CloudComputing-Insider: Why did AWS introduce the Marketplace catalog in the Frankfurt region?
Alexander Picker: That was the direct answer to inquiries from German customers who were addressed to our colleagues in the German subsidiary. It is important to know that AWS Marketplace has offered access and sales opportunities in Germany from day one. But what we have done now is to offer the large catalog of applications from the Dublin region, from where we have supplied all of Europe, also in the Frankfurt region.
What are the advantages for German customers to have the Marketplace directly in Frankfurt?Picker: There are two advantages to having the Marketplace in Frankfurt. On the one hand a greater conformity with the German Data Protection Act, because some companies are affected by certain German laws and guidelines, which state that software and data may only be operated and stored within national borders. Second, the proximity of the server instance to the user reduces the latency that might occur if applications were sourced from the Dublin region.Is the offer in Frankfurt identical to the one in Dublin?
Picker: The AWS Marketplace catalog differs slightly from region to region. It depends on the decisions of the individual Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) in which regions they want to make their offer available. The ISV is the seller, we provide the offer. If ISV X chooses not to provide AMI (Amazon Machine Image) for use in a particular region, we can not influence that decision. At first, the Frankfurt catalog will correspond to 75% of the catalog in Dublin. Customers using software in the AWS Marketplace can pay either by hourly model or by month. These monthly licensing offers are under 200 Euro.
Are there many products of German ISV in the AWS catalog?
Picker: Many products on the AWS Marketplace come from ISVs from EMEA. But we have no numbers specifically for Germany. For example, SAP HANA ONE is offered in the AWS Marketplace. We would be happy to see more German ISVs on the AWS Marketplace.
Who buys at the AWS Marketplace?
Picker: Companies and customers of all sizes and from all over the world buy products from the AWS Marketplace. From big companies like SunCorp, an Australian financial services company, to Kärcher, a German company.
What is the German revenue share at AWS Marketplace?Picker: We do not publish sales of individual business units or for specific countries or regions. Worldwide, we have over one million active customers at AWS. A good percentage of it buys on the AWS Marketplace. Our business is growing rapidly. For example, for October 2014, our AWS Marketplace customers have used over 70 million hours of software running on EC2 .
How many products are available today since launch?
Picker: Today we give customers access to more than 1000 products. A product can appear in several categories as it is possible to offer it in an annual, monthly and hourly, as well as a BYOL and a free version. That's why we have 2100 entries for more than 1000 products.
Is the AWS Marketplace the future of software shopping?
Picker: We believe that the software industry has been undergoing the biggest change since its inception 30 years ago - since choosing software is a business model, and selection is independent of computer capacity. As more and more companies view the cloud as a new standard and move work processes to AWS, they realize that this is possible regardless of computer, storage, and network usage, with less effort, effort, and time. In the long run, we expect many companies to source and buy most of their software from the AWS Marketplace. This boils down to ISVs coming to terms with new pricing models and learning to deliver the number of prospects we see on the AWS Marketplace.
How can ISVs from Germany offer their products on the Marketplace?
Picker: ISVs or authorized sellers of an ISV product may list free, paid (hourly, monthly, annual subscription rates) and Bring Your Own License software products on the AWS Marketplace. In order to offer a product with a price concept, the ISV must have a branch office in the USA or do business there at the moment. For those who want to go to the AWS Marketplace, we have a partner called Orbitera who offers a US branch office service to help international ISVs meet US branch office needs.
ISVs that do not have a US office or business can contact the AWS Marketplace team of reseller channel partners who can represent the ISV product in the AWS Marketplace catalog. Many ISVs conduct business in this manner, and it is common for channel partners to sell ISV software products to customers worldwide.
