Azure Marketplace: A Complete Explanation

Azure Marketplace is a widely used Platform known for hosting Azure products and services. You can find a variety of products on this platform that are published by Microsoft or certified to run on Azure.   

This commercial platform offers a vast catalogue for buying and selling Cloud solutions. It helps to connect with enterprises that are looking for solutions. It also helps in connecting with big organisations, businesses, and government agencies from across the world.  

This commercial Marketplace has a perfect catalogue where independent software vendors list their Cloud-based products and services. Statista's most recent research shows that the number of products and services listed on this platform has surpassed 18000 units, with over 5000 belonging to the IT and management tools category. This place is perfect for Azure users to pick from different service categories catering to their requirements easily.  In this blog, you will learn about Azure Marketplace and the solutions it offers.  

Table of Contents

1) What is Microsoft Azure Marketplace?

2) What solutions does the Azure Marketplace offer?  

     a) Azure Application Solution Template  

     b) Azure Applications and Azure Managed Applications  

     c) Azure SaaS Solutions  

     d) Virtual Machine Images  

     e) Managed and Consulting Services 

3) Pricing

4) Conclusion

What is Microsoft Azure Marketplace?

Microsoft Azure is equipped with a Marketplace or collective store that lists services and applications integrated with Microsoft's Public Cloud. The services and products listed in this store are published by Microsoft or licensed by its partners. 

Also, before making it live for purchase, the services and products get certified. This certification is done through the Microsoft Azure Certified Program. This ensures high compatibility with Microsoft Azure's Public Cloud. Besides, if Microsoft experts believe in the solutions of partnered items, they mark them as 'Microsoft Preferred Solutions', as they have expertise in specific industries.   

In addition, there is an abundance of Cloud tools and applications that can benefit developers. These include building Azure solutions, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions, ready-to-use Virtual Machine Images, an Azure Solution Template, and Managed and Consulting services for Azure. These are all easily accessible to users.  



 

What solutions does the Azure Marketplace offer?

Azure Marketplace provides access to various services integrated with Microsoft's services. These include software solutions to niche services and products tailored to meet specific requirements. Additionally, the Azure Marketplace benefits users and organizations with its diverse range of solutions, including various Microsoft Azure Tools that can enhance and streamline operations. 

Below are the solutions that this platform offers:  

1) Azure Application Solution Template

The developers can use these templates to implement the Infrastructure as a Code (IaC). It's used in Azure solutions with the Azure Resource Manager (ARM) Templates. These templates are helpful, as they help constantly deploy topologies with the help of various servers and their dependencies.   

2) Azure Applications and Azure Managed Applications

There is a fine line between these two services. In Azure Applications, the solutions are deployed on Microsoft Cloud services, and users must have an Azure account to deploy the already paid Virtual Machines (VMs). 

On the contrary, in Managed Applications, the application is deployed on the customer's Azure account. However, there's a catch. The management permission can be taken back by the software vendors.  

3) Azure SaaS Solutions

Organisations and developers can provide SaaS Solutions on this platform through their Partner Centre accounts. The SaaS applications must support the 'Azure Active Directory Single sign-on' before they are listed on the Marketplace for sale.

Users making the purchase are redirected to the seller's website. The Application's pricing varies depending on models like metered subscriptions, flat rates, per user, and more. Furthermore, each model is based on annual or monthly commitments. 

4) Virtual Machine Images

Virtual Machine Images includes a single file that has a virtual disk with  bootable Operating system. These images are replicas of computer systems involving drivers for systems, Operating systems, and state information. The customers can directly buy the virtual appliances from this platform, and the users will then have to get an Azure subscription before accessing these images. To ensure these images are deployed according to your organization’s standards, you can use Azure Blueprints to define and enforce configuration and compliance requirements. 

5) Managed and Consulting Services

Companies can use the Managed Services offered by qualified partners identified through the Expert Managed Service Provider Program (MSP).  It can be done in such a way that it enables the provider to be provisioned into the customer's Azure tenant to deliver the services.

On the other hand, the Consulting Services in this Marketplace are beneficial for better understanding technology, custom development solutions, requesting workshops, assessing business solutions, and more. The publishers deliver these services, which can include guidance on integrating Azure ExpressRoute to ensure optimal performance and connectivity for your Azure solutions. 

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There are different types of offers in the Azure Marketplace, such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Azure Managed Applications, Azure Virtual Machines, and more. Depending on the offer type, you can choose different listing options, such as a free trial, get it now (free), or sell through Microsoft. The listing option determines how the customer interacts with your offer and how the transaction is processed. For example, if you choose to sell through Microsoft, you can set up pricing plans based on monthly or annual subscriptions, usage-based billing, or the Bring Your Own License (BYOL) model. Microsoft will handle the billing and payment for your offer and charge an agency fee.

The following table shows the plan options for each offer type. The following sections will explain more about these options:
 

AVM supports Free, Flat rate, Per vCPU, Per vCPU size, and Per market and vCPU size pricing.  

These options are priced either on an hourly or monthly basis. When you are selecting this plan, choose one of the following pricing options: 

a) Free – Your AVM offer is free. 

b) Flat rate – Your AVM offer will remain the same hourly price regardless of the hardware it is running on. 

c) Per vCPU – Your AVM offer pricing is based on per vCPU count.

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Conclusion

 We hope this blog has provided sufficient insights into Azure Marketplace so that you can use this platform best. This platform has a digital catalogue with a wide array of Cloud-based services, products, and solutions integrated with Microsoft services.

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