Guide to Succeed with Channel Partners: Unlocking Potential in AWS, Azure, and GCP Marketplaces

Unlocking Channel Partner Success in AWS, Azure, and GCP Marketplaces 

Channel partners hold immense potential for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to scale their software sales through hyperscaler marketplaces. However, achieving success requires adopting the right strategies and tools. Hyperscalers like AWS, Azure, and GCP have developed robust channel partner programs that outline requirements, steps, and best practices, making the process more streamlined and impactful.Traditionally, managing channel partners in these marketplaces involves manually creating private offers and extending them to partners—a process that can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, especially for ISVs operating across multiple hyperscalers.This is where SaaSify steps in, simplifying the process and empowering ISVs to collaborate with channel partners effortlessly, ensuring maximum efficiency and impact with minimal effort. Whether you’re just starting or looking to optimize your approach, SaaSify enables you to unlock the true potential of your channel partnerships, all from within your CRM. 

CPPO Management for AWS, Azure and GCP Marketplaces 

In this comprehensive guide to succeed with channel partners, we explore how Channel Partner Private Offer (CPPO) management operates across leading hyperscalers—AWS, Azure, and GCP Marketplaces. Each platform offers unique channel partner programs, making it essential to understand their distinctive processes.  

AWS Marketplace: Channel Partner Private Offer (CPPO) 

AWS Marketplace’s channel partner ecosystem is built on a robust foundation that simplifies software sales while maximizing impact. It seamlessly connects buyers, ISVs (ISVs), and consulting/channel partners to reduce friction in transactions. The CPPO model empowers ISVs to authorize channel partners with access to wholesale pricing on their software and professional services. It also allows channel partners to maintain financial and contractual relationships with customers directly through AWS Marketplace. This structure ensures flexibility and scalability for ISVs and partners alike. 

How the AWS marketplace CPPO process works: 

1. ISV Resell Agreement Creation: ISVs establish a resell agreement in the AWS Marketplace portal, offering channel partners discounted pricing, favorable terms, and contract durations. 
2. Channel Partner Offer Creation: Consulting or channel partners leverage the resell agreement to create private offers for customers, incorporating negotiated markups and additional services. 
3. Customer Purchase: Customers subscribe to or accept the offer on AWS Marketplace. AWS handles invoicing, collects payments, and distributes revenue to ISVs and channel partners. 

 

Azure Marketplace: Multiparty Private Offers & CSP Private Offers 

The Azure Marketplace offers ISVs two key programs to collaborate with channel partners and boost software sales: 

Multiparty Private Offers 

Azure’s Multiparty Private Offers operate similarly to AWS’s CPPO, empowering ISVs to scale their business and establish recurring revenue through channel partnerships. This program enables ISVs and channel partners to jointly create tailored offers with flexible payouts, simplifying the sales process for Microsoft customers. 

How Multiparty Private Offers Work 

1. Collaborate: ISVs and channel partners join forces to identify customer needs, negotiate terms, and craft a personalized solution. The ISV initiates a private offer, which the partner customizes to finalize the multiparty private offer. 
2. Sell: The channel partner presents the offer to the customer, who accepts and purchases it as they would a direct ISV offer. For customers with Azure consumption commitments, these purchases count toward fulfilling their commitment, optimizing their cloud investment. 
3. Payments and Payouts: Microsoft handles the financial process, ensuring prompt and accurate payouts to ISVs and their channel partners. 

CSP Private Offers 

The CSP Private Offers program incentivizes Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs) to promote and sell ISV solutions by offering them a margin. This mutually beneficial approach helps ISVs expand into the SMB market while allowing CSPs to bundle ISV solutions with their services to enhance customer value. 

How CSP Private Offers Work 

1. Define Terms: ISVs set the margin and duration for the offer, creating a wholesale price available to CSP partners enrolled as Direct Bill or Indirect Providers in Microsoft’s CSP program. 
2. Execute Sales: When CSP partners close a sale, Microsoft deducts its standard agency fee and disburses payment to the ISV based on the agreed wholesale price. 

