Why AWS Customers Choose to Procure Software Through Channel Partners in AWS Marketplace

“AWS Partner Experience Transformation” is a blog series on updates to the AWS Partner Programs, AWS Marketplace, and Partner Central.

By Lauren Drigotas, AWS Marketplace Channel Program Manager – AWS

Customers are procuring software, data, and professional services in AWS Marketplace to take advantage of benefits such as consolidated billing, procurement speed, flexible pricing, and terms.

With AWS Marketplace, customers can leverage preferred Channel Partners to provide added value, such as professional services, implementation support, financing, and more.

This post shares some of the benefits seen by Amazon Web Services (AWS) customers when using AWS Marketplace as their procurement vehicle, and how skilled Channel Partners are adding additional value to drive procurement success.

AWS Marketplace Leads to Better Customer Outcomes

In a 2022 Forrester Total Economic Impact study commissioned by AWS, AWS Marketplace customers saw on average a 75% reduction in onboarding effort for new vendors, 66% time savings due to procurement efficiencies, and a 10% reduction in licensing costs.

AWS Marketplace has features and functionality that drive benefits for procurement departments:

• Simplify procurement: AWS Marketplace makes it easy for customers to procure, manage, and govern third-party data all in one place. Customers have the ability to consolidate their billing of AWS Marketplace purchases with their AWS services, helping to simplify financial management with a unified view of costs and streamlined billing processes.
• Optimize costs: Customized pricing, payment schedules, and contract terms help organizations make sure the scope of work and payment schedule best fits their needs. With AWS Marketplace, customers can save resources by monitoring all IT spend with AWS cost management tools and managing software license entitlements in one place.
• Better control and governance: Customers can have better control and governance over software spend by leveraging Private Marketplace, a customizable digital catalog of authorized software and data products, as well as Vendor Insights to simplify third-party software risk assessments by compiling security and compliance information into a unified dashboard

Furthermore, customers are leveraging Channel Partners to take advantage of added value and expertise on top of the benefits they receive with AWS Marketplace.

Channel Partner Added Value

As a customer, are you looking to procure end-to-end solutions? Do you need help with software implementation or ongoing support services? AWS Marketplace make it easy for customers to purchase end-to-end solutions from Channel Partners, including third-party software, data, and professional services.

The expertise of trusted Channel Partners—with the security, governance, and procurement benefits of AWS Marketplace—helps maximize cost savings, simplify procurement, and accelerate innovation through added value.

Figure 1 – Benefits of working with AWS Marketplace Channel Partners.

As customers consume more complex technologies through cloud marketplaces, they are increasingly utilizing trusted partners to assist in their discovery, purchasing, and management processes. In January 2023, Canalys predicted that by 2025 “almost a third of marketplace procurement will be done via Channel Partners on behalf of their end customers.”

The complexities of the modern world have led many customers to leverage Channel Partners to help manage business innovation.

This was the case for iFood, a Brazilian food delivery hub that was looking to consolidate its observability toolkit. The team turned to AWS Marketplace Channel Partner Appoena to help consolidate nine tools into one on AWS, and to quickly procure and deploy Datadog, an observability service for cloud-scale applications.

With AWS Marketplace, Appoena was able to reduce procurement time for the project from two to three months, to just three days.

Features such as flexible payment schedules, cost optimization controls, and the ability to incorporate professional services as part of the transaction, have enabled iFood to have higher agility and focus more effort on high-value activities.

“With AWS Marketplace, we are able to save around two to three weeks of internal process. This gives us time for efficiency studies, negotiation, and improves the satisfaction of the technical teams,” said Carla Lemos, IT governance manager at iFood.

How Do Channel Partners Help AWS Customers?

Channel Partners are partners that are authorized to resell third-party products to end customers in AWS Marketplace. They provide deep expertise across resale, services, and software, and often help customers with implementation, customer support services, and additional value-added services.

Many Channel Partners have regional expertise that can help local customers with implementing solutions, maximizing cost savings, and accelerating innovation. Check out some of our AWS Marketplace Channel Partners delivering value to customers today.

Examples of how Channel Partners work with AWS customers:

• Managed services: Channel Partners with managed services expertise can allow customers to focus on their core competencies, reduce costs, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. With the growing complexity of technology environments, migration efforts to support digital transformation initiatives, and the need for specialized expertise to manage and secure critical systems effectively, Channel Partners can manage all of a customer’s IT spend through AWS billing, including all software, services, and data product purchases.
• Implement full solutions: Channel Partners provide guidance, implementation, and software support for software they provide for end customers to ensure software purchases are part of an organization’s business objectives to ensure interoperability between tools. This takes much of the heavy lifting off of the customer to implement solutions within their organization.
• Risk mitigation: Channel Partners perform due diligence on third-party software vendors, assess the quality and reliability of solutions, and offer post-sales support and warranty services. This valuable service helps reduce customer time spent evaluating solutions and potential risk exposures.
• Local market knowledge: In global or regional markets, Channel Partners can provide local market insight that a third-party software vendor may not have. Channel Partner knowledge of local regulations and customer objectives allows them to tailor solutions to meet unique requirements of local markets and provide localized support to customers.
• Provide customer financing: AWS Marketplace supports flexible financing options through Channel Partners and third-party lenders to help customers maximize value on their AWS Marketplace purchases. Through AWS Marketplace, customers can get connected with Channel Partners that can help customers optimize cash flow and negotiate annual pricing through multi-year spend commitments.
• Expertise and guidance: Channel Partners are experienced and knowledgeable about AWS services and the software available in AWS Marketplace. They can provide expert advice, guidance, and recommendations to help customers select the right solutions for their specific needs. Channel Partners understand the complexities of different software offerings, capabilities, and compatibility with AWS infrastructure, ensuring customers make informed decisions.

Getting Started

By leveraging a Channel Partner on AWS Marketplace, customers can leverage the expertise and guidance of trusted partners with the security, governance, and procurement benefits of AWS Marketplace to maximize cost savings, simplify procurement, and accelerate innovation.

Customers can get started by finding an AWS Marketplace Skilled Channel Partner today.