Cloud Marketplaces are Changing the Game

Nima Badiey, explained in our Cloud GTM Leader course how Marketplaces are 🗽Changing the Game, drawing from his incredible experience in leading alliances in GitLab, Google Cloud and now strategic partnerships in NVIDIA.

📈 The Meteoric Rise of Cloud Marketplaces

Nima highlighted the leap in transactions on major marketplaces from $15Bn in 2023 to $100Bn in 2027 , unlocking a massive potential for SaaS vendors (ISVs). Many leading ISVs now put cloud marketplaces among their top 5 priorities.

“That's a phenomenal growth rate to take advantage of. So marketplaces as a business construct as a value added service provided by the CSVs is definitely here to stay.”

🎯 The Gravitational Pull of Marketplaces

The combination of vast customer bases, a staggering $340Bn in customer cloud commits, and the ability to drive procurement efficiencies have made top marketplaces a central hub for customers and partners.

“Spending gravity, this kind of cloud gravity has made it very attractive for customers and partners alike to actually have a positive book of business with the hyperscalers and use marketplace as that mechanism. Marketplace is important because it gives you access to the customer budget the it gives you access and ability to do co-sell it drives procurement efficiency”

💡 Need of Cloud GTM Strategy

Nima emphasizes that success demands much more than just being on the marketplace.

“Marketplace listing ... - that's your entry fee that gets you into the marketplace… You have to continue investing and part of that investing might include things like actually building on top of their platform, putting together a resale capability on top of it…

You're in a crowded environment with 30,000 other listings. You've got to figure a way to promote yourself.”

He also advises treating marketplace fees as an investment, not a cost, focusing on long-term growth potential.

🤝 Understanding Co-Sell Dynamics

Clarifying a common misconception, Nima highlighted that hyperscalers and marketplaces “don't act as resellers - they're not actively hunting new customers for you."

This distinction is crucial for understanding co-sell opportunities and developing smart strategies, because “when they're selling to a customer if there's hedge room within the deal they're pretty open to the idea of bringing third parties”.

If hyperscalers “can throw a couple of ISVs into the big PO, into the mix when a customer is buying something, and then they hit their commit number - that's what they really want to see.”

Ruba Borno shared on AWS re:Invent stage, that marketplace deals are "50% faster close rate and 5X richer”.

“Anecdotally, I have examples that are 2,3,4,5 times better than this” adds Nima.

The rapid growth and scale of cloud marketplaces gravitates partners and customers to them. Are you leveraging this gravity to your advantage?

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📈 Accelerate your Growth in Cloud Marketplaces

Transform your marketplace strategy with first-hand insights from Cloud GTM leaders in our 5-week cohort course. Learn in a community of great alliance leaders. Join 100+ alums from companies like GitLab, Darktrace, IDC and others.

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