Introduction to Azure Marketplace

There are a plethora of conservative applications that are now moving to take advantage of the cloud. Also, the number of apps that are launched on a daily basis are in the thousands. And now that we have seen how easy it has become to make an application with the introduction of Project Siena Beta, and similar metro apps, this number is only going to increase. However, this also means producers and customers alike need to be able to find the right solutions for their business needs. Professionals such as business analysts might need applications that help analyze sales etc. suitable to their particular requirements. Sure, an internet search would provide them with options, however, how would he/she know which application to trust, or which one is the most suitable for his/her requirement. Billing might also be another issue, as each app developer might have custom billing procedure that might not be optimal for a particular subscriber.

Clearly, there is the need for a uniform solution where Developers and consumers both find the right solutions for their business needs. Also, all businesses have an undeniable need for quality data to match their organization goals. A lot of cloud applications also require suitable datasets to be able to deliver high quality content. However, locating and subscribing to these datasets is a challenge.

Both these problems are solved with a single location that Azure provides called Marketplace. 

What is Azure Marketplace?

Azure Marketplace is an online location that Microsoft provides, where customers, partners and developers can share, buy and sell SaaS applications and premium datasets. It is a one-stop solution that application and data publishers can use to publish their offerings, and that customers can use to subscribe to data sets and applications of all types. Whether you’re an ISV looking to expand your customer base, or an independent developer looking to monetize your application, Marketplace is the place to go to find the solutions you need for your business.

Microsoft has a particular set of guidelines laid out for potential application that need to feature on the Marketplace so that they can assure the highest quality is maintained all across the ecosystem:

• Apps must be built on the Windows Azure platform.
• App must be commercially viable (not beta or sample code).
• The App must not automatically install on a user’s device without user consent.
• App must be supported by publisher for 12 months to ensure continued customer service.

These regulations ensure that the Marketplace provides consistency from the way applications are described to the management of the subscriptions. 

Why Marketplace?

Unified billing: Marketplace also provides great consistency in the way it handles billing for the consumers – usage tracking and billing are handled in such a way that providers can easily reach new consumers, and subscribers can view all their usage in a single location. Therefore, billing is so much more flexible for subscribers than with standard solutions. The unified billing infrastructure also ensure that it provides all the facilities a publisher needs to monetize their applications, without the need for e-commerce functionality such as shopping baskets, check-out tools, and invoicing. Marketplace also lets the publisher create different subscription models for each offering, and lets him/her set the pricing, descriptions, terms of use etc. This is priceless for ISVs as it provides them with a common security, billing, provisioning, and auditing infrastructure that integrates easily with their existing applications. This also ensures that customers have more faith in the payment system. 

Security and availability: The Marketplace runs in Microsoft Data Centers that boast of specialist firewalls, physical security, backup systems etc. thus ensuring that the publishers need not bother about infrastructure of their own for delivering content. Also, the Marketplace has built-in security measures that deny unauthorized access while allowing for simple access to customers. Since a lot of time and money goes into these applications, these security measure ensure that the publishers breathes a lot easier. 

Increase reach and scale: 

Partnering with Marketplace immediately means that the publisher obtains a global reach in terms of potential customers. Also, since Marketplace is a hub for premier datasets, publishers have the option to seamlessly integrate relevant datasets into their applications to provide customers with the perfect data driven solution.

Other benefits include but are not limited to:

• Developer tools on the Microsoft platform that makes Visual Studio and .NET development easy.
• Trial subscriptions that let developers check content out with paying royalties.
• Consistent Azure (REST based) APIs that facilitate development on any platform.
• In-built analytics features that publishers can take advantage of.

Thus, the Windows Azure Marketplace is a great platform that is a one-stop solution for selling, discovering, and purchasing needs related to Windows Azure applications. 

Follow Us

Promotion