You’ve built your app, it’s on Marketplace… now what?
Your solution is live on Microsoft Marketplace – so what’s next? How do you make the most of this opportunity? What benefits can you unlock? And what practical steps will set you up for long-term success? As a Partner Solutions Sales Manager at Microsoft, I work with partners every day who’ve just published to Marketplace and want to accelerate their impact. That’s why I’ve launched a new blog series designed to help you go beyond “listing” and start thriving. In this first edition, I share: Best practices for getting started How to move from visibility to real growth The key signal that shows your solution is well-architected …and more. Check out the full post on the Marketplace Community Blog: Your next big move: Thriving in the reimagined Microsoft Marketplace | Microsoft Community HubYour next big move: Thriving in the reimagined Microsoft Marketplace
The Microsoft commercial marketplace has entered a new era – and if you’re an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) or Software Development Company (SDC), this is your ticket to scale. In earlier posts, we explored how to build and publish your solution through programs like ISV Success. Now, let’s talk about what happens next: once your solution is live on Marketplace, how do you maximise its potential? What benefits can you unlock? And what practical steps will set you up for success? I get asked this all the time: “We’ve built our app… what’s next on Marketplace?” Let’s dive in. One Marketplace to rule them all: The 2025 revamp As of 25 September 2025, Microsoft unified Azure Marketplace and AppSource into a single, streamlined Microsoft Marketplace. This consolidation is a game-changer: One hub for all solutions – from Azure infrastructure to SaaS apps extending Microsoft 365. Simplified customer experience – no more confusion about where to find your app. Greater visibility – your solution now sits in front of 6M+ monthly visitors browsing a unified catalogue. What’s new? AI Spotlight: A dedicated AI Apps and Agents category launched with 3,000+ AI-powered solutions. If your app integrates with Copilot or Azure AI, it gets premium placement – even embedded discovery inside Microsoft 365 and Azure interfaces. Expanded Categories: Solutions are now organised by technology stack and industry, making it easier for decision-makers to find what they need. Channel Integration: Reseller enablement is here. Authorised partners like Pax8 and TD Synnex can resell your Marketplace offer globally, turning Marketplace into a true channel platform. Why does this matter? More eyes on your listing, less friction in procurement, and new routes to market – direct and through channel – all add up to accelerated growth. Why listing on Microsoft Marketplace Is a must Publishing a transactable offer on Marketplace unlocks benefits that go far beyond visibility: Massive Reach & Built-In Trust Tap into Microsoft’s global cloud customer base. Marketplace signals credibility thanks to Microsoft’s vetting process. Simplified Procurement & Budget Alignment Transactable offers can count towards customers’ Azure Consumption Commitments (MACC) – a huge incentive for enterprise buyers. Co-Sell with Microsoft Sellers IP co-sell eligible offers appear in Microsoft’s internal tools. Sellers are incentivised to pitch your solution because Marketplace transactions contribute to their quota. Access to Enterprise Channels Enable resale scenarios through multiparty private offers and “resale-enabled” listings. Marketplace Rewards Tiered benefits include launch support, Azure credits, and marketing amplification. Partners who leverage Rewards see 7× higher sales on average. From listing to thriving: Practical steps Make your offer transactable – unlock MACC alignment and co-sell eligibility. Ensure Azure benefit eligibility – so customers know their spend counts. Activate Marketplace Rewards – assign a marketing contact in Partner Center and opt in. Engage Microsoft sellers – complete your co-sell profile and respond quickly to referrals. Aim for Certified Software Designation – the ultimate trust badge for ISVs. Level up: Certified Software Designation This new hallmark signals that your solution is well-architected and proven on Microsoft Cloud. Benefits include: Boosted search ranking and curated placement Enhanced seller discovery and prioritised leads Access to top-tier co-sell and funding programmes How to qualify: Transactable offer live on Marketplace Demonstrated traction (sales, reviews) Technical audit passed Customer success evidence Summary table: Marketplace benefits & how to unlock them Benefit How to Unlock Global Reach Publish a transactable offer Embedded