Developing a Multi-Cloud Marketplace Strategy: A Guide for ISVs

Once you’ve mastered your first cloud marketplace ecosystem, you may find yourself looking at how to amplify your partnership channel by expanding into a second or even third marketplace. If you’re thinking about listing on more than one cloud marketplace, you’re probably also considering how to successfully execute a GTM strategy. For ISVs, the challenge of developing a multi-cloud marketplace strategy has become so pressing, a new category known as “Cloud GTM Platforms” has emerged as a category (Invisory included).

The question becomes, how will you track and manage multiple listings. Who will manage all of your listings? Is your cloud alliance team robust enough? Do you have the technical resources to build APIs? And what about marketing resources, you’ll need unique assets for each ecosystem? And how do you get the attention of PAMs at Salesforce and PDMs at Microsoft and Amazon? 

In this post, we’ll walk through what it means to have a multi-cloud strategy for your cloud marketplace listings, as well as why Invisory might be the right solution to manage all of your cloud marketplace relationships. 

What is a multi-cloud strategy?

In general, having a multi-cloud strategy means using two or more cloud computing services, such as both Azure and AWS, to give your private cloud infrastructure more capabilities.

In terms of cloud marketplaces, leveraging a multi-cloud strategy means that you are selling your solution on multiple marketplaces, such as Azure Marketplace, AWS Marketplace, and the Salesforce AppExchange.

Why sell on multiple marketplaces?

AWS, Azure, Salesforce, and other marketplaces all have their own audiences. On each marketplace, you might find not just new customers, but different competitors. 

Hyperscalers

If a company’s cloud infrastructure is hosted in AWS, then they will likely download the majority of their solutions from the AWS Marketplace. If they host their business data on Azure, then they will probably download the majority of their solutions from the Azure Marketplace. If their business is hosted on Google Cloud (which is common for startups), then Google Cloud Marketplace is the way to go. And so on.  

For ISVs, getting listed on multiple hyperscaler marketplaces can put your solution in front of two different audiences. More and more ISVs are also realizing that if the majority of their direct competitors are listed on one marketplace – let’s say, AWS – then their solution might have a smaller audience but much less competition on Azure. 

On hyperscaler marketplaces, B2B shoppers also have “committed spend” they need to use. Cloud marketplace shoppers have already paid for their CSP for marketplace credits, so they are one step closer to closing a deal.

CRM

For listings on CRM marketplaces like the Salesforce AppExchange or the HubSpot App Store, the question becomes: How does your solution fit into a sales or martech stack? How does your listing integrate with the CRM and where does your solution fill potential white-space or gaps in their solution. The goal, especially when building and listing an application on a CRM marketplace, is to create something that brings unique value to a user of that CRM. For example, adding functionality in Salesforce that does not come out-of-the-box with the core platform we all know and love.

Read more about the differences between hyperscalers and CRM marketplaces on our blog.

Developing a multi-cloud GTM strategy

Getting listed and transactable on Azure and co-sell ready on AWS and Google Cloud Marketplace requires a deep technological and operational understanding of the hyperscaler ecosystem. As part of your GTM strategy, you will need:

• Technical resources to build an API, or a solution like the Invisory platform that offers pre-built APIs. This can take 3-6+ months, and many companies fail to build the API on their own
• Operational process around Private Offers, including how to express Private Offers at scale (the Invisory platform can help here)
• Registrations with the relevant Partner Centers
• Participation in ISV programs and accelerators so you can get the attention of PDMs
• Submission of appropriate sales collateral to become co-sell ready 
• Strategy for getting the attention of AEs and building a co-sell motion that drives success 
• Strategy for leveraging customers’ committed spend 

If you’re listing on the Salesforce AppExchange, your strategy needs to be more focused on relationship building and telling your story, but the technical component is also crucial.

• Resources to pass the AppExchange Security Review and legal review 
• Strategy to build relationships with PAMs, who can refer you to new customers 
• Strategy for working with system integrators (SIs)
• Robust marketing plan that includes privates events, Salesforce events such as Dreamforce, collateral, and co-marketing with partners

Each Marketplace has its own quirks. Some ISVs think that it’s easier to work with Azure from a technical perspective, and AWS from an operational one. For others, getting listed on the AppExchange seems easier, but driving revenue more difficult, given that Salesforce doesn’t offer committed spend. 

Manage all of your cloud marketplace listings on the Invisory GTM platform 

With so many nuances around getting listed and going to market, managing all of our cloud marketplace relationships can feel overwhelming.

With the Invisory platform, you receive:

• Playbooks for co-selling, event strategy, and more for Azure, Google Cloud, AWS, and Salesforce 
• Automated GTM deliverables 
• Templates for key marketing assets for Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, and Salesforce 
• Pre-built API’s to get you connect with Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud Marketplace in weeks, not months
• Tools to manage and streamline Private Offers on Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud Marketplace – at scale 
• Metering for AWS and Azure 
• A dedicated team based in top regional cities across the US to support you on your multi-cloud marketplace journey 

You can also manage your partner relationships on all of your cloud marketplace relationships directly on Salesforce or HubSpot with Invisory’s Partner Success Tracker™, available now on the Salesforce AppExchange. The Partner Success Tracker allows you to manage:

• PAMs in Salesforce
• PDMs (AWS and Azure)
• Marketplace AEs (AWS and Azure)
• CSMs (Azure)
• Marketplace SEs  
• ISV Partners 
• System integrator consultants 
• ISV Specialists (Google Cloud)

This way, you can track the ROI on each of your relationships for every marketplace, giving you a better idea of where to lean in and invest.

Interested in learning more about how Invisory can turbocharge your cloud marketplace journey with a GTM platform like Invisory? Reach out today.