Everything You Need to Know About Microsoft Marketplace
Estimated Read Time: 6 minutes
Intended Audience: Microsoft Partners
For Microsoft Software Development Companies (SDCs, also known as ISVs), System Integrators (SIs), and Channel Partners (CSPs, MSPs), having a strong Marketplace presence is one of the most impactful ways to expand your reach, build credibility, and drive qualified leads. According to respondents of our Global Microsoft Partner Benchmarking & Strategic Insights Report, 89% of partners are already listed on at least one Marketplace, with AppSource being the most popular. Today, AppSource has been fully consolidated into the unified Microsoft Marketplace.
The Marketplace connects organizations with solutions that extend and enhance their existing Microsoft technology investments. For businesses already working within the Microsoft ecosystem, the Marketplace offers a streamlined way to discover compatible tools that integrate seamlessly with their current tech stack.
In this guide, you’ll learn how Marketplace works, who it serves, and what it takes to create a standout listing that drives visibility, generates conversions, and sets your solution apart from competing listings.
What Is the Microsoft Marketplace and How Does It Work?
Marketplace is Microsoft’s unified online storefront where organizations discover, try, and purchase solutions that extend and enhance the Microsoft ecosystem. It brings together applications, SaaS solutions, AI tools, add-ins, and consulting services built for platforms like Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, Azure, and Power Platform.
What used to be multiple storefronts, AppSource for business and productivity solutions and Azure Marketplace for cloud and technical solutions, has now been fully consolidated into one seamless experience. This unification creates a single destination for business, industry, cloud, and AI solutions across the entire Microsoft stack.
Now, the Microsoft Marketplace hosts thousands of listings across several solution types:
- Apps: Developed by ISVs (now referred to as Software Development Companies, SDCs) to enhance Microsoft tools with added functionality.
- Consulting Services: Fixed-price, fixed-duration offers from Microsoft Partners to help customers implement, customize, or optimize Microsoft solutions.
- Partner Profiles: Listings of trusted Microsoft Partners that support digital transformation through Microsoft-based services.
- Industry Clouds: Curated collections of industry-specific cloud solutions and capabilities designed to help organizations operate and solve business challenges within a specific sector.
Key solution categories include AI apps and Agents, Infrastructure Services, Data & Analytics, Productivity, Security, and more.
Top industries served include healthcare, financial services, retail, manufacturing, education, and government, each with industry-specific solutions tailored to business challenges.
Customers can easily find listings through search and filter tools, view product demos, start free trials, and integrate offerings directly with Microsoft products, all without requiring deep technical knowledge.
Who Does Microsoft Marketplace Serve?
Microsoft Marketplace serves a broad audience across the Microsoft ecosystem, making it a valuable platform for both solution providers and buyers:
- Businesses and organizations can find Microsoft-compatible solutions tailored to their industry and business needs.
- SDCs (ISVs) use Marketplace to showcase applications that integrate with Microsoft platforms like Dynamics 365, Azure, and Power Platform.
- Microsoft Partners and Service Providers promote consulting services that help customers implement and optimize Microsoft technologies.
- IT decision makers and CIOs turn to Microsoft Marketplace to evaluate trusted solutions that align with their infrastructure and digital strategy.
- Channel Partners and Resellers can now participate through resale-enabled offers, allowing them to sell Marketplace solutions directly to their customers.
Why Did Microsoft Consolidate AppSource and Azure Marketplace into One?
In an effort to create a more seamless, simplified experience for both customers and Partners, the Marketplace aims to be the single destination for discovery and procurement. With over six million visitors to the Marketplace, this presents a strong opportunity for Partners to increase visibility across the Microsoft ecosystem without the added complexity of creating and managing separate listings for AppSource and Azure.
This consolidation also creates space to better support Frontier Firms, including the introduction of a new, dedicated category for AI solutions.
Why Should Microsoft Partners List on Microsoft Marketplace?
Listing your solutions or consulting services on Microsoft Marketplace enables you to:
- Reach the Right Buyers: Marketplace connects you directly with Microsoft’s global cloud customer base, including decision-makers who are searching for industry-aligned solutions.
- Align with the Microsoft Stack: Deep integration with Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Azure, and Power Platform makes it easier for customers to discover, try, adopt, and trust your offering.
- Extend Your Sales Team: Allow leads to explore your offering through free trials, product demos, and interactive listings, helping shorten the sales cycle and build interest before they engage with your team.
- Build Credibility Through Certification: Demonstrate to potential buyers that your solutions are secure, compatible, and high-performing, making it easier to stand out from the competition.
- Unlock Go-to-Market and Co-Sell Opportunities: Unlock access to Microsoft’s go-to-market programs and co-sell support, connecting you with Microsoft sales teams and opening doors to incentives, funding, and account engagement.
4 Common Microsoft Marketplace Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Our team has been working with Microsoft Partners to create and optimize both Azure Marketplace and AppSource listings since 2016. With the full consolidation into the Microsoft Marketplace, we’ve stayed ahead of the new requirements, updated processes, and evolving best practices. And year after year, we continue to see the same avoidable pitfalls that hold partners back from gaining visibility and generating high-quality leads.
Let’s take a look at the most common mistakes and how you can overcome them:
- Abandoning the Process Due to Complexity: With constant changes in Partner Center, evolving requirements, and multiple properties and fields to navigate, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, and that often leads to inaction or abandoning the process altogether. You don’t need to be a Microsoft expert to publish a listing. If you have a defined offer, whether it’s a packaged service or a SaaS solution, you can go live in as little as a week with the right support, like the Maven Collective Marketing team.
- Misunderstanding Microsoft Marketplace Requirements: Since the launch of the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, the bar to get listed, especially for consulting services, has shifted. Partners must hold a relevant Solutions Partner designation to publish. With proper guidance and support from Microsoft or a specialized agency, many Partners can achieve designation faster than expected.
- Focusing on Requirements, Not Engagement: Checking every box in the listing form might make your listing technically complete, but not compelling. Microsoft Marketplace is a buyer destination, not just a compliance form. To attract your ideal customer, speak clearly to their pain points, goals, and industry challenges and use customer-centric messaging.
- Neglecting Listings After Publishing: Too many Partners treat Marketplace like a one-time task and never revisit it, leading to outdated content and irrelevant offers. We’ve seen listings that reference products that no longer exist or services that haven’t been updated in years.
To avoid this pitfall, treat your Marketplace listing like your website or sales collateral, review and refresh it regularly to stay relevant.
How Microsoft Marketplace Fits into the Microsoft Ecosystem
Microsoft Marketplace is fully integrated into the Microsoft product experience, serving as a key discovery and adoption channel for customers across the Microsoft ecosystem. As the centralized storefront for business applications and services, Marketplace connects directly with platforms like Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, and Power BI, making it easier for users to find, try, and implement solutions that align with the tools they already use.
Let’s Make Your Microsoft Marketplace Listing Stand Out
At Maven Collective Marketing, we’ve helped hundreds of Microsoft Partners around the world skyrocket impact and performance on Marketplace. Partner with the award-winning agency to maximize your investment in the consolidated Microsoft Marketplace today!
