4 ways cloud marketplaces give you a competitive edge

Businesses can quickly adapt innovative technology to remain resilient and optimize internal resources by leveraging public cloud marketplaces. Digital procurement through public cloud marketplaces is a low-touch…

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Craig Blessing

November 12, 20215 minute read

Businesses can quickly adapt innovative technology to remain resilient and optimize internal resources by leveraging public cloud marketplaces. Digital procurement through public cloud marketplaces is a low-touch way to discover, try, and purchase software needed for immediate access. Organizations can buy through standard contracts and pre-allocated budgets, streamlining procurement and simplifying vendor management, bringing company-wide benefits.  

Public cloud growth continues  

Cloud initiates that were once stalled suddenly became the key to surviving COVID-19. A Gartner report on the trends driving the public cloud sector predicts that the public cloud industry will grow massively over the next few years, eventually accounting for more than 45% of all enterprise IT spending by 2026.  

Cloud marketplaces: The new digital way to procure 

Enterprises increasingly turn to public cloud marketplaces as an efficient and more convenient alternative to typical sales processes changing buying behaviors, and now they are here to stay. The adoption of cloud marketplace buying has shifted from an early adopter pattern to mainstream.  

In 2021, 61% of buyers said they had purchased software through one of the cloud marketplaces—a 39% increase over 2020, with nearly all these purchases taking place in Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure marketplaces. Research suggests that 80% of sales interactions will happen through digital channels by 2025.1 

Enterprise buyers get value faster purchasing through a cloud marketplace and in 2021 pointed to these benefits that help their bottom line:  

  • 43% take advantage of committed spend with Cloud Providers  
  • 42% accelerate time to value 
  • 36% simplify procurement  
  • 32% standardized contracts 
  • 32% fast access to tools 

Why is cloud marketplace procurement the best decision for your business? 

1. Combine software and cloud spend to fast-track cloud initiatives 

Access to technology and innovative solutions drives companies to migrate their workloads to the cloud, whether it’s a move and improve (lift & shift) from on-premises to public cloud or an opportunity to modernize their IT environment. The Flexera 2021 State of the Cloud Report reveals 59% of respondents use cloud heavily and have reached the advanced cloud maturity level. 

As more companies look to move their workloads to the cloud, many buyers will start their software procurement via marketplaces to combine software and cloud spend to maximize contract value. Transacting through the marketplace expedites the entire process from discovery to trial, purchase, and deployment. 

2. Get big value: Drawdown committed cloud spend  

Cloud enterprise agreements provide hefty volume-based discounts to organizations. Purchasing business-critical software through public cloud marketplaces reduces a customer’s cloud commit. If you aren’t taking advantage of marketplace procurement, you are missing out. A survey found that 77% of buyer respondents have some enterprise cloud agreement (EA) in place, and of those, 90% say they plan to purchase via Marketplace in the future.  

3. Private offers provide bespoke terms and pricing 

With private offers, organizations get a tailored solution that aligns with their business instead of a “one-size-fits-all” solution. It allows businesses to work with their software provider, negotiate pricing, terms, and conditions, and then transact through the public cloud marketplace.  OpenText™ uses private offers to empower customers to run their Information Management (IM) workloads anywhere, and OpenText Cloud Managed Services (CMS) may be procured via the Google Cloud, AWS, or Microsoft Azure marketplaces through a private offer transaction. Customers can use their public cloud commitments for OpenText CMS while leveraging the benefits of a simplified and expedited procurement process.

OpenText CMS enhances a customer’s experience on public clouds and brings a multitude of business benefits: 

  • 30% TCO reduction for customers that are running on-premises 
  • Single SLA for customer with 99.99% availability option  
  • Service is managed by the most knowledgeable team in the world with direct access to product team  

Less overhead for finance and operations 

In the past few years, organizations have incorporated many different SaaS vendors into their business. According to Forbes, SaaS revenue is projected to be $369 billion by 2024, increasing $200 billion in five years. SaaS purchases do not fare well for many procurement departments. More vendors mean more overhead to manage the purchasing process. Buying software via a marketplace is helpful as it reduces their workload compared to purchasing products from each vendor, one at a time. 

OpenText: Making it easier to do business   

To support customers in their digital transformation journey, OpenText is selectively listing and transacting on the marketplaces of our three public cloud partners: Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure.  Customers benefit from a simplified and expedited procurement using marketplaces to procure OpenText solutions. OpenText customers can utilize their public cloud commits to pay for OpenText Cloud Managed Services and get customized terms and conditions with a private offer. Connect with your OpenText Account Executive if you’re interested in purchasing through a marketplace private offer and learn how OpenText on Public Cloud accelerates your cloud strategies. 

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Craig Blessing

Craig is the Strategic Cloud Programs Director at OpenText. In this role, Craig leads OpenText hyperscaler marketplace GTM and technical partnerships and provides subject matter expertise on enterprise cloud migration strategies with the OpenText Migrate and Availability offerings. Connect with Craig via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigblessing/.

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