By Ed Grant, Chief Financial Officer

At Solgari, we’ve experienced the transformative potential of the Microsoft Marketplace and Microsoft’s support in working towards creating a frictionless experience. We are especially excited about the power of Multiparty Private Offers (MPOs) and wanted to share the benefits that other partners should know about.

First of all, what is an MPO? Multiparty Private Offers allow Microsoft ISV (Independent Software Vendors) and CSP (Cloud Service Providers) partners to create personalized offers and sell together to Microsoft’s customers through the Microsoft commercial marketplace.

We find that MPOs streamline the sales process, from initial configuration to final submission and tracking. This efficiency allows customers to leverage their existing Microsoft commitments and purchase directly from us, adding significant value to their current operations. MPOs will enable partners to introduce customers to a wider range of native, cloud-powered ISV solutions. We’ve seen that the added transparent and efficient collaboration, using MPOs can help strengthen the bond with our customers.

At Solgari, we work with select CSP partners that are transacting on Marketplace to enable customers to deploy solutions from their preferred suppliers in a simple, trusted, and streamlined way. Our results through MPOs have been substantial: accelerated sales cycles, expanded customer reach, and substantial business growth. We’ve used MPOs to secure deals with major clients such as AMB Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Atlanta Falcons NFL franchise in the USA.

Here are five things we think any business looking to increase sales in the Microsoft ecosystem should know about MPOs.

1) Make everything personal

Creating a great experience for customers is priority number one for us. Part of the customization offered through MPOs includes tailored pricing plans. Each offer can be customized to match agreed-upon pricing, effectively establishing a private pricing strategy that aligns with specific customer needs.

This personalized approach is available to any CSP that can transact MPOs. They can then further enhance the offer by incorporating any additional customer requirements, such as professional services provided by the CSP.

Ultimately, the MPO consolidates the agreed ISV solution pricing with any supplementary services from the CSP, delivering a comprehensive Pricing Proposal that fulfils the customer’s exact needs.

2) Customers work with who they want, how they want

Customers inevitably have their preferred suppliers. MPOs allow the customer’s key partner to present the offer from the Microsoft Marketplace.

In essence, while the customer is buying the ISV solution on Marketplace, their usual partner remains integral to the transaction.

3) Getting the most out of Microsoft Marketplace

From configuring to submitting and tracking the status of offers, ISVs and their CSP partners have transparency at every stage of the process. MPOs streamline the purchasing process. By adding high-value software and services built on Microsoft Cloud to existing Microsoft billing, enterprises can seamlessly procure solutions. This simplifies procurement and ongoing billing, as everything is consolidated into a single Microsoft Azure invoice.

MPOs also typically feature ISV solutions that can be rapidly deployed, accelerating time-to-value and delivering benefits to customers quickly. This combination of a smooth sales process and rapid deployment makes MPOs an attractive option for any businesses seeking efficient and effective solutions, so there’s a real opportunity for partners.

4) Customers can retire their current cloud commitments…

An MPO’s core commercial proposition is that it allows customers to work with their trusted partners while also directly purchasing ISV solutions through a tailored offering. The ISV applications that qualify for MPO have Azure IP co-sell status, with all purchases made through an MPO for that application counting towards the enterprise’s existing Microsoft Azure consumption commitment (MACC).

5)…And extend their existing Microsoft Cloud investments

MPOs allow customers to purchase native AI-powered ISV solutions that add huge value to the existing flow of work. For instance, by leveraging MPOs to acquire AI-powered customer engagement solutions that extend the business’ Microsoft Teams and Dynamics 365 applications, customers can unlock additional value from their existing technology stack. This further helps streamline the sales process, accelerate deployment and efficiently extend existing investments.

An unmissable opportunity

Customers are rapidly shifting their software purchase models to cloud marketplaces. Analyst firm, Canalys, estimates cloud marketplaces will exceed $85bn in output by the end of 2028, with 50% going through channel partners. MPOs provides us with a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of cloud marketplace growth and work collaboratively to sell to our customers where they’re shopping.