Written by: Nic Perez, Cloud CTO ThunderCat Technology

A marketplace private offer is a customized deal between a seller and a buyer on a cloud marketplace such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and more. It allows for negotiated terms, pricing, and conditions that differ from other publicly available offers.

Private offers provide benefits to both sellers and buyers. Sellers can create tailored solutions and pricing for specific customers, while buyers can negotiate better terms and potentially receive discounts on products or services they need. This flexibility allows for more personalized and mutually beneficial transactions.

Here is our A to Z of the benefits and features of a cloud marketplace for organizations and agencies.

A Access to a Wide Range of Solutions and Increased Visibility. Any ISV/OEM who has a software solution can list their solution on the Marketplace. ThunderCat can bundle OEM products with their own professional services or complimentary third-party offerings into one private offer. The private offer can include implementation, migration, premium support, and managed services all available as a single, streamlined procurement.
B Billing, invoicing and collections are all handled by the cloud provider. Cloud marketplaces offer consolidated billing, making it easier for customers to manage multiple services under a single invoice.
C Cost optimization allows Buyers to align their costs with actual consumption.
D Access to a Diverse and Integrated Ecosystem. Cloud marketplaces provide access to a wide range of solutions, including SaaS, containers, data, and professional services, all designed for seamless integration with existing cloud infrastructure. This enables customers to build comprehensive, multi-vendor solutions that suit their specific needs.
E Enhanced Governance, Security, and Compliance. The Cloud Marketplaces typically improve governance, risk management, and oversight by centralizing control over software usage, costs, and compliance, while also implementing stringent security measures for all transactions.
F Flexible pricing models, cloud marketplace vendors can create sustainable growth models that scale alongside their customers’ needs, while buyers benefit from more tailored and cost-effective solutions.
G Growth – Cloud marketplaces help businesses scale by providing access to a vast catalog of pre-vetted solutions and enabling faster deployment, supporting business expansion and innovation. This speed culminates into a Greater Deal Velocity – Streamlined procurement, automated approvals, and one-click deployments accelerate sales cycles and time-to-value.
H Purchase software solutions in Hours. Cloud marketplaces enable rapid deployment of software, often with one-click installation, accelerating time-to-value for businesses.
I Cloud marketplaces enable allow customized Invoicing structures that align with how customers—especially in the public sector or enterprise space—need to obligate and spend funds. The buying process is streamlined, digital-first, and user-friendly, featuring transparent pricing, quick purchasing cycles, and consolidated billing.
J Just-in-Time Deployment. Speed is the key to a marketplace transaction. With funding on a cloud contract, software can be purchased immediately, ensuring organizations can access and implement solutions exactly when needed without delays.
K Each ISV listing has Keywords to enable customers with a simple process of finding, purchasing, and deploying software solutions. Customers benefit from self-service transactions, one-click deployments, and standardized contracts, which reduce procurement time and administrative overhead, allowing them to access and use new tools quickly.
L Listing Visibility. ISV’s benefit from increased exposure through marketplace listings, reaching a broader, often global, audience without extensive marketing efforts. The convenience, flexibility, and support offered by cloud marketplaces enhances customer satisfaction and ultimately fosters loyalty through a better overall buying and usage experience.
M Marketplaces often include tools for tracking software assets, subscriptions, and usage, simplifying administration for both sourcing and IT teams. This inventory management aspect can be challenging, ThunderCat provides visibility and transparency into marketplace transactions that might not be easily access from the consoles.
N Negotiated Pricing is a key element to marketplaces with their ability to enable private offers with customized pricing. Enabling buyers to negotiate terms that best fit their needs, spending limits and budgets. ThunderCat can assist with a number of financial structures to meet your needs.
O Organizational Agility. By streamlining procurement, accelerating deployment, and supporting flexible scaling, cloud marketplaces empower organizations to adapt quickly to changing business demands and innovate faster.
P A Private offer is a customized deal between a seller and a buyer on cloud marketplaces such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud. It allows for negotiated terms, pricing, and conditions that differ from a publicly available offer.
Q Quantifiable Cost Savings. By leveraging committed cloud spend and benefiting from marketplace discounts, organizations can achieve measurable financial savings on software purchases.
R Rapid access, where Buyers can accept and make purchases within minutes after the seller creates the private offer.
S Scalability and Integration. Cloud marketplaces allow organizations to scale their solutions easily as business needs grow, and offerings are designed for seamless integration with existing cloud services and infrastructure.
T The private offer can include Tailored terms and customized end-user license agreements (EULAs) or even specific terms of use. We assist with enabling two-way terms for private offers.
U Uncomplicated Procurement. The buying process is simplified, reducing paperwork, negotiations, and administrative overhead for faster and easier software acquisition. These soft dollar savings can be matched with hard dollar savings by utilizing a reseller who is constantly monitoring marketplace discounts and incentives. This is how organizations and agencies can achieve Upfront Cost Savings on software purchases.
V Cloud marketplaces offer a vast Variety of solutions, including software, machine learning models, data sets, and professional services, all in one place. This extensive catalog allows organizations to find the right tools for their needs without searching multiple vendors.
W Cloud marketplaces integrate with procurement and deployment Workflows, making it easier to manage the entire purchasing lifecycle — from quote to approval to deployment — all in one platform. Faster approvals can be achieved with all the appropriate governance through integrated procurement workflows. (e.g. integration with ServiceNow, Coupa, SAP Ariba, etc.)
X Cloud marketplaces eXpedite procurement processes, allowing organizations to quickly discover, purchase, and deploy solutions without lengthy negotiations or administrative delays. This acceleration streamlines operations and enables faster time-to-value for new technologies.
Y Yearly and even multi-year private offers can be actioned on a cloud marketplace.
Z Cloud marketplaces are designed for ease of use, offering centralized access, consolidated billing, and streamlined procurement processes that create a “Zen-like” simplicity for IT and procurement teams. This simplicity helps reduce administrative burden and operational complexity.