Optimizing Azure spend with Microsoft Marketplace

Microsoft

May 05, 2026

As someone deeply involved with Microsoft Marketplace product marketing team, I was excited to host our recent customer office hour session with Trunal Bhanse, CEO of Clazar. Our conversation focused on using Microsoft Marketplace to optimize Azure spend. The session explored how organizations can leverage Marketplace as a strategic procurement engine and maximize their cloud investments.

Setting the stage: Marketplace as a growth engine

Every organization today is striving to become a frontier firm—enriching employee experiences, reinventing customer engagement, and reshaping business processes. With AI at the center of transformation, the question often arises: should we build or buy AI solutions? If buying, how do we procure them efficiently and securely?

That’s where Microsoft Marketplace comes in. It’s your trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents, offering the largest catalog in the industry. Marketplace is fully integrated with Microsoft Cloud, providing a seamless experience from discovery to deployment. Whether you need standard contracts, private offers, or multi-year agreements, Marketplace adapts to your procurement needs and ensures your transactions are visible in the Azure cost management portal.

Azure spend optimization: The power of Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC)

A major focus of our session was the Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC). This agreement allows organizations to commit to a certain level of Azure consumption in exchange for discounted rates. The beauty of MACC is that eligible Marketplace transactions decrement your commitment dollar-for-dollar. That means when you purchase MACC-eligible solutions through Marketplace, you’re directly funding your cloud investments and maximizing your discounts.

Our conversation covered how to identify MACC-eligible solutions using tools like Azure Marketplace Compass, the Azure portal, and Marketplace storefront. With over 4,000 eligible solutions available, most organizations can find the software they need and align it with their MACC commitments. This approach is especially valuable at fiscal year-end or when budgets are tight, allowing you to leverage your commitment for critical investments.

Operationalizing Marketplace procurement

To truly optimize spend companies should start with an inventory of all solutions currently deployed or planned for procurement across their organization. By mapping this inventory against MACC-eligible offers, they can ensure every purchase maximizes commitment and discounts.

Security and governance are also paramount. Marketplace enables role-based access controls and private marketplaces, so only authorized employees can procure approved applications. This walled-garden approach gives administrators full control over what’s available for procurement.

Partner solutions and automation

To bring the MACC optimization process to life, Clazar provided a live demonstration of their platform which specializes in automation of this process. Their solution enables organizations to seamlessly match their software inventory against MACC-eligible offers, giving procurement and finance teams consolidated visibility into spend and streamlining the entire procurement workflow. With robust integrations for single sign-on-systems and automated dashboards, Clazar empowers customers to instantly identify eligible applications and make faster, more informed decisions about their Azure Marketplace investments

Microsoft Marketplace is more than a procurement platform—it’s a strategic lever for optimizing Azure spend, accelerating innovation, and simplifying operations. By aligning purchases with MACC commitments, organizations unlock savings, streamline processes, and gain unparalleled visibility into their cloud investments.

To learn more, watch the full recording of our conversation here: Using Microsoft Marketplace to optimize Azure spend - Microsoft Marketplace Community