IP co-sell benefits. These benefits include access to customers’ committed cloud budgets and seller incentivization towards eligible Azure solutions.
After July 1, having a transactable offer published in the commercial marketplace and being Azure IP co-sell eligible is a prerequisite for unlocking Azure IP co-sell benefits, giving you access to pre-committed cloud spend. Once your organization meets these initial requirements, there are two pathways to access incremental top tier benefits, depending on your business and goals: marketplace performance or consumption commitments. To learn more about the criteria for each pathway, you can find the resources here.
Upon meeting the eligibility requirements for top tier benefits, Microsoft sellers will be incentivized for sales of eligible Microsoft Azure solutions on the commercial marketplace. In addition, your solutions will be promoted to our sellers so that they can more easily identify you for collaboration on joint sales opportunities with customers. Information on these new co-sell benefits for eligible Azure solutions is available here.
Partner resources
- Visit the ISV resource gallery on the partner website to learn more about the new co-sell benefits, prerequisites, and eligibility requirements.
- Sign up for ISV Success for help building, publishing, and growing transactable offers in the commercial marketplace. And, get marketing support with Marketplace Rewards — now part of ISV Success.
- Review self-serve, technical resources to learn how to publish transactable offers in the commercial marketplace, attend the Marketplace webinars, and visit weekly marketplace office hours to have your questions answered.
- Contact your Microsoft partner account representative to learn more about the new co-sell changes and the next steps for your organization.
- Visit the partner website to learn more about the opportunity and the resources we have in place to support you, regardless of what stage you’re in, along your Microsoft partnership journey.
- Review the enablement resources on multiparty private offers.
No matter where you are in your marketplace journey, we can help you advance toward your goals. If you are not currently selling through our marketplace, our onboarding and enablement resources will help you publish to the marketplace and reach customers across the globe. Once you’re ready to transact, tap into our go-to-market support to build demand for your offers, increase customer awareness of your solutions, strengthen your marketplace deal pipeline, and strategize for success. We are committed to being your partner in planning for growth, driving customer demand, preparing for co-sell, and pursuing new growth opportunities.
This blog was written by Julie Sanford, Vice President, Partner GTM, Programs & Experiences, Microsoft