How Purchasing via AWS Marketplace Can Save Marketers Time and Money

Predictions suggest cloud marketplaces like AWS Marketplace could generate $45 billion over the next year — indicating a significant shift in how companies buy software and services.

According to industry analysts including Gartner and Forrester, more than half of enterprise solutions are already purchased through these platforms. Some 85% of decision makers are using or considering them in order to increase flexibility and accelerate the procurement process.

Despite this growth, many marketing teams are still unaware of the potential benefits of AWS Marketplace. Yext helps marketing organizations recognize how AWS simplifies vendor onboarding, helps with cost savings, and streamlines procurement.

Below, we'll explain AWS Marketplace, unpack its advantages for marketing teams, and provide a roadmap for marketers on how to collaborate with their Information Services and IT departments to maximize these benefits.

AWS Marketplace is a digital catalog that simplifies the process of trying and buying software. (It's similar to Amazon.com but for software and services). Customers can add products from various vendors to their cart and receive a single invoice, streamlining the purchasing process — while making sure products are being sold by reliable and trusted vendors.

AWS Marketplace supports a diverse range of solutions, including Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) solutions, Professional Services, and more. These services are provided by third-party companies across industries like Marketing, Financial Services, Healthcare and Nonprofit. With over 8,000 listings, AWS Marketplace and other cloud marketplaces are shaping the future of software and services procurement.

Many departments are already taking advantage of the cost savings and operational efficiencies of buying through AWS Marketplace.

Chris Grusz, Managing Director of Technology Partnerships at AWS, notes a shift in the buyer persona for Marketplace over recent years. He states, "Line of business owners are recognizing the benefits of AWS Marketplace and are proactively requesting that new vendor purchases go through Marketplace. Now, it's easier than ever to discover and buy non-IT related solutions through the Marketplace."

Business owners believe it's important to stay on top of trends across software purchasing and turn to a few trusted sources for guidance. A study conducted by Forrester on AWS Marketplace breaks down several key benefits:

• Streamlined Procurement Practices: AWS Marketplace reduces the time spent on invoicing related tasks by 50% as products (like Yext, for example) are added to your company's AWS invoice as another line item. This can save months of work, particularly for larger organizations, because it can simplify traditional procurement tasks like creating purchase orders and managing multiple invoices or payment terms.

• Simplified Vendor Onboarding: Companies have been able to reduce the effort required to onboard a new vendor by 75%, equating to a time savings of $62,000. (This is if AWS is an existing vendor for your organization. If so, it simplifies the onboarding process, as billing and invoicing are handled by AWS.)

• Recapture of At-Risk Spend: Many companies have spend-commitments signed with AWS through their Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) and Private Pricing Agreement (PPA). These pre-committed contracts offer discounts on AWS services over a set amount of time. Purchases through the Marketplace can help the organization meet 25% of their spend commitments.

• Reduced Security Risk: Vendors like Yext that list on Marketplace and partner with AWS have typically undergone a vetting process and extensive review of their architecture to make sure they meet AWS security and policy standards. This speeds up procurement efforts while lowering risk.

If you're ready to take advantage of purchasing through AWS Marketplace, here's what you can do to collaborate with IT and get the process started.

Reach out to your IT Team: Marketers should collaborate with their IT/cloud organization to understand their company's relationship with AWS — and if they buy software or services through AWS Marketplace. If your IT team buys through Marketplace, they can share the internal steps to complete a Marketplace transaction. These steps typically include providing:

• The AWS Account ID: This is the account the Yext agreement will be tied to from a billing standpoint. Yext will need this ID from your IT team to create a Marketplace agreement or "Private Offer".

• Name and e-mail of the IT/Procurement contact: This is the individual who will help you subscribe to the Yext offer through Marketplace. Yext will need this to make sure the offer, which is shared via a custom URL, is sent to the right person for acceptance. For added visibility, multiple people can be included when the offer is shared.

This partnership can result in a win-win scenario, as Marketplace purchases lead to cost savings while aiding IT in meeting cloud commitments and improving governance.

As Jason LaFollette, our Chief Technology Officer at Yext, puts it, "Whether we're purchasing software to be leveraged directly in our customer-facing products or evaluating an internal business system for stakeholders, our preference is to buy through the marketplace. The ability to apply marketplace purchases toward our cloud spend commitment allows us to be more aggressive in our commits, maximize discounts, and lower the cloud operating costs of our platform. These savings meaningfully impact our bottom line."

If you learn your IT team uses AWS but doesn't buy via AWS Marketplace, they can speak with their AWS Account Team to learn more.

Negotiate pricing and determine funding: Marketplace acts as a purchasing vehicle, allowing you to negotiate optimal deals for your business. Once negotiations are complete, details are added to a Marketplace "Private Offer" shared with you and your IT team via a custom URL for final approval.

IT teams may have dedicated budgets for cloud services, which they can use to cover the costs of purchases. If not, the Marketing budget can take on the costs and, in return, benefit from faster onboarding and streamlined procurement.

Missy Kataoka, Sr. Digital Marketing Ops Leader at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, shares her experience purchasing Yext through AWS: "We were able to work closely with our Information Services team to procure Yext via the AWS Marketplace. This provided several benefits including expediting vendor onboarding from months to weeks, consolidating billing into one central AWS invoice, and unlocking promotional credits from AWS that offset a portion of the cost."

Yext is helping customers bridge the gap between marketing and IT by leveraging AWS Marketplace. With more marketing departments playing an influential role in software procurement, it is important they understand the value of cloud Marketplaces and how to collaborate with their IT team. Purchasing through AWS Marketplace in general can be a savvy move for marketers looking to streamline processes and onboard new vendors for less expense.

When it comes to purchasing Yext, working through AWS can be a great option. Yext is an AWS Partner and all of our products, including Content, Search, Listings, Reviews, Analytics, Pages, Social, and Chat, are available on AWS Marketplace.

If you're interested in turning your digital presence into a differentiator while saving time, hassle and money by buying Yext software through Marketplace, please reach out to your Yext representative or contact us at AWS-Marketplace@yext.com.