Cloud marketplaces are becoming one of the most important routes to market for enterprise technology. Omdia projects that hyperscaler marketplace sales will increase from $30 billion in 2024 to $163 billion by 2030 as more organizations use committed cloud spending, private offers, and consolidated billing to purchase software and services.
For channel partners, however, AWS Marketplace, Microsoft Azure Marketplace, and Google Cloud Marketplace do not offer identical opportunities. AWS has the most mature marketplace ecosystem, Microsoft benefits from its extensive enterprise and partner relationships, and Google Cloud is positioning its marketplace around AI, data, and cloud-native workloads.
This comparison examines how the three marketplaces differ, the trends changing enterprise procurement, and how MSPs, VARs, ISVs, and solution providers can align their sales and services strategies with each platform.
Comparing the three marketplaces
| Category | AWS | Azure Marketplace | Google Cloud Marketplace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market share (based on findings from Synergy Research Group*) | Around 28% | Around 21% | Around 14% |
| Co-sell programs and capabilities | AWS ISV Accelerate Program | Co-sell-ready status; Azure IP co-sell eligible status | Google Cloud Partner Network Co-sell Partner Path |
| Procurement capabilities | Consolidated AWS billing | MACC-eligible purchases | Committed Google Cloud spend drawdown |
| Best customer profile | Large enterprises, mature AWS customers, and regulated industries | Existing Microsoft customers, hybrid IT organizations, and Microsoft 365 environments | AI-first organizations, cloud-native businesses, data-driven enterprises |
| Best partner profile | Enterprise ISVs, MSSPs, AWS-focused MSPs, and global SIs | Microsoft-focused MSPs, infrastructure partners, security partners, and modern workplace partners | AI vendors, data platform providers, Kubernetes specialists, cloud-native partners |
How AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud marketplaces differ
AWS Marketplace: The mature ecosystem continues to expand
AWS continues to build on its position as the most mature hyperscaler marketplace, with recent investments focused on enterprise procurement, partner-led private offers, and the expansion of AI software availability.
Recent announcements further reinforce this strategy, including opening the federal OneGov procurement program to independent software vendors (ISVs), committing $1 billion to a new forward-deployed AI engineering organization, and launching AWS Secret Cloud for organizations supporting classified government workloads.
These initiatives reflect AWS’s continued investment in expanding marketplace opportunities across enterprise, government, and AI-focused workloads.
Best suited for:
- Enterprise software vendors
- MSSPs
- Mature SaaS providers
- Existing AWS partners
Azure Marketplace: Microsoft’s channel advantage
Azure Marketplace’s strategy centers on leveraging its existing relationships with Microsoft enterprise customers and its partner ecosystem. Recent announcements have reinforced Azure Marketplace as an extension of Microsoft’s broader commercial sales motion.
Earlier this year, Microsoft expanded multiparty private offers to Europe, Australia, Japan, and South Africa, enabling partners to collaborate more easily across borders while simplifying multi-party transactions. The expansion reflects Microsoft’s continued push to make its marketplace a key channel for partner-led enterprise software sales.
Best suited for:
- Microsoft-centric MSPs
- Infrastructure partners
- Modern workplace partners
- Security solution providers
Google Cloud Marketplace: Winning in AI and data workloads
Google Cloud continues to differentiate itself through AI, data analytics, and cloud-native development, positioning its marketplace around modern application and machine learning workloads.
At its annual Google Cloud Next 2026 conference, the company reinforced this strategy with new agentic AI capabilities and Solution Connect, widening opportunities for partners to deliver AI-powered solutions through the marketplace.
This makes Google Cloud Marketplace particularly well-suited for AI vendors, analytics providers, and cloud-native partners looking to reach customers investing in modern data and AI workloads.
Best suited for
- AI vendors
- Data platform providers
- Cloud-native startups
- Analytics-focused partners
Trends shaping every hyperscaler marketplace
Cloud commitments are moving procurement to marketplaces
In 2026 and beyond, cloud marketplaces are expected to continue evolving into a primary procurement channel for enterprise software. As AWS Marketplace, Azure Marketplace, and Google Cloud Marketplace expand their capabilities, they are becoming a crucial part of how organizations discover, purchase, and manage technology solutions.
