AWS Marketplace Allows Third-Party Services Resale: 4 Big Things To Know

From dropping AWS listing fees for sellers to 3 percent to what the partners can now sell on the marketplace, CRN breaks down four key things AWS partners need to know about the new AWS Marketplace in 2024.

AWS Marketplace sellers can now officially resell third-party professional services on the popular online marketplace. This includes AWS channel partners, consulting partners and independent software vendors (ISVs) that now can sell third-party services in the AWS Marketplace.

“The AWS Marketplace is helping our system integrator partners find new customers and helping them solve their massive challenges,” Ruba Borno, AWS global channel chief, told CRN in late 2023. “We’re seeing the number of system integrators putting their solutions on the AWS Marketplace increase, including vertical specific solutions. We’re continuing to see a flywheel effect: more customers and more partners that are on the AWS Marketplace.”

Launched in 2012, the ever-growing AWS Marketplace offers products, services, and holistic solutions ready for customer deployment on the AWS cloud.

AWS is a $92 billion worldwide leader in cloud computing. The Seattle-based cloud giant is striving to make the AWS Marketplace a one-stop shop for customers’ IT needs. Many customers leverage the AWS Marketplace as a way to spend and draw down their AWS spending commitment.

From dropping AWS listing fees for sellers in 2024 to what the resellers can now sell on the marketplace, CRN breaks down four key things AWS partners need to know about the AWS Marketplace.

No. 1: Sellers Can Now Authorize Others To Receive Wholesale Pricing

This week, AWS announced that sellers can now officially resell third-party professional services on the popular online marketplace. This means AWS Marketplace sellers can authorize other sellers to receive wholesale pricing on professional services, enabling sellers to offer support or implementation services in addition to software in AWS Marketplace.

An authorized AWS partner can then use the resell authorization to customize pricing, duration, and legal terms to offer professional services that best meets customers’ needs, AWS said.

“This feature enables customers to purchase software and professional services directly from their preferred partner, helping customers to leverage a partner who has knowledge of their business, localized support and expertise, and receive the same fast purchasing experience they’re accustomed to in AWS Marketplace,” said AWS in a blog post.

“With this feature, ISVs and channel partners can grow their professional services businesses while offering software and services, and driving faster value for customers,” AWS said.

Click through to read three other keys to know about the AWS Marketplace.

No. 2: Price Changes In 2024

This month, AWS reduced the listing fees sellers have to pay to be on the Marketplace.

As of Jan. 5, 2024, public subscriptions for Software as-a-Service (SaaS) and AWS Data Exchange product type fees were reduced to 3 percent.

AWS Marketplace private offer listing fees for software and data, were reduced to between 1.5 percent and 3 percent. For deals under $1 million total contract value (TCV), there is a 3 percent fee. For those equal to $1 million and under $10 million, there is a 2 percent fee. For TCV deals equal or greater than $10 million, there is a 1.5 percent fee.

Listing fees associated with the renewal of private offers for software and data are now 1.5 percent.

“We’re transforming the pricing structure to help more partners get value out of the AWS Marketplace,” AWS’ Borno, vice president and head of worldwide channels and alliances for AWS, told CRN in November. “We want to reach more customers through the AWS Marketplace. We want to make it easier for them to find industry solutions and use cases that meet their specific needs with our partners. I want partners to make sure that they are working with AWS in a co-sell fashion, especially through the AWS Marketplace, because we’re continuing to invest in that to help them grow and reach more customers.”

The 2024 changes were implemented in all regions where AWS Marketplace operates.

No. 3: State Of The AWS Marketplace In 2024

The AWS Marketplace currently has over 15,000 transactable listings.

There are now more than 330,000 active AWS Marketplace subscribers across 30 regions.

The 15,000 listings on the AWS Marketplace come from the more than 3,500 ISVs, 300 data providers and 1,300 AWS channel partners who are currently on the marketplace.

AWS Borno told CRN said the AWS Marketplace team has doubled the number of launches on the marketplace in 2023 compared to 2022.

AWS is pouring millions into boosting the AWS Marketplace each year due to it being a key, and growing, go-to-market play for AWS and its army of channel partners. For example, in 2023, the cloud company added new features, integrations and APIs into the Marketplace with big plans ahead this year.

“We’re going to continue to invest in this self-service capability to help customers find the right partner on their own,” said Borno. “We’re going to continue to see improvements [in 2024].”

No. 4: AWS Marketplace Partners See Over 200 Percent ROI: Forrest Report

In a landmark study last year by Forrester, the IT search firm discovered that channel partners selling on the AWS Marketplace were seeing a more than 200 percent return on investment (ROI).

Another key finding from the Forrester study: the marketplace increased the deal sizes for resellers by 4X to 5X. Partners said growth in deal size stems from customers wanting to use their spending commitments, increased buying speed via the marketplace, and forming tighter relationships with ISVs, to name a few.

Additionally, partners reported to Forrester that AWS Marketplace professional services gross margins ranged from 25 percent to 45 percent. AWS partners on the marketplace reported resale gross margins of up to 18 percent, with average resale gross margins at 13 percent.

The Forrester study interviewed 14 existing AWS Marketplace channel partners, including system integrators, resellers, MSPs and professional services partners. They were mostly global businesses based in North America, Europe and Asia with annual revenue ranging from less than $100 million to more than $25 billion.