Does the AWS Marketplace really work?

The AWS Marketplace is an invaluable tool for both Solutions Integrators (SIs) and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) looking to grow their business and attract new customers. During my time at Cloud303, I saw firsthand how leveraging the AWS Marketplace could drive significant traction for our offerings, thanks to its built-in SEO engine, AWS team goals, and keyword optimization. Let’s dive into how you can take advantage of this platform to grow your business.

Why AWS Marketplace is a no brainer for SI and ISV Partners

AWS Marketplace gives partners the ability to list both products and services in front of millions of AWS customers. This kind of exposure is hard to beat, especially when you consider that AWS is a trusted name for businesses looking for cloud-based solutions. By simply listing your offerings on the AWS Marketplace, you’re placing your business in front of decision-makers actively searching for solutions.

In fact, businesses that sell through AWS Marketplace report higher customer acquisition rates and revenue growth compared to traditional sales methods. According to AWS, many partners see significant increases in deal size, sales cycle speed, and revenue per customer just by being listed.

Reduce Friction with Procurement and Billing

One of the biggest benefits of the AWS Marketplace is how it reduces friction for customers when purchasing your product or service. The marketplace simplifies the procurement process, allowing businesses to access and buy solutions quickly without getting bogged down by lengthy approval cycles. Additionally, AWS Marketplace consolidates billing, meaning customers can bundle your product or service costs with their existing AWS bill. This creates a seamless experience and removes some of the headaches involved with vendor management and procurement.

The Power of AWS Marketplace SEO

One of the most powerful aspects of the AWS Marketplace is its built-in SEO engine. By optimizing your product or service listings with the right keywords, you can drive organic traction without needing to do much on your own. This was a strategy that worked wonders for us at Cloud303. We carefully selected keywords that our target customers would be searching for and filled our offerings with those terms. The results were remarkable—our listings gained traction quickly, and we were able to attract new customers simply because we were visible when they searched.

My advice to anyone listing on the AWS Marketplace is to take keyword optimization seriously. Think like your customers—what would they be searching for to find your product or service? Make sure those keywords are prominent in your descriptions, tags, and anywhere else AWS allows. It’s a simple step that can lead to significant results.

AWS Teams Have Marketplace Goals

Another huge benefit of being listed on AWS Marketplace is that AWS field teams often have internal goals tied to Marketplace sales. By listing your products or services, you give AWS reps an incentive to sell your solutions to their customers. This can lead to a great co-selling opportunity where AWS teams are motivated to pitch your offerings because it helps them hit their targets, too.

If you’re an SI or ISV, this is another reason why being on the AWS Marketplace is critical. It aligns your goals with those of AWS teams, creating a natural synergy that can lead to more closed deals.

ISV Partners: Partner Hosted vs. Customer Hosted

For ISVs, there are two main ways to list products on the AWS Marketplace: partner hosted or customer hosted.

• Partner Hosted: In this model, customers consume your product from your environment, and you charge them a fee for access. It’s similar to the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, where the infrastructure and hosting are managed on your end.

• Customer Hosted: Here, the customer deploys your product directly into their own AWS environment. This model pushes the hosting cost to the customer and allows them to manage the infrastructure themselves.

Pros and Cons of Customer Hosted Solutions

Pros:

• Cost Savings: Since the product is deployed in the customer’s AWS account, you aren’t responsible for the hosting costs, making this model highly scalable without needing to invest in expensive infrastructure.

• AWS Growth: This model drives AWS service usage for the customer, which is something AWS reps love. It’s a great way to gain traction with AWS teams because it directly helps grow AWS consumption.

• Easier Approvals: Getting approved on AWS Marketplace as a customer-hosted solution is generally quicker and less complex. This also makes passing the Foundational Technical Review easier. The Foundational Technical Review (FTR) ensures that your product follows AWS best practices, from security to operational excellence, but for customer-hosted solutions, the bar is typically more achievable.

Cons:

• Less Control: You’re handing over the reins to the customer to manage the environment. If their infrastructure isn’t optimized or well-maintained, it could negatively impact the user experience, even though it’s technically their responsibility.
  

• Management Overhead: Offering your product as a customer hosted solution can come with its challenges. Maintenance and updates can be challenging if you do not build the infrastructure for it right off the bat. If your product is not single-tenant compatible, there might be more time spent initially getting it rearchitected to allow for a customer-hosted deployment.

Pros and Cons of Partner Hosted Solutions

Pros:

• Complete Control: You maintain full control over the hosting environment, which means you can ensure the product is always running optimally. This helps you deliver a consistent experience across customers.

• Simplified for Customers: Partner-hosted solutions can be more appealing to customers who don’t want to deal with managing infrastructure. You handle it for them, which can lower the barrier to adoption.

Cons:

• Higher Costs: Hosting the solution yourself means you bear the infrastructure costs, which can add up as you scale. This also means you need to invest in the resources to manage uptime, security, and scalability.

• Complex Approvals: Partner-hosted solutions often have more hoops to jump through for Marketplace approval, and the FTR is typically more involved. Since you’re responsible for the environment, AWS wants to ensure it’s secure and resilient.

AWS Marketplace: A Critical Part of Your GTM Strategy

AWS Marketplace isn’t just a platform for listing products—it’s a key component of a successful go-to-market (GTM) strategy. During my time at Cloud303, we aligned our offerings with AWS Marketplace, and it played a significant role in our success. From keyword optimization driving traction to co-selling with AWS teams motivated by Marketplace goals, AWS Marketplace helped us attract customers and close deals faster than traditional methods.

For any SI or ISV, leveraging AWS Marketplace should be at the top of your priority list. The exposure, alignment with AWS reps, and built-in scalability are unparalleled. And if you optimize your listings with the right keywords, as we did, you can turn it into an engine that drives growth all on its own.

"Dream big, deliver bigger"

Sujaiy Shivakumar

Sujaiy Shivakumar is a 3x tech startup founder, with his latest successful venture, Cloud303, growing into an AWS Premier Partner with over 60 employees. All views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely his own.

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