If you’re in alliances, that’s the clearest signal you need.

“The role of cloud marketplaces will expand as they become the predominant distribution network for enterprise AI functionality and capabilities….” - S&P underscores.

Here’s my breakdown of what they’re saying:

1️⃣ Marketplaces = “app store” for enterprise AI

Cloud marketplaces are framed as a place where:

• vendors + developers sell

• enterprises discover + procure

• integrators deliver advisory, implementation, optimization

Value exchange is clear: vendors monetize faster, buyers deploy faster, hyperscalers drive more consumption.

In AI era, what’s being distributed shifts to: models, data platforms, pre-defined agents, and enterprise AI software pre-integrated with cloud infrastructure.

Result? Marketplaces become the bridge between AI demand and AI supply.

2️⃣ Commit budgets create a flywheel

The report ties marketplaces to cloud spend commits: customers can use committed dollars to buy AI software, agents, and platforms.

Marketplaces fit AI especially well: GenAI projects are evolving fast, and buyers want to fund them with already-allocated budgets (commits) rather than net-new procurement cycles.

Marketplaces become the shortest path from “AI project” → “procurement” → “deployment”.

3️⃣ Partners: massive AI upside - in a world of co-opetition

Everyone is trying to own more layers of the AI stack (hyperscalers, neoclouds, hardware vendors, MSPs, ISVs, GSIs) — and S&P sizes the 2026 AI opportunity as a $60B market.

But two dynamics are happening in parallel:

“Most surveyed organizations will require considerable transformation of their IT environments over the next five years to support AI workloads at scale.”

AND:

“Alongside fierce competition, the market will also exhibit increased collaboration, partnerships, ecosystem development and acquisition/equity investment activity…”

Translation: massive services + solutions + partnerships opportunities while everyone is fighting for their place in the AI stack.

4️⃣ Cloud demand keeps rising

If someone says “cloud is slowing,” the workload data points the other way: companies are prioritizing public cloud for their innovations.

• 39% are deploying net new workloads to public cloud (top destination for new apps)

• 69% plan to increase public cloud spend (with AI/ML as the top driver)

• 78% are moving data between clouds (up from 40% last year), signaling a major maturing of the cloud ecosystem

What this means for Alliance leaders:

• Treat Marketplace as the key distribution rail (agents/apps + marketplace now converge)

• Package partner motions around “commit spend > marketplace purchase > services attach”

• Expect fiercer co-opetition — design your GTM to win on speed + integration

If you own alliances: what are you changing in your 2026 GTM because of this shift?

Source