For enterprise buyers, cloud marketplaces simplify procurement by consolidating billing, allowing organizations to apply existing cloud spending commitments, streamlining vendor onboarding, and accelerating purchasing cycles.
Omdia research published in 2025 projects that hyperscaler cloud marketplace sales will grow from $30 billion in 2024 to $163 billion by 2030, underscoring the rapid shift toward marketplace-led procurement.
Distribution leaders are seeing that shift play out firsthand. Speaking at GTDC Summit 2026, Arrow Global ECS President Eric Nowak told Channel Insider that hyperscaler marketplaces have become an integral part of how partners bring solutions to market.
“These guys are part of the route to market now, and you need to cope with that. Fighting against it is a mistake.”
Private offers are gaining ground in enterprise deals
Private offers are becoming the preferred model for enterprise software transactions through cloud marketplaces, as more organizations favor negotiated pricing over standard marketplace listings.
Microsoft’s recent expansion of multiparty private offers to Europe, Australia, Japan, and South Africa reflects the growing emphasis on partner collaboration and customized commercial agreements.
By enabling publishers and channel partners to jointly structure and transact deals through Azure Marketplace, multiparty private offers help accelerate sales cycles, simplify procurement, and create a more seamless buying experience for enterprise customers.
AWS is also strengthening Marketplace as a key route to market for partners.
The company has highlighted how consulting firms, such as Accenture, IBM, and Deloitte, are utilizing AWS Marketplace to list AI agents and create private offers, reflecting the growing role of negotiated, partner-led transactions in enterprise software sales.
AI is driving new marketplace growth
Artificial intelligence has become a major growth driver for the three hyperscalers, with cloud marketplaces increasingly serving as channels for AI-powered software and services. From AI agents to copilots, organizations are turning to these marketplaces to discover, procure, and deploy AI solutions.
Earlier this year, Channel Insider examined how each hyperscaler is positioning itself to capitalize on growing AI demand:
- Microsoft Azure: Packaging AI, identity, and security into integrated offerings, including Microsoft 365 E7 and Copilot Cowork.
- Google Cloud: Emphasizing localized, partner-led AI deployments while rewarding partners that build on Gemini AI.
- AWS: Prioritizing repeatable, scalable AI solutions while rewarding partners that can deploy AI quickly on AWS.
Services are becoming just as important as software
As organizations adopt increasingly complex AI and cloud technologies, many are turning to partners for managed services and migration in addition to software licenses.
This shift has made services a growing source of channel revenue, a trend Channel Insider has covered extensively.
Cloud marketplaces are evolving alongside this demand by making it easier for partners to package software and services into a single transaction.
How MSPs and solution providers should respond
Build marketplace expertise
As cloud marketplaces become a core part of enterprise procurement, developing marketplace expertise is an extremely valuable partner capability.
MSPs and solution providers should understand the differences between AWS Marketplace, Azure Marketplace, and Google Cloud Marketplace, including their procurement models, private offer workflows, and partner programs.
Follow the customer’s committed cloud spend
Partners should also tailor their sales strategies around the cloud commitments and purchasing models their customers already use.
Understanding programs such as AWS Cloud Commitments, Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC), and Google Cloud Committed Spend can help simplify procurement and allow customers to maximize existing cloud investments.
This might mean partners need to develop strategies with several marketplaces to best address their customers’ needs across hyperscaler environments.
Package services for marketplace sales
As organizations adopt more complex AI and cloud technologies, partners have an opportunity to bundle recurring and managed services alongside marketplace software purchases.
Packaging software, implementation, and ongoing management together can create new recurring revenue opportunities while delivering greater value to customers.
Bottom line: Understanding the big three marketplaces is key
The future is not about one marketplace replacing another. Each hyperscaler is investing heavily in marketplace-led procurement, partner incentives, and AI-driven buying experiences.
The right marketplace is usually the one aligned with the customer’s existing cloud commitments, procurement process, and workload strategy. Partners that can navigate private offers and attach implementation and managed services will capture more value than those that treat marketplaces as another software catalog.