A new three-way partnership is aiming to create a “global standard” for ISVs looking to maximise their Microsoft Marketplace potential.
Hyperscaler marketplaces are becoming big business for ISVs, with CrowdStrike, Snowflake, Palo Alto Networks, Okta, Trend Micro and Splunk all surpassing $1bn in cumulative sales via this explosive route to market.
In total, enterprise software sales through hyperscaler marketplaces are set to swell from $16bn in 2023 to $85bn by 2028, according to analyst Canalys.
Now ISVs are being offered a leg up on Microsoft Marketplace via a new partnership between channel marketing agency ResourceiT and SaaS start-up WeTransact.
The duo linked arms on Microsoft’s recommendation.
WeTransact’s platform is designed to enable ISVs to create, manage and market their listings on Microsoft Marketplace in less than five days without ever using Microsoft’s Partner Center.
ResourceiT’s role is to help ISVs craft their unique value and an informed marketing strategy, thereby driving traffic their way once they’ve listed their services, meanwhile. It has built a marketing accelerator that seamlessly integrates with WeTransact’s annual subscription.
“WeTransact needed a marketing agency that understood how to work with Microsoft, and the recommendation [to work with ResourceiT] came from Microsoft,” ResourceiT CEO Julie Simpson said.
“We’re super excited about the three-way partnership and the power it brings to ISVs.”
“We’re all playing to our strengths”
WeTransact claims to have served over 300 ISV customers including Redstor, MetaCompliance and Solgari. It counts Bytes, Crayon and Pax8 among its partners.
WeTransact “takes all the pain out” of the integration between Microsoft Partner Center and Microsoft Marketplace, and can get ISVs transacting on Microsoft Marketplace in five working days, Simpson said.
ResourceiT has a “deeply embedded” relationship with Microsoft, having been its outsourced partner marketing agency for four years, Simpson explained.
“ResourceiT was born in the world of Microsoft, and Microsoft has invested around £10m with our business,” she said.
While “absolutely brilliant technically”, ISVs often lack the skills to go to market effectively, Simpson said.
“That’s what we specialise in at ResourceiT,” she said.
“Attracting the right type of client and going on that market journey is something a lot of ISVs we’ve worked with have never really done successfully.
“They might have thrown a load of money at demand generation, telemarketing or email campaigns, and not had much success.
“Having delivered 7,000 projects for technology businesses in the last 20 years, we can quickly analyse what’s not working with the marketing and messaging, and help ISVs actually deliver some ROI.
“We’re all playing to our strengths.”
Founded by Simpson in 2002, ResourceiT is “commercially astute”, Simpson stressed.
“As a small business owner, I don’t spend a single pound without knowing where that pound is going to deliver value for me. And we treat our clients in exactly the same way,” she said.
“Global standard for sustainable ISV growth”
Although more ISVs are pursuing hyperscaler marketplaces as an important route-to-market, some are capitalising far more than others in this field, analyst Futurum found.
Standing out and driving success on hyperscaler marketplaces will hinge on six core elements, it claimed. This includes selecting the right solutions to offer, aligning Ts and Cs to fit marketplaces’ streamlined procurement timelines, and channel partner integration.
Embracing hyperscaler marketplaces will also put ISVs in pole position with customers seeking more rapid procurement processes, judging by a 2024 Forrester study: it found that using the Microsoft commercial marketplace halves the employee effort for each procurement engagement.
ResourceiT and WeTransact’s ultimate goal is to provide sustainable growth for ISVs, Simpson explained.
“WeTransact and ResourceiT are both all about attracting clients that will stay with us forever. And that’s exactly what the ISVs want as well,” she said.
“We would like to see the way we work with WeTransact become a global standard for how sustainable growth for ISVs is delivered.”
This article was produced in association with ResourceiT and is classified as partner content. What is partner content? See more here.