These programs provide ISVs with structured, effective tools to collaborate with channel partners, streamline sales, and deliver exceptional value to their customers. 

GCP Marketplace: Marketplace Channel Private Offers 

The Marketplace Channel Private Offers program on Google Cloud Marketplace facilitates seamless transactions between customers, ISVs, and channel partners. This program empowers ISVs to collaborate with channel partners for third-party solution sales by extending discounts to selected resellers. 

How It Works 

ISV Private Offer Creation: 

1. ISVs create private offer plans tailored for specific channel partners, allowing for single or multiple-use offers. 
2. They configure payment details, enable auto-renewal if needed, and review key terms such as total contract value, wholesale price, and other conditions before sharing the offer with channel partners. 

Channel Partner Review and Customization: 

1. Channel partners evaluate the ISV’s private offer, including authorization terms, product specifications, and pricing details. 
2. They can further customize the private offer for customers by adjusting configurations, such as committed use discounts. After reviewing the offer, they extend it to the customer. 

Customer Acceptance and Transaction: 

1. Customers review and accept the private offer through the GCP Marketplace portal. 
2. Google Cloud Marketplace manages payment collection from customers and ensures timely disbursement to both ISVs and channel partners.  

Benefits of Channel Partner Private Offers 

Stakeholder	Benefit
ISVs	Increased Reach: Access a larger customer base through established channel partners. Scalable Support: Channel partners assist in managing and growing customer portfolios. Revenue Growth: Channel partners help drive sales by reaching more targeted markets. Market Penetration: Gain easier entry into new regions and industries through partner networks.
Customers	Localized Expertise: Work with a channel partner familiar with their business and market needs. Efficient Procurement: Simplified process with fewer vendors. Tailored Solutions: Receive customized offers and solutions that suit specific business requirements. Enhanced Support: Leverage specialized support from a trusted partner with in-depth knowledge of the product and services.
Channel Partners	Customized Offers: Create personalized offers with tailored payouts and flexible payment terms with ISVs. Budget Optimization: Help customers use their committed budgets effectively for software purchases. Enterprise Collaboration: Act as trusted advisors, proactively engaging in enterprise deal-making. Cloud Consumption Management: Support customers in managing their cloud consumption efficiently. Revenue Generation: Drive higher sales and margins by leveraging exclusive partner offers and wholesale pricing.

Challenges with CPPO Management 

Inefficiency of Manual Private Offer Creation 

The process of manually creating private offers for channel partners is not only time-consuming but also prone to errors. This manual workflow leads to data inaccuracies, delays in offer generation, and increased administrative overhead. As businesses scale, these inefficiencies become more pronounced, further hindering the speed and accuracy of offer deployment. 

Complexity of Managing Channel Partners Across Multiple Hyperscalers 

Managing relationships with channel partners across different hyperscalers is a challenging task due to the diverse interfaces and unique processes associated with each cloud marketplace and its channel partner programs. Navigating these varying systems requires in-depth knowledge of each platform, which can involve a steep learning curve. This complexity can result in increased training time, operational friction, and slower partner engagement, hindering overall business agility. 

Operational Strain from Context Switching 

The necessity to switch between customer relationship management (CRM) systems, which store critical details of negotiated terms, and hyperscaler platforms, where offers are created and managed, can be a significant operational burden. This constant context switching not only consumes valuable time but also leads to a decline in productivity and efficiency. Team members must juggle multiple interfaces, increasing the likelihood of errors and reducing focus on high-value activities. As a result, the overall workflow becomes fragmented, impacting the ability to make timely decisions and collaborate effectively across teams. These challenges highlight the need for a streamlined, integrated solution that minimizes manual processes, reduces complexity, and enables seamless transitions between systems, ultimately improving both partner management and operational efficiency. 