Discovery Integrate with Microsoft 365, Azure, or Copilot MACC Alignment Ensure Azure benefit eligibility Co-Sell Eligibility Complete IP co-sell steps Marketplace Rewards Activate benefits in Partner Center Certified Software Badge Meet criteria and apply Channel Expansion Enable resale offers Final thoughts Your Marketplace journey is progressive: Start by listing and making your offer transactable Grow by leveraging Rewards and co-sell programs Differentiate with Certified Software designations Each step opens new doors – more customers, more Microsoft support, and more revenue opportunities. My advice: embrace Marketplace early. Make it easy for customers to buy and for Microsoft to sell on your behalf. Coming up next: we’ll demystify co-selling with Microsoft – how to work with field teams and align incentives for a win-win. Until then, happy listing – and may your Marketplace journey be fruitful. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Resources ISV Success - Discover offers and benefits of ISV Success to help you take your apps and agents to the next level. Marketplace Rewards - Learn how Marketplace Rewards helps software development companies close deals and reach more customers Microsoft Marketplace - Marketplace publisher | Microsoft Learn - How to guides for working in Microsoft Marketplace Microsoft Marketplace - Trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agentsFrom listing to sale: Microsoft Marketplace made easy
Kyle Heisner is a veteran GTM and Cloud Marketplace leader at Suger with extensive experience helping software companies scale through strategic partnerships and co-sell programs. He is known for transforming complex cloud ecosystems into clear, repeatable revenue motions. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ You’ve built an amazing product and listed it on Microsoft Marketplace. Now what? For many software development companies, that’s where progress stalls. Your listing is live, yet transactions aren’t flowing. You’re in the Marketplace, but not yet part of its commerce motion. Going from “listed” to “transactable” is the turning point. It’s when your Marketplace presence becomes a measurable pipeline, eligible for co-sell, incentives, and enterprise purchasing. This guide walks through how top software companies go transactable, combining AI, automation, and integrations to make it simple and scalable. Why Microsoft cares about transactable software companies Microsoft is doubling down on transactable listings as the foundation of its marketplace strategy. Transactable offers enable customers to buy directly through their Azure commitments, simplifying procurement and making cloud adoption measurable. For Microsoft, this shift drives predictable consumption, cleaner billing, and stronger alignment with enterprise buyers. For partners, it opens access to co-sell programs, incentives, and higher placement in Marketplace search. Being transactable isn’t optional anymore. It’s the cost of entry for the next generation of cloud GTM. Why being transactable benefits software companies For software companies, transactable listings transform Marketplace visibility into a repeatable revenue channel. Microsoft handles billing, invoicing, and disbursements, so customers can purchase through existing Azure agreements without new vendor onboarding or security reviews. When your listing is transactable: Enterprise buyers purchase through committed Azure spend. You qualify for Marketplace Rewards and co-sell incentives. Microsoft sellers can align on deals that generate mutual pipeline. Your revenue data flows directly into payout and forecasting systems. Transactable listings reduce friction for buyers, streamline sales cycles, and create a scalable path to growth alongside Microsoft. Aligning your sales methodology Microsoft Marketplace isn’t a side motion; it’s a core sales channel. The best software companies fold Marketplace into their qualification and closing process, turning it into a repeatable path that accelerates deals and reduces friction across teams. Role-based actions for Microsoft Marketplace success Partner & Alliances Identify customers with Azure consumption commitments that can fund your deals. Build joint account plans with Microsoft Partner Development Managers (PDMs). Share pipeline regularly and flag co-sell-eligible opportunities early. Sales Reps Ask early if buyers have Azure budgets or enterprise agreements. Present Marketplace as the fastest purchasing path. Tag Marketplace opportunities in CRM and trigger co-sell workflows. Sales Management Review Marketplace pipeline in forecasts and QBRs. Set targets for the percentage of deals closing through Azure. Align compensation to reward