Buy with AWS: A guide to faster cloud sales through AWS Marketplace

The modern B2B software buyer faces an interesting paradox. On the one hand, they expect software procurements to mimic their retail experiences—immediate, self-directed, and frictionless. On the other hand, they're bound by enterprise procurement policies, approval workflows, and budget constraints.

'Buy with AWS' feature directly addresses this paradox. It lets software vendors embed a simple button on their websites, enabling customers to instantly purchase solutions using their pre-approved AWS commits, right from the vendor's website.

Organizations are increasingly shifting their software budgets into Enterprise Discount Programs (EDPs) with cloud providers, pre-negotiating significant savings in exchange for committed spend. These commitments represent pre-approved, readily available budgets—traditionally accessible through the AWS Marketplace.

For ISVs, this isn't just another checkout option—it's a strategic lever that aligns with how modern enterprises want to buy and manage their software investments. To understand how to leverage this opportunity, let's first explore how Buy with AWS transforms the traditional procurement experience.

TL;DR

• Buy with AWS lets SaaS companies embed AWS Marketplace checkout directly on their website, so customers can purchase using their Amazon Web Services account without leaving your site.
• It combines product-led buying experiences with enterprise-ready procurement, reducing friction and accelerating deal cycles.
• Compared to traditional SaaS sales, it delivers faster conversions, shorter sales cycles, and higher win rates.
• To implement it successfully, you need more than just integration—you need aligned pricing, sales workflows, and marketplace operations.
• With Clazar, you can automate private offers, streamline deal execution, and turn Buy with AWS into a scalable, predictable revenue channel.

What is Buy with AWS?

Buy with AWS is a checkout and procurement solution built for B2B software. It allows Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to embed call-to-action buttons directly on their own websites so that customers can:

• Purchase software instantly using their existing AWS accounts and payment methods
• Use their pre-committed AWS spend (EDP) toward purchases 
• Consolidate billing through a combined AWS invoice

This means a buyer can discover your product organically, evaluate it on your website, and complete the purchase using AWS, without friction, back-and-forth procurement cycles, or manual intervention.

The 4 procurement options under Buy with AWS

Buy with AWS is a comprehensive suite of four different procurement options that cater to different stages of the buying journey:

1. The primary ‘Buy with AWS’ button enables immediate fixed-price purchases using AWS commits directly from your website. This streamlines the procurement process for customers who are ready to buy, eliminating the need to navigate to the AWS Marketplace listing.
2. For prospects earlier in their journey, the ‘Try free with AWS’ button facilitates instant access to free trials
3.  The ‘Request demo’ button connects interested customers directly with your sales team
4. When customers require custom pricing, the ‘Request private offer’ button initiates the private offer process—all without leaving your website.

Also Read: A Complete Guide To AWS Marketplace

What advantages does Buy with AWS offer to ISVs?

Enhanced visibility into the buying process

One of the most significant advantages of Buy with AWS is its advanced analytics capabilities. While traditional AWS Marketplace listings offer limited visibility into customer interactions, Buy with AWS provides comprehensive point-of-sale marketing data. Every step of the customer journey—from initial button clicks to actions on the AWS-facilitated purchase page—is tracked and measurable.

Accelerated deal velocity

Traditional AWS Marketplace deals often involve effort in sales coordination, private offer creation, and procurement approvals.

Buy with AWS compresses this into a self-serve or near-self-serve motion. Faster checkouts help to shorten sales cycles and improve your win rates. This is particularly useful for time-sensitive enterprise procurement, mid-market deals, and even expansion revenue.

Improved website conversions

Redirecting users off-site (to AWS Marketplace) can lead to drop-offs, confusion, and a loss of context. Buy with AWS keeps the entire journey native to your website, so you have better control over messaging and also higher checkout completion rates. 

Meeting the needs of modern buyers

Today’s SaaS buyers expect self-serve routes to software purchase, with transparent pricing and minimal friction. However, they also need to meet stringent compliance requirements, secure procurement approvals, and minimize billing complexity.

‘Buy with AWS’ delivers on all counts. 

How does ‘Buy with AWS’ work

The process maintains enterprise-grade security while delivering consumer-grade simplicity:

1. Customers engage with their preferred Buy with AWS button on your website
2. They are taken to the purchase action page facilitated by AWS and authenticate using their existing AWS credentials
3. Based on their selection:
   
   • Fixed-price purchases are processed through their AWS account using available commitments
   • Trial requests are automatically provisioned
   • Demo and private offer requests are routed to your sales team
4. All interactions are tracked, providing valuable insights into customer behavior and procurement patterns

This integration creates a seamless connection between your direct sales channel and AWS Marketplace while providing the analytics needed to continuously optimize the buying experience.

