What is Shifting in Enterprise SaaS Purchase Cycles?
The average enterprise sales cycle can stretch six to nine months, sometimes over a year.
An RFP. A written response. A demo. A presentation. A written supplement. A follow-up demo. Contract negotiations. Compliance checks. The selection process. The procurement process.
But over the past decade, B2B software buying has begun a quiet revolution. Especially among smaller, more agile businesses, buyers increasingly favor digital, faster, lower-touch procurement processes.
Marketplaces.
While enterprises have historically lagged in this shift (due to more complex operations, customization needs, and lengthy stakeholder reviews) that’s now changing, fast.
Digital transformation and pressure for greater operational agility are pushing even the largest organizations to evaluate and purchase technology differently. They need to move faster to stay ahead.
Enterprise software isn’t just bought and sold anymore; it’s discovered.
And while software-specific marketplaces became popular with SMBs many years ago, cloud marketplaces have emerged as a strategic procurement avenue for enterprises. These platforms offer not just infrastructure and data services, but have expanded to offer a growing array of SaaS solutions—discoverable and purchasable in just a few clicks.
Cloud marketplaces like AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and distributor/reseller platforms built on Apptium’s Cloud Commerce Platform are rapidly becoming the go-to platforms for enterprises to find, try, and buy SaaS solutions.
For SaaS companies, these platforms aren’t just a distribution tool, they’re a growth engine.
Let’s break down the key factors behind this shift.
Enterprise Buying Behaviour is Changing
Modern enterprise buying behaviour has evolved drastically in recent years. According to Gartner, SaaS spending will grow to $300 billion in 2025.
Gone are the days when software purchases were primarily driven by long procurement cycles and extensive evaluations involving multiple stakeholders. Today’s IT and procurement teams prioritize agility, cost-efficiency, and speed.
Cloud marketplaces appeal to this mindset by offering a centralized, standardized, and trusted environment for software purchases. For buyers, these platforms eliminate many traditional procurement pain points. Key advantages include:
- Consolidated Billing: Enterprises prefer purchasing software through their existing cloud providers or marketplace ecosystems because it simplifies financial management. Instead of onboarding new vendors individually, they can consolidate SaaS purchases under their primary cloud contract.
- Pre-vetted Solutions: Marketplace listings undergo thorough vetting by the platform provider, ensuring compliance with security, legal, and operational standards. This makes it easier for procurement teams to justify and approve purchases.
- Accelerated Onboarding: Traditional vendor onboarding processes can take weeks or even months. Marketplaces like Apptium, AWS, and Azure dramatically reduce this timeline, allowing software to be purchased and deployed quickly.
- Bundled Procurement: Buyers can source complementary solutions (such as cloud storage and SaaS solutions) from multiple vendors through a single marketplace purchase, streamlining vendor management, contracting, and procurement workflows across an integrated tech stack.
In this context, being listed on a marketplace is no longer optional for SaaS vendors—it’s becoming a critical component of staying relevant and competitive in the modern enterprise sales landscape.
Benefits of Cloud Marketplaces for SaaS Vendors
Cloud marketplaces offer SaaS companies a unique opportunity to streamline go-to-market efforts, accelerate revenue growth, and tap into new customer bases. For growth-stage SaaS businesses especially, marketplaces offer a way to scale without significantly increasing headcount or infrastructure. According to a study done by McKinsey study, companies reported that listing on and selling through cloud platforms have helped them get to market 20%-40% faster.
Here are the key benefits for Saas vendors selling through marketplaces like distributor/reseller platforms built on Apptium’s Cloud Commerce Platform, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud:
- Shortened Sales Cycles: Marketplaces cut down procurement delays by removing the red tape associated with traditional B2B sales processes. Vendors can reach purchasing decision-makers faster, resulting in quicker deal closures.
- Access to Enterprise Budgets: Many large companies have significant budgets allocated to their primary cloud provider or ecosystem. By selling on that provider’s marketplace, SaaS vendors can tap into these pre-approved budgets, enabling larger deal sizes with less friction.
- Co-selling and Marketing Support: Most cloud platforms offer co-selling programs that pair marketplace vendors with their sales teams. Apptium, for example, supports vendors with integrated go-to-market strategies and exposure to enterprise buyers. These partnerships can significantly boost visibility and credibility.
- Simplified Operations: From billing and invoicing to tax compliance and contract management, marketplaces provide native tools and infrastructure that streamline back-office operations for SaaS providers.
These advantages help vendors go to market more efficiently, close deals faster, and focus on building and improving their products instead of getting bogged down in administrative tasks.
Challenges and Considerations
Despite the benefits, transitioning to a cloud marketplace model isn’t without its hurdles. SaaS companies must plan carefully to navigate the potential challenges that come with this distribution channel. Key considerations include:
- Revenue Sharing: Cloud marketplaces typically take a portion of each transaction. While this enables access to a broader customer base and streamlined operations, vendors need to factor this into their pricing and revenue planning.
- Technical Integration: Listing a SaaS product requires development effort, including integration with the marketplace’s APIs for billing, provisioning, and metering. This can be a significant lift for smaller companies with limited engineering resources.
- Discoverability: Simply listing a product on a marketplace does not guarantee visibility or sales. Vendors must invest in marketing, search optimization, and customer education to drive awareness and usage.
- Channel Conflict: Selling through marketplaces might create friction with existing sales channels, such as resellers or direct sales teams. SaaS companies need a clear channel strategy to avoid cannibalization or conflict.
Still, for many companies, these are solvable challenges. When approached strategically, the long-term gains from being on a marketplace often outweigh the initial costs and complexities.
Why Cloud Marketplaces Make Strategic Sense
Cloud marketplaces are no longer just “nice to have”—they are rapidly becoming a competitive necessity. As enterprise buyers continue to move toward cloud-based procurement, SaaS companies that embrace marketplace selling can align more closely with customer preferences and remove traditional sales barriers.
The marketplace model not only accelerates the path to revenue but also opens doors to new opportunities. With the backing of trusted platforms like Apptium, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, SaaS vendors can scale faster, reach global audiences, and benefit from the credibility and reach these platforms offer.
In short, the shift toward cloud marketplaces represents a fundamental change in the SaaS go-to-market strategy. For companies that are ready to adapt, the opportunity is substantial. By meeting buyers where they already are—inside the cloud—B2B SaaS companies can unlock faster growth, higher-value deals, and more efficient sales operations.
Ready to List Your SaaS Product?
If you're a SaaS company looking to scale your reach, streamline procurement, and tap into new enterprise customers, now is the time to explore your marketplace options.
Learn how Apptium can help you get listed, go to market faster, and grow smarter in the cloud-first era.
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