The new Microsoft Marketplace combining Azure Marketplace and AppSource and Azure Marketplace was designed to make it easier for consumers to take advantage of thousands of AI agents and applications. What does that do for channel partners?

According to Microsoft’s VP of solutions and partner marketing Cyril Belikoff, what’s good for the customers is great for the partners in this case.

“This announcement was really focusing on the customer experience, bringing together a re-imagined single source for customers and simpler navigation,” he said. “We focused on really merchandising what customers are looking for and increasing the quality of the traffic over time into the marketplace. "Of course, that's a benefit to Microsoft partners, because more traffic means more interest and more trust from customers."

Belikoff said the new marketplace requires no action from partners who already sell through Azure and AppSource. Their offerings will automatically appear on the new marketplace.

"We've unified the approach taxonomy and provided the comprehensive search experience so that customers can search across those different categories and get what they need," he said. "So not much change in terms of what [partners] need to do to get onto the marketplace. It's a vastly improved experience for customers and an opportunity for partners to get access to more customers."

The new Microsoft initiative is the latest example of the increased importance of marketplaces for channel partners, particularly as a go-to-market outlet for AI agents.

“A standout feature of this launch is the strategic focus on AI agents,” Futurum Group analyst Alex Smith wrote in a research note. “This follows similar moves by AWS, Google Cloud, Salesforce, and ServiceNow, which have all made AI and agentic AI core categories in their respective marketplaces. As enterprises look to deploy multiple specialized agents, a centralized platform for discovery, deployment, and governance becomes essential. Microsoft is positioning its marketplace as that central hub. With over 3,000 AI-focused solutions at launch and simplified publishing for developers, Microsoft is building the breadth and discoverability needed to attract both builders and buyers of agentic technology.”

Microsoft Marketplace Also Impacts Distributors

The new marketplace can also help distributors such as Arrow Electronics, Crayon, Ingram Micro, Pax8, and TD Synnex that already have deep integrations with Microsoft. Distributors often develop their marketplaces in coordination with the hyperscalers.

Belikoff said the new Microsoft Marketplace will simplify the process for distributors.

“We've been working with distributors for many years, but now we're connecting via an API integration, so it's automated and seamless," he said. "There are no changes for the catalog, and the publishing process through our partner center remains unchanged.”

Microsoft Marketplace is available now in the United States and will expand to other regions.

Belikoff said Microsoft’s roadmap includes more AI integration.

“Our roadmap and next steps will include AI capability for customers to discover and have conversations with agentic AI,” he said.

He pointed out the marketplace already uses AI to help partners.

“For example, we have an AI experience that goes through all the marketplace offerings and provides a rating back to the ISV, or the software company, on the quality of their listing on the marketplace,” Belikoff said. “Do they use the right words, do they emphasize the right things? Do they have the right images? Are their videos working and being used comparatively to other offerings in the market? And we provide a report back on ways that they can improve their placement and visibility on the marketplace.”