You retain control over the pricing, the user experience, and the conversion funnel, while AWS handles billing, contract alignment, and payment collection.

Buy with AWS vs. traditional SaaS procurement: A comparison

To understand the Buy with AWS concept better, let's see how it differs from traditional software procurement processes.

Buy with AWS doesn’t replace traditional sales; it augments and modernizes it.

How to implement Buy with AWS: Step-by-step guide for ISVs

Buy with AWS isn’t just a technical integration. It can become a significant pivot in your go-to-market strategy if aligned well across sales, product, and other relevant functions.

Here’s how to go about this.

Step 1: Go live on AWS Marketplace

Before you can enable Buy with AWS, you need to be transactable on AWS Marketplace. This includes:

• Creating your product listing
• Defining pricing (SaaS contract, usage-based, or hybrid)
• Setting up billing and metering
• Completing compliance and onboarding requirements

This video shows you how you can start selling on AWS Marketplace

Step 2: Define your offer structure

Buy with AWS works best when your pricing and packaging are clear, modular, and buyer-friendly. The aim is to minimize friction for the buyer.

You’ll need to decide:

• Which plans are available via AWS
• Whether pricing is fixed, tiered, or custom
• How enterprise deals (private offers) are handled
• What qualifies for self-serve vs. sales-assisted checkout

Also Read: The cloud marketplace pricing playbook

Step 3: Align your teams

This step often gets missed, but is critical to the success of your efforts to integrate Buy with AWS. 

The integration will change how sales are made and how revenue is recognized. Ensure your sales, product, and RevOps teams are all aligned on important aspects such as:

• When does a deal go through Buy with AWS vs traditional flow?
• How are private offers triggered and managed?
• How is pipeline attribution tracked?
• What does the handoff between product-led and sales-led look like?

Step 4: Integrate Buy with AWS on your website

Embed Buy with AWS into your pricing page, checkout flow, and product UI (for in-app upgrades). 

The customer experience must feel native and smooth. Buyers who select the Buy with AWS option should be able to authenticate with their AWS account and complete the transaction seamlessly. 

Step 5: Enable private offers for complex deals

Not every deal will be self-serve. Enterprise customers will often need flexible terms and negotiated pricing. Buy with AWS supports this through AWS Marketplace private offers.

Your process should define:

• When to trigger a private offer
• How quickly offers are generated
• How buyers are guided back to complete the transaction

Also Read: AWS Marketplace CPPO Explained

Step 6: Connect your CRM and billing systems

To operationalize Buy with AWS, you need visibility across your stack. This includes integrating with your CRM, billing systems, and product analytics tools. 

Key things to track:

• Source of deal (PLG vs sales)
• Conversion rates on Buy with AWS
• Deal velocity and size
• AWS vs non-AWS revenue mix

How procurement analytics works under Buy with AWS

AWS provides tools that track a customer’s journey from the first click to the final purchase.

Every interaction in the procurement journey becomes a measurable touchpoint—when potential customers engage with Buy with AWS buttons, authenticate their credentials, and complete their purchases on AWS-facilitated pages. This creates a continuous thread of buyer intelligence that revenue teams can leverage for strategic decision-making.

‍Note: Point-of-sale (i.e. purchase page) analytics is only available through a custom integration between your Buy with AWS set-up and Amazon’s analytics feature.

Learn more about it here

Need help setting up Buy with AWS?

Strategic implementation of Buy with AWS: Real-world examples

Leading software companies have taken innovative approaches to implementing Buy with AWS, each addressing specific business challenges while enhancing their marketplace strategy. Their experiences offer valuable insights for ISVs considering implementation.

‍Confluent's implementation illuminates the power of Buy with AWS for new customer acquisition. They identified a critical challenge in their marketing funnel: the disconnect between website traffic and marketplace purchases.

When prospects were directed from Confluent's website to the AWS Marketplace, tracking their journey became impossible, making marketing ROI calculations unreliable. By implementing the Try with AWS button, Confluent transformed this challenge into an opportunity.

The impact was significant in two ways:

• First, prospects could initiate trials directly from Confluent's website, eliminating the need to search for listings on the AWS Marketplace
• Second, Confluent gained clear visibility into their marketing effectiveness, connecting their lead generation investments directly to marketplace engagement

This alignment strengthened their AWS partnership by demonstrating measurable marketplace contribution from their traditional marketing channels.

Databricks took a different but equally strategic approach, positioning Buy with AWS as a payment option within their buyer interface. This implementation acknowledges the evