Why More Engineering Teams Are Buying Infrastructure Through Marketplace Instead of Direct Vendors
Published on 23.08.2026
A few years ago, buying a new infrastructure tool meant one thing: a sales call, a contract, a security review, and weeks (sometimes months) of waiting. Today, more engineering teams skip all of that and just click "Subscribe" on AWS or Azure Marketplace.
Here's why that shift is happening, in plain terms.
1. The budget is already there
Most large companies sign multi-year spending deals with AWS or Azure — things like an Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) or a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC). This is money the company has already agreed to spend on cloud.
When you buy a tool through the marketplace, that purchase often counts against money already committed. It's not "new spend" that needs a fresh budget approval. It's easier to say yes to something you've technically already paid for.
2. Procurement is faster
Buying directly from a vendor usually means starting from zero: new vendor forms, legal review, security questionnaires, and a purchase order process that can take months.
Marketplace purchases skip most of that. The vendor is already vetted by AWS or Azure. Legal terms are often pre-agreed. One recent Forrester study found that companies buying through AWS Marketplace closed deals about 40% faster than buying the same tools direct, and ended up spending more with those vendors over time — mainly because the buying process was so much less friction.
3. Billing stays in one place
No separate invoice to track, no new payment method to set up. The cost just shows up as a line item on the AWS or Azure bill the finance team already reviews every month.
4. Security teams have less to check
If a vendor is listed on the marketplace, a chunk of the security and compliance vetting has usually already happened — done by AWS or Azure as part of listing the product. That doesn't replace a company's own review, but it does shrink it.
5. It's becoming the default, not the exception
This isn't a niche trend. Analyst estimates put combined AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud marketplace sales at around $30 billion in 2024, with projections of $163 billion by 2030. That's a market growing roughly five times over in six years.
What this means if you're buying infrastructure tools
If you're evaluating a new tool for your stack, it's worth checking the marketplace first. You may get the same product, with a faster yes from procurement and one less invoice to manage.
And if you're building tools for other engineering teams, being marketplace-only isn't just a distribution choice anymore — for a lot of buyers, it's the difference between a deal that closes this week and one that gets stuck in review for months.