Here's how to tap into these budgets to accelerate YOUR revenue.

Lee Corbett, Microsoft UK's ISV Lead, revealed the playbook for turning these cloud commits into sales on their marketplace highlighting that 90% of marketplace sales came from SaaS ISVs.

The core idea is powerful yet simple:

Enterprises pre-commit billions in cloud spend over 1-3 years to get discounts. When they buy your software through Microsoft marketplace, 100% of the license cost can be deducted from these commitments (for Azure eligible solutions).

This is a huge incentive for customers for buying 3rd party products on marketplaces and completely changes the dynamic from "new expense" to "using already committed budget."

Two key scenarios (i.e. inflection points) that create perfect selling opportunities:

1️⃣ Existing commits that are underspent (therefore at risk)

Cloud commitments are signed contracts that have expiration dates

Work with cloud sellers to identify these accounts

Position your solution as helping utilize committed spend they'd otherwise lose

Highlight that 100% of license cost can be deducted from their commitment

Use this to accelerate deals - customers are motivated to avoid leaving money on the table

2️⃣ New commit negotiations in progress

• Get involved early in the commit negotiation process

• Combine your software purchase value with planned cloud spend

• Help customers unlock additional discounts from hyperscalers

• Get your revenue potentially locked into their multi-year commitment

To unlock this opportunity with Microsoft Azure:

• Have transactable offer in Marketplace

• Become Azure benefit eligible and "IP co-sell ready" by passing technical review and reaching $100K in revenue

• This unlocks Microsoft seller incentives (they get paid % of your annual contract value)

To maximize your traction:

• Align with Microsoft's sales plays

• Map your target customers to Microsoft's industry focus

• Consider involving channel partners via MPO

It's a win-win-win:

• Customers are incentivized to buy via marketplace

• Cloud sellers are aligned - As Lee noted, "For many of our sellers, the only way they're going to make their number is by selling SaaS ISVs via marketplace"

• ISVs reach more customers globally and close bigger deals faster

The results speak for themselves: partners report much larger deal sizes (e.g., Dynatrace is 2X) through marketplace versus direct sales.

Commits are one of many benefits of marketplaces, but it's one of the most powerful.

That’s why hyperscalers and vendors now share insights on customers that more likely have commitments and their propensity to buy via marketplace