This shows a shift in how enterprises buy software and how your GTM strategy needs to evolve.

Digital procurement pull is clear:

Traditional resellers are losing ground as buyers choose self-service, cloud-native procurement even for non-SaaS software (VMs, images, licenses ,etc.) via AWS/Azure/GCP marketplaces.

This 6% jump stands out in "State of the Cloud 2025" report where many metrics stayed flat.

But here's what caught my attention & how it translates into your Cloud GTM strategy:

Budgets are consolidating into cloud, creating co-sell opportunities

• 33% of companies now spend >$12M annually on public cloud (up from 29% YoY)

• Cloud spend “expected to increase by 28% in the coming year”

• 34% of enterprises spend >$1M monthly on SaaS

Discounts encourage marketplace transactions

• 96% use at least one provider discount. Marketplaces natively connect to these constructs (commit drawdown/discount alignment), making them the path of least resistance.

• FinOps teams grew from 51% → 59%, focused on cost efficiency (87%) and cost avoidance (28% → 64%)

Translation: Your hyperscaler partners have more budget influence and procurement leverage than ever. FinOps teams are now key stakeholders in software decisions, not just infrastructure.

GenAI will drive marketplace adoption

• 72% use GenAI public cloud services (up from 47%), with only 1% avoiding AI entirely (down from 14% last year).

As AI stack complexity rises, enterprises prefer integrated cloud-native experience over fragmented vendor relationships. Your cloud partnerships become more valuable as AI adoption accelerates.

Software & cloud waste is visible—marketplaces help control it

Estimated waste of 27% (IaaS/PaaS) and 24% (cloud software) drives demand for higher spend efficiency, centralized license management and cutting waste—again favoring marketplaces.

Organizations continue to exceed budgets by 17% despite growing them, making procurement efficiency critical.

What this means for your Cloud GTM strategy

For traditional software vendors

Marketplaces aren't optional anymore—they're where enterprise buyers expect to find you, complete with standard contracts and other benefits.

For SaaS

Even though this metric excludes SaaS, it signals broader Cloud GTM adoption as marketplaces normalize as procurement hubs for all software categories.

For procurement

This adoption validates marketplace-first strategies, especially when 96% use provider discounts that connect natively with marketplace transactions.

For alliances

With repatriation staying low (only 21% moved workloads back on-premises), doubling down on cloud GTM partnerships makes strategic sense.

The broader pattern is clear: procurement budgets are consolidating into cloud just as software complexity demands integrated solutions.

What's driving marketplace adoption at your org?

Ready to turn these trends into revenue?

Cohort 12 of our Cloud GTM Leader Course starts tomorrow (Sept 9) — your last chance to join 250+ alumni who've mastered these exact marketplace strategies.