Guide to Succeed with Channel Partners: The SaaSify Advantage 

SaaSify enables ISVs to unlock the full potential of channel partner programs across leading hyperscalers. With an integrated, automation-driven platform, SaaSify simplifies the management of channel partner relationships and the lifecycle of private offers across cloud marketplaces. By eliminating the need for complex engineering efforts, SaaSify helps ISVs focus on scaling their business. 

With SaaSify, ISVs can seamlessly: 

Create a unified channel partner experience within CRM 

SaaSify integrates directly with popular CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot, enabling ISVs to manage private offers for channel partners from their system of record. With SaaSify’s intuitive CRM connector, ISVs can convert CRM objects into private offers or custom private offer plans and share them with channel partners. This eliminates the need to switch between CRM systems and cloud marketplace portals—a common source of friction—ensuring smoother workflows and higher adoption of private offers. 

Automate workflows for operational efficiency 

SaaSify offers flexible automation capabilities that streamline the creation and management of private offers: 

• Semi-Automation: Auto-sync and auto-populate critical fields during offer creation to reduce manual effort. 

• Full automation: End to end automation right from offer creation to revenue realization  

• Real-Time Updates: Automatic updates to CRM records with contract lifecycle changes. 

• Timely Notifications: Receive updates on offer status via preferred communication platforms like Slack, Email, or Microsoft Teams. 

These features significantly enhance operational efficiency and boost productivity, enabling ISVs to focus on strategic growth rather than manual administrative tasks. 

Track every aspect of channel partner private offers  

SaaSify provides ISVs with a centralized dashboard that offers a comprehensive view of all private offers within their CRM, enabling them to: 

• Monitor offer stages, payment statuses, and other critical metrics. 

• Access detailed reports and analytics to make data-driven decisions. 

• Generate tentative forecast reports for better financial management and pipeline visibility. 

This robust tracking capability ensures ISVs remain in control of their channel partner private offers, helping them optimize performance and strengthen partnerships. 

Channel Partner Success: SaaSify vs DIY 

Here’s a tabular comparison highlighting the differences between Channel Partner Success: With SaaSify and Without SaaSify (DIY): 

Aspect	With SaaSify	Without SaaSify (DIY)
Resell Agreement Management	Automated creation, sharing, and tracking of resell agreements, reducing manual effort and errors.	Requires manual creation of private offers, increasing operational workload and errors.
Channel Partner Management	Manage all channel partners across hyperscalers from a single integrated dashboard.	Separate processes for managing channel partners for each hyperscaler, causing inefficiency.
CRM Integration	Full lifecycle management (create, track, manage) of private offers directly within CRM.	Constant toggling between CRM and cloud marketplace to manage private offers.
Productivity	Automation saves time, allowing focus on strategic initiatives.	Time-intensive manual processes hinder productivity.
Scalability	Effortlessly scale by onboarding more channel partners without added complexity.	Scaling increases operational burden significantly.
Insights	Real-time analytics provide actionable insights into partner performance and offer status.	Limited visibility into partner performance and offer lifecycle due to scattered data.
Time to Market	Faster time to market for private offers due to streamlined processes.	Delayed time to market due to lengthy manual procedures.

Way Forward: Guide to Succeed with Channel Partners 

In today’s competitive marketplace landscape, succeeding with channel partners requires more than just participation—it demands strategic execution and the right tools. AWS, Azure, and GCP offer ISVs exceptional opportunities to expand their reach and scale revenue, but navigating their programs effectively is key.By leveraging SaaSify, ISVs can unlock the full potential of these partnerships, automate complex workflows, and focus on driving growth. SaaSify doesn’t just simplify operations; it empowers ISVs to transform their channel partner strategies into a cornerstone of sustainable business success. Whether you’re just starting or scaling your operations, this guide to succeed with channel partners by SaaSify ensures that your channel partner journey is seamless, efficient, and impactful.