Stephen Covey once said, “If there’s one thing that’s certain in business, it’s uncertainty.”
Let’s travel back in time to 2020. The pandemic hit, pretty much everyone was working from home, and businesses rushed to be on the cloud to stay afloat.
Picture embarking on a cloud journey at that point in time—feeling uncertain about the initial steps, such as choosing the right cloud for your business (private, public, hybrid, or multi), regulatory and governance issues, integration issues, cost management, and more.
According to Flexera’s 2023 State of Cloud Report, 87% of survey respondents identified as using multi-cloud offerings, but a staggering 82% shared that managing cloud spend was their top cloud challenge, even surpassing security (79%).
Now imagine if there was a software platform that could help your business build an entire go-to-market strategy specifically for the cloud—being listed on cloud marketplaces, driving traffic to ensure customers can find sellers, supporting co-selling, and driving revenue growth.
That’s what cloud GTM platforms are all about.
What are cloud GTM platforms?
Cloud go-to-market (GTM) platforms support software and services vendors to list, transact, and co-sell on cloud marketplaces. These platforms help vendors on their cloud journey by using their relationships with cloud marketplaces and taking them to the next level.
Why should businesses consider cloud GTM platforms?
Before we dive in further, let's remind ourselves—What exactly are cloud marketplaces?
Cloud marketplaces are defined as online marketplaces where customers can search, purchase, and manage SaaS products and services. Major Cloud marketplace examples include AWS Marketplace, Microsoft Azure Marketplace, and Google Workspace Marketplace. Cloud marketplaces offer their visitors a wide range of software and services.
Although the category is in its nascent stages, Cloud GTM has been around for some time now. It is used by various names in the industry, such as Cloud Commerce, Cloud Sales, and Hyperscaler Cloud Marketplaces, amongst many others.
The goal, however, remains the same—to help businesses develop their marketplace presence and help independent software vendors (ISVs) reach the right customer pool.
Even once listed, ISVs can face several challenges in managing these listings, which include listing concerns (governance and security), communication challenges, and integration issues, amongst several others. By using a cloud GTM platform, businesses can offload the work of managing their listings to these cloud GTM providers and focus on other business priorities.
For a software to qualify for G2’s latest category, it would need to meet the criteria listed below:
- Assist software and service vendors in aligning with cloud marketplaces and partner networks to enhance revenue generation
- Provide a single pane of view dashboard for reporting and analytics which features go-to-market efforts, measures performance, and makes data-driven decisions
- Offer advisory support to help companies in their Cloud GTM journey
As part of the research that goes into creating a new category, G2 reached out to several vendors in the Cloud GTM space - Clazar, Tackle.io, and Workspan, and here is what they had to share (in alphabetical order of vendors):
“With an estimated market value of $150 billion by 2027, cloud marketplaces are skyrocketing at a whopping 85% CAGR. G2 has been trailblazing the software selling with over 2100+ categories, and introducing a new Cloud GTM category is a fantastic, timely move. It recognizes the growing importance of effective go-to-market strategies for software businesses. This will be incredibly valuable for both vendors and potential buyers.”
Trunal Bhanse, Cofounder & CEO, Clazar
“As the pioneers of Cloud GTM, it’s exciting to see G2 recognize this as an official category. Over the past year, we’ve noticed a substantial increase in revenue through Cloud Marketplaces. This channel is now a crucial part of an ISV’s go-to-market strategy, allowing them to connect with buyers and tap into expanding budgets through committed cloud spend. Cloud GTM enables data-driven decisions on when and where to collaborate with cloud providers, aiming to boost brand strength, provide support at the deal level, foster top-of-funnel growth, and increase ARR.”
Dillon Woods, Founder & CTO, Tackle.io
“Cloud marketplaces are one of the most powerful forces driving companies to partner and sell more together, creating efficient growth even in tough economic conditions. WorkSpan is thrilled to see G2 recognize the importance of cloud sales, and the rapidly evolving set of tools that help businesses add this important motion to their go-to-market.”
Amit Sinha, President & Cofounder, WorkSpan
Diverging from traditional marketplaces
Marketplaces serve as platforms for diverse transactions, from physical goods to software and services. In the digital realm, however, this concept extends to cloud marketplaces, which provide a centralized hub to manage an array of cloud-based software and services.
2022 was the year for Marketplace Software, with 54 products added to the category, which was a record high. The National Retail Foundation shared that 2022 was the year US retail e-commerce sales passed $1 Trillion for the first time, addressing the change in customer behavior.
Customers now want an increased ease of purchase, focusing on convenience and customer service. These customer needs are clearly reflected in the rise of marketplaces, which can help millions of sellers reach millions of buyers and help customers obtain value in their purchases.
Even in the world of software selling, we have established that if you are into this business, then you need to be listed on a cloud marketplace.
Cloud GTM is here to stay
G2 is excited to be one of the first B2B SaaS organizations to reflect the creation of cloud GTM platforms.
G2 expects to see a steady increase in the number of organizations diverging their marketplace offerings to include Cloud GTM offerings in the upcoming years.
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Edited by Jigmee Bhutia
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