That's why their partner playbook is worth studying.

Marketplace as a Competitive Edge

Dennis Woodside, Freshworks' CEO, captured the marketplace advantage perfectly, explaining how one of their deal was closed:

"Cybersecurity leader Sophos needed a user-friendly ITSM solution with less complexity and a lower total cost of ownership.

These differentiators, coupled with the ability to procure via AWS Marketplace, made switching from the legacy provider to our uncomplicated solution an easy decision." (Q1'25 call)

Notice the emphasis — marketplace wasn't an afterthought. It was the deal closer against an entrenched incumbent.

This mirrors what I wrote about Salesforce becoming AWS Marketplace's fastest-growing ISV earlier this year.

But here's the twist: Freshworks represents the next wave. Mid-market and smaller software companies are discovering that marketplace procurement can level the playing field against enterprise giants.

From Referral to Resell: The Partner Evolution

Fast forward to today, and they've reinvented their GTM. Not only do they now work much more closely with hyperscalers like AWS, their recently re-launched partner program.

The numbers tell the story: 500+ transacting partners globally, now driving ~30% of revenue (up from 25% last year).

They've moved from simple referral commissions to full reseller models, where partners can control their own pricing and earn more with services.

CEO explained:

"We made a change to the program overall at the request of the vast majority of our partners, where we're moving to something that's much more industry standard where we have -- we basically have a transfer pricing model for our resellers and then they can build services around that.

They can price as they wish. If they want to price on a per seat basis, they can. If they want to add services into that, they can."

It's a recognition that the market is shifting.

Two trends are converging that alliance leaders should track:

1️⃣ Marketplace democratization

Companies like Freshworks are proving that effective marketplace strategies aren't about company size or sector — they're about execution.

When a biz apps software that competes with Salesforce and ServiceNow can use Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace to win competitive deals, it signals that marketplace excellence has become a differentiator across all segments.

2️⃣ Partner-marketplace integration

The most successful vendors are weaving marketplace capabilities into their partner programs, not treating them as separate channels.