Marketplace adoption. RevOps Standardize CRM fields and automate referral submissions. Track cycle time and win rates versus direct deals. Measure Marketplace impact on deal velocity and CAC. Finance Reconcile payouts with Partner Center data. Sync invoices and taxes into your accounting system. Forecast Marketplace cash flow accurately. Embedding Marketplace into sales motions creates a repeatable, low-friction channel that scales across every team. Go from listed to selling fast Going transactable used to take months of coordination. With automation and AI, it now takes days. Suger helps Azure software companies: Connect Partner Center, CRM, and finance systems. Publish transactable offers. Automate MPOs, invoicing, and payout tracking. Visualize performance in unified dashboards. Whether you’re a startup or enterprise, the path to your first Azure sale is shorter than ever if your systems and workflows are connected. How it works step-by-step Publishing a listing is only the start. To generate revenue, connect your CRM, finance, and partner systems so deals flow cleanly from quote to cash. Many software companies get stuck on manual offers or disconnected data. The fix is automation. The fastest-growing software companies standardize the path from listing to sale. Step 1: Connect your systems You don’t need to integrate everything at once. Connect core systems early to avoid rework. Suger’s 30+ native integrations make it simple, no engineering required. CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot): Link Partner Center so listings, referrals, and private offers live inside Opportunities. Finance (NetSuite, QuickBooks, Stripe): Sync invoices, payouts, and true-ups automatically. Communications (Slack, Teams): Notify teams when offers are created, accepted, or near expiry. These integrations give every team a shared view from day one. Step 2: Build you listing with AI To transact, you need a listing that defines how your product is sold, including pricing, descriptions, and compliance details. That’s where many software companies slow down. Suger’s AI Listing Assistant speeds publishing by auto-filling: Product info (e.g. title, descriptions, and categories) Support contacts Resource links In minutes, you can publish a compliant listing with minimal effort. Suger then syncs pricing, SKUs, and entitlement configurations through your connected systems, ensuring your listing is ready for transactions. Step 3: Validate and go live Once the listing is ready, make it transactable by linking it to offer plans that define pricing, fulfillment, and entitlements. Suger automates this process end-to-end: Imports listing data from Partner Center Prefills pricing and fulfillment details from CRM and finance Validates compliance with Azure transaction rules Publishes back to Partner Center as “transactable” In minutes, your offer is connected and live, ready for reps to create private offers directly in CRM. Step 4: Enable co-sell with Microsoft Going transactable unlocks the Azure Co-Sell program, the fastest way to grow joint pipeline with Microsoft. Suger automates co-sell operations by: Sharing eligible opportunities with Microsoft automatically Enriching missing required referral details (e.g. company, website, address, industry, size, and phone) Syncing updates back to CRM as deals progress That keeps both sides aligned in real time. Step 5: Generate private offers Most software companies start with a Microsoft Private Offer , a custom quote for a specific buyer. With Suger, reps create offers directly in their CRM: Offer details auto-populate from CRM or CPQ records Approvals route through Slack or Teams Accepted offers sync back for payout reconciliation When an offer is accepted, Suger automatically: Attaches EULAs and entitlement documents to the record Notifies Finance to mark the deal as Closed Won Syncs revenue data with accounting systems for payout reconciliation The entire process—from quote to close—takes minutes instead of hours, keeping teams focused on selling instead of administration. Step 6: Automate billing and payouts Once the deal closes, automation continues. Suger’s enterprise-grade billing and metering turn raw usage into clean financial data: Converts consumption into billable records that match Microsoft’s billing format. Handles hybrid and usage-based pricing models automatically. Flags discrepancies before invoices hit Finance. Exports payouts directly into NetSuite or QuickBooks. Finance teams gain accurate, audit-ready data, and sellers gain visibility into when revenue actually lands. No spreadsheets, no missed payments, no confusion. Step 7: Measure and optimize After your first sale, visibility drives optimization. Suger unifies Marketplace, CRM, and finance data into dashboards for every team. Sales: Pipeline by region and offer type. Alliances: Co-sell progress and seller engagement. Finance: Payout timing and reconciliation. RevOps: Deal velocity and attribution. Dashboards simplify forecasting and export easily to Power BI or Tableau. Avoid common pitfalls Most teams hit the same snags. Automation turns bottlenecks into repeatable, scalable processes. Pitfall Impact Automation Fix Disconnected systems Manual entry across CRM & Partner Center Two-way CRM sync keeps data consistent Offer complexity Delays from unclear plans or pricing Guided templates with AI validation Approval bottlenecks Weeks lost in manual review Slack-based approval workflows Limited visibility Finance unsure of payout timing Unified dashboards and auto-reconciliation Scaling challenges Ops can’t keep up with deal volume No-code workflows that clone across regions Check your readiness Before transacting, confirm: Offer readiness: Transactable offer configured, approved, and tested. System readiness: CRM, billing, and Partner Center fully synced. Workflow readiness: Private offer creation and approvals automated. Visibility readiness: Dashboards tracking pipeline, payouts, and cycle time. Team readiness: Roles trained on Marketplace quoting and fulfillment. This helps ensure smooth and scalable processes after kick-off. The Suger difference Suger combines automation, AI, and native integrations in one platform built for hyperscaler marketplaces. Area What Suger Does Why It Matters CRM-native co-sell & offer creation CRM-native co-sell and offer creation Keeps reps in workflow 30+ integrations Plugs into existing tech stacks End-to-end automation Workflow automation Automates listings, enrichment, and approvals Cuts manual effort and errors Unified reporting Real-time pipeline and revenue dashboards One source of truth for every team Enterprise billing & metering Handles hybrid and usage-based pricing Simplifies revenue operations Customer-first success Named CSM, Slack support, 24/7 availability Fast onboarding and resolution This combination helps software companies go live faster and scale sustainably without adding headcount or complexity. Reignite your Marketplace listings If your Azure listing is live but inactive, start here: Convert to transactable. Use guided templates to publish a compliant offer quickly. Connect core systems. Sync CRM, Partner Center, and finance for automatic deal flow. Automate private offers and co-sell. Let reps manage everything directly from CRM. These steps unlock visibility, accountability, and revenue: the foundation for long-term Marketplace success. Impact by team Every team benefits when Azure Marketplace operations are automated and connected. Sales: Faster deal creation and fewer errors by staying inside CRM. Partner/Alliances: Real-time visibility into co-sell pipeline and cloud alignment. RevOps: Unified analytics connecting listing, pipeline, and revenue. Finance: Reliable payout data, no spreadsheets, and automated reconciliation. Engineering: Less manual maintenance thanks to productized integrations. Shared data and workflows make Marketplace revenue predictable. Going transactable is the tipping point between simply being listed on Microsoft Marketplace and generating real, predictable revenue. By connecting core systems, automating private offers, and enabling co sell, software companies turn Marketplace into a repeatable sales channel. Automation removes the operational burden and lets offers generate in minutes while data flows cleanly from CRM to finance. When teams have visibility into pipeline, payouts, and performance, Marketplace becomes easier to forecast, manage, and scale. The companies that win are the ones that treat Marketplace as a core sales strategy, not a side experiment. Start your journey Ready? Publish a transactable offer, enroll in co-sell, and share a referral to get there faster. Need help? Contact Suger for a consultation and go from listed to selling fast. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Resources Microsoft Marketplace Trusted source for cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents Microsoft Marketplace - Marketplace publisher | Microsoft Learn How to guides for working in Microsoft Marketplace ISV Success Discover offers and benefits of ISV Success to help you take your apps and agents to the next level.Progress Software and Process.Science offer transactable partner solutions in Microsoft Marketplace
Microsoft partners like Progress Software and Process.Science deliver transact-capable offers, which allow you to purchase directly from Microsoft Marketplace. Learn about these offers in this blog post.
