Cloud and Infrastructure
Cloud Marketplace
A cloud marketplace lets you buy third-party software and services through your AWS, Azure or Google Cloud account, on the bill you already pay. You pick the product from a catalog, accept the terms, and it shows up as a line on your cloud invoice instead of arriving as a separate contract from a separate vendor.
- 5 companies on the shelf
- Coverage
Buyer's checklist
Six questions that decide this purchase
Think these through before you buy. Answer what you can and your quote comes back faster. Skip what you cannot, and we will work through it with you.
- 01
Which clouds do you hold accounts and commitments with: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, or more than one?
- 02
Does this purchase need to count toward a spend commitment, and has anyone confirmed in writing that this product qualifies on that cloud?
- 03
Will you buy the public listing, or do you need a private offer with terms of your own?
- 04
Does a fixed-term subscription or usage-based billing suit how much you expect to use it?
- 05
Do you want everything on the one cloud bill, or are separate invoices acceptable?
- 06
Are you buying software, a private connection into the cloud, or both? They come from different catalogs.
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No company matches every box you checked
That usually means the combination is rare, not impossible. Clear a filter, or add the service and we will go find who can do it.
Capabilities come from published supplier material. We confirm them for your addresses before anything is quoted.
More on what it is
The main reason companies use one is money they have already promised. If you have committed to spend a set amount with a cloud provider, a qualifying marketplace purchase can count toward that commitment. The purchase then draws on budget that is already approved instead of needing new budget. You will hear this called burndown or drawdown.
You will also hear the term private offer. That is a custom listing arranged for one buyer, with terms negotiated for you, that still runs through the marketplace and still lands on the cloud bill.
Here is the catch. Not every product qualifies on every cloud, and a listing alone does not guarantee that your purchase counts toward your commitment. A private offer is possible only when the seller, or the partner arranging it, is able to transact on that marketplace. Confirm both before you build a budget around them.
The word marketplace gets used for two neighbors as well. One is an on-demand catalog of private network connections into the cloud providers, ordered and resized in software without new wiring. The other is a data center customer portal, where you order cross-connects, manage who may enter the building and open tickets in one place. Both sit closer to Colocation and Business Connectivity than to software buying.
Who needs it
- You have a spend commitment with AWS, Azure or Google Cloud and want software purchases to count toward it.
- You run on more than one cloud and want one consistent way to buy across them.
- Getting new software from a decision to a signed, usable contract takes your company too long.
- You suspect teams are paying for overlapping cloud services that nobody tracks centrally.
If you have no committed spend with a cloud provider and you buy little software, a marketplace adds a step without adding much. Buying direct is fine.
Signs you need it
- New software budget is hard to get, while committed cloud spend sits there to be used.
- Software invoices arrive from many vendors on many schedules, and accounts payable has asked for fewer.
- Nobody can produce a complete list of the cloud services the company pays for.
- Your cloud footprint has grown faster than your view of it.
How IT Raven helps
Add Cloud Marketplace to your quote list and tell us what you want to buy and which cloud commitments you hold. A person checks which suppliers in our 500+ partner network list on which marketplace, and whether the purchase can be set up as a private offer that counts toward your commitment. We confirm that before you rely on it, because it is the detail most often assumed and least often true.
If the real need is a private path into the cloud or a better handle on cloud spending, we will say so and point you to Cloud and IaaS or Business Connectivity. We stay on one thread through the offer, the acceptance and the first invoice, and the same team is there at renewal.
How buying works
The store is the easy part. Staying on the account is the job.
Anyone can show you logos. The reason to buy here is what happens on install night, and on the ticket you open nine months later.
- 01
Build your quote list
Add services and companies as you shop. No form stands between you and the shelf.
- 02
We bring back real options
A person shops the bench against your addresses, then walks you through what fits and what does not.
- 03
We handle the order and install
Paperwork, site survey, install dates, cutover night. You get one thread, not five vendors.
- 04
We stay on your account
Same team for moves, adds, tickets and the next renewal. That is the part everyone else drops.