USA Today – Invisory: A Powerful Solution for ISVs Entering Cloud Marketplaces

USA Today – 8/1/23

Jon Stojan Contributor

Read full article here.

The rise of cloud computing has opened new avenues for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to multiply their customer base and increase revenue. However, navigating the complex landscape of cloud marketplaces can prove difficult or even impossible for many ISVs. That’s where Invisory comes in. As a strategic partner with a strong SaaS platform, Invisory helps ISVs successfully enter and leverage cloud marketplaces to accelerate growth. Invisory empowers ISVs to navigate the challenges posed by cloud marketplaces and tap into the vast potential of these digital markets.

In just a year and four months, this trailblazing organization has seen consistent 100% quarter-over-quarter growth, gained twenty plus employees, served over fifty customers, taken three products to market, closed two acquisitions, and started seeing new deals close at 100k plus levels. Now, by providing expert guidance unlike any other service, Invisory enables ISVs to tap into the immense potential of cloud marketplaces, expand their customer base, and drive sustainable revenue growth.

“Before starting Invisory in January of 2022, I previously spent time at Gartner and Salesforce,” says Invisory founder and CEO, Patrick Cronan. “I saw this massive problem in the market. Many ISVs saw cloud marketplaces as a silver bullet. They expected the process to be as easy as entering, flipping a switch, and increasing growth immediately. However, they would quickly realize there’s much more to it than that.” 

Thus, Invisory was born. Cronan built the business around solving this problem, helping ISVs develop a comprehensive marketplace strategy. Five months later, in July of 2022, Invisory took its first product to market, servicing Salesforce ecosystem ISVs. Soon after, Cronan and his team connected with Mike Davis, the founder of GTM Guides, a service also focused on helping ISVs go to market more effectively. Due to the manual nature of a services-only business, GTM Guides was only able to aid a certain number of customers, but Patrick had a vision of building an automated product around the GTM Guides services – and, yet again, Invisory delivered. After months of work, in January 2023, Invisory closed its acquisition of GTM Guides. 

This was the first of two acquisitions, as it was followed by the blending of Invisory with Prime Foray. Yet another organization effectively aiding ISVs in their journey to cloud marketplace success, Prime Foray allowed Invisory to increase its capabilities beyond Salesforce into the marketplaces of AWS, Microsoft Azure, and GCP and build a SaaS solution geared at helping ISVs enter these marketplaces, become transactable, and automate the co-sell process.   

Large and mid-market organizations commit millions of dollars each year to platforms like AWS, GCP, and Azure. If they do not hit those spending limits, they have to pay the committed spend amount, creating an incentive for organizations to purchase ISV solutions from cloud marketplaces.  

These acquisitions, mixed with the expertise of Cronan and his team, allow Invisory to tackle multifaceted problems. 

“Just getting listed, creating a formal partnership, is a huge challenge,” says Cronan. “From here, it is even harder to become transactable. Customers need to be able to purchase an ISV’s product through a cloud marketplace, which can amount to months of technical work. Most ISVs don’t have the internal resources to devote to this development.” 

Invisory automates the process, collaborating closely with ISVs to understand their unique offerings, target market, and business objectives. Based on this information, Invisory assists in crafting a tailored plan that outlines the optimal approach for entering and succeeding in cloud marketplaces. By considering every step of the process – securing a partnership with these marketplaces, listing a product, and becoming transactable – Invisory gives ISVs the solid foundation and understanding needed to achieve marketplace success with speed and efficiency.

Invisory also guides ISVs through another area of confusion: co-selling. With its 100% quota retirement for sellers in leading marketplaces like AWS, Azure, and GCP, co-selling offers high incentives to cloud-based businesses; however, the process can be lengthy and difficult. Automating this service was a benefit of Prime Foray’s services, which is now offered through Invisory. 

ISVs can have hundreds of opportunities at once across multiple cloud platforms; therefore, they must also continuously monitor and optimize their performance. Invisory helps ISVs track key performance indicators (KPIs) and other valuable metrics in a single-pane glass view. Rather than moving between disparate systems, Invisory shows users which account executives are closing the most deals, which system integrators are the best fit to partner with, and more. 

The world of cloud marketplaces is fraught with complex challenges. With its powerful automation capabilities and rich acquisition history, Invisory has swiftly become the most pivotal strategic partner in the market, empowering ISVs to excel in cloud marketplaces.