Mythbusters: My customers don't use the Marketplace

Updated 13 Nov 2026 · FY27 (1 October 2026 to 30 June 2027)

The short answer. Your customers may already buy on Microsoft Marketplace without telling you. Procurement or IT may buy there, in a different part of the company from your contact. Large organizations with a MACC, a promise to spend a set amount on Azure, can count an eligible purchase toward it.

Watch the episode

Recorded before Microsoft's July 2026 program changes. For current amounts, see our FY27 guide.

Myth and reality (FY27)

Myth: "My customers don't use the Marketplace. Nobody has ever asked me to be on it."

Reality: Marketplace is where a customer buys your software through Microsoft, on the agreement they already have. Microsoft bills, collects and pays you, and keeps a 3% service fee.

The people you talk to may never see this. Procurement may buy through Marketplace in another part of the company. And when an offer qualifies, a purchase can count toward the customer's Azure commitment. For that, the offer must be "Azure benefit eligible", and the purchase must be completed in the Azure portal, inside an active commitment term.

What the guest said

• Marketplace is not like a consumer app store. Comparing the two is comparing apples to oranges.
• It is a business-to-business platform. It gathers the buying of business software into one channel.
• Your customers may use it even if your own contacts do not know about it.
• Technology teams were the first to adopt it. Many companies built on Azure already buy this way, and it sits inside the Azure product and portal, so people sometimes do not notice.
• It is not only for technology teams. Add-ins for Microsoft 365 and Dynamics are sold through Marketplace storefronts too.
• Listing opens the door to resellers who can sell your software on.
• Marketplace is another channel to market, not a lead generator. No channel sends you leads just because you put something on it.
• Customers may use Marketplace in a different part of the company from the person you speak to.

Does this apply to you?

Probably yes, if:

• you sell business software to mid-size or large companies, and you have heard "nobody has asked for it";
• your customers already run on Azure or buy Microsoft 365 and Dynamics add-ins;
• your buyers have a Microsoft agreement and a spending commitment they would like to use;
• you want another way to sell, not a source of free leads.

Our advice: before you decide your customers don't use Marketplace, ask them. Ask procurement and IT, not only your usual contact.

Full transcript

In the video, "ISV" (independent software vendor) means a software company. Microsoft's FY27 partner pages also say software development company (SDC).

Johan Aussenac (host): Marketplace Mythbusters. Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of Marketplace Mythbusters. I'm Johan, CEO at WeTransact, currently in Lisbon. It's 8:00 p.m., and I'm very lucky to be joined by Microsoft's very own rock star, Abby Shen. Abby, we've been friends across opposite sides of the world for quite a while now. Why don't you take a minute to introduce yourself?

Abby-Junyi Shen (guest): Hey, thanks, Johan. I'm based on the other side of the world, in New Zealand. I'm at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, based on Johan's time. I am a partner technology strategist working with ISVs and SaaS businesses.

Johan: That's awesome. Thanks, Abby, for joining us today again, and to make it work time zone-wise, really appreciate it. Today's topic is all about busting a new Marketplace myth. Are you ready to discuss a myth today?

Abby-Junyi: It's okay.

Johan: Myth of the day: my customers are not using Marketplace. I think this one is quite tricky, because we've been hearing this objection a lot from our prospects. Often they come up with, "I've never had my customer asking me to be available on the marketplace." As we get started with this myth, I'm curious: what is your take on that?

Abby-Junyi: You're definitely not the only one hearing that. But let's put it into perspective. When people hear marketplace, they tend to think of popular B2C platforms like Amazon.com, or the app store where you download some off-the-shelf apps onto your phone and then it's immediately available for use. But that's sort of comparing apples to oranges. Microsoft's commercial marketplace is a business-to-business, or B2B, platform primarily designed for enterprises and corporates, actually. So it's a procurement mechanism that unifies the procurement of B2B software into a single channel. So your customers' companies might be using it, even though maybe your specific stakeholders might not be aware of it.

Johan: I think that's a stunning start, and I would add to that. I think we should break down that myth a bit further. I think it would be helpful to clarify, according to you, and maybe from a Microsoft point of view, who are the natural adopters of the marketplace within a company?

Abby-Junyi: Absolutely. Coming from a procurement standpoint, naturally IT teams were the first adopters. Any company that's built on or using Azure is likely using one of the marketplace storefronts, like Azure Marketplace, in some kind of way. It's quite integrated within the Azure product and the Azure portal, so sometimes you don't even realize it. And there are cloud solutions like Datadog and New Relic who are paving the way for adoption in that sense.

[Passage removed: it covered figures and programs from 2025 that have since changed.]

It was the natural adopter, but it's not just for IT anymore. For business users, you can now add plugins or add-ons into your Microsoft 365 suite or Dynamics products. And all those add-ins, and the storefronts where you select those add-ins, that's actually the marketplace as well.

Johan: Yeah, definitely. I think it's getting more true than ever, especially with all the plugins that we have in Word, Excel, Outlook and Copilot. It's stunning to see how it's evolving. But there's even more to that. Many people are actually using the marketplace without realizing it, and I believe it's important to reframe the value proposition of it. So, to understand how it works behind the scenes: the marketplace brings solutions to Microsoft customers for selling with Microsoft, and also offers a way for your solution to be resold through an extensive network of resellers. I would say that the marketplace often is mistaken as a lead generator when it's not. It's a powerful partnership tool and a procurement engine. Anything you'd like to add on top of it?

Abby-Junyi: Yeah, exactly right. As you said, it's about framing it with the right perspective. It's another channel to market. And there isn't any channel into the market where you put it out there and then suddenly leads just come flying in. That's not how channels to market work anyway. As we've spoken about before, your customers are likely already engaging with the marketplace in some way, whether they know about it or not. But the real opportunity for a partner isn't just about that end user coming up and adopting your app on their own accord.

[Passage removed: it covered figures and programs from 2025 that have since changed.]

And the marketplace functions as what we said right at the start: the procurement engine. And that's really where its strength lies.

Johan: I couldn't agree more, and that's good news for us, I guess. Thanks a million for that, Abby, for helping us to debunk the myth. So, long story short: even if you believe your customers are not using the marketplace, they are using the marketplace. Sometimes personas are living in different sides of the company, so you don't know the personas that are active users of it, and the persona you're speaking to might be using it behind the scenes without knowing that they're using it. I have one last question, or maybe not, maybe I have a few more, who knows?

[Passage removed: it covered figures and programs from 2025 that have since changed.]

Johan: But hey, I have actually, I lied, I have one more question for you. If you could throw somebody under a bus and decide who is going to do the next Marketplace Mythbuster with us, who would that be?

Abby-Junyi: Who's the next Marketplace Mythbuster? Well, maybe I'll make it open. I'll give you a first name, and you guys can think which one I'm referring to, but I'll throw you guys over to Matt. And you can guess which one we've spoken about a couple.

Johan: Yeah, I think I know your Matt. And maybe we'll get him to do some Marketplace Mythbusters. Maybe he'll be grateful, or maybe he'll hate you, we never know. So be ready, Abby.

Abby-Junyi: Yeah, nice. Thank you so much for your time, Johan.

Johan: Thank you. Thanks for watching Marketplace Mythbusters.

Frequently asked questions

Who in a customer's company buys through Marketplace?

Often procurement or IT, not the person you speak to. Technology teams adopted it first, and business teams now buy Microsoft 365 and Dynamics add-ins there too.

How can I find out whether a customer already buys through Marketplace?

Ask whether it has a MACC, and when it ends. Then ask who holds its billing account and Azure subscription roles, and bring them in early.

Can resellers sell my software through Marketplace?

Yes. Microsoft supports CSP private offers, multiparty private offers and resale enabled offers, so channel partners can sell your software on. In our experience, a listing brings little traffic on its own, so plan who will sell it.

Want the full picture?

Everything here is also in our complete guide to Microsoft FY27 Marketplace incentives, with plain-words notes for newcomers. Get the complete FY27 guide

Not sure which incentive fits your company?

Ask for your free Microsoft Incentives Assessment: a personalized report of every incentive your company can claim, what each is worth, and the order to claim them. Free, no obligation. No Partner Center login needed to start. Ask for your free Assessment

The other FY27 incentives

• Azure sponsorship
• AI Build & Publish for Marketplace
• AI Build & Publish for the Agent Store
• Customer Assessment & POV
• Customer Migrate & Modernize
• Co-selling with Microsoft

Based on Microsoft's FY27 Partner Investments material and the Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace pages on Microsoft Learn. Microsoft may change its programs at any time, and every payout needs Microsoft's approval. Amounts are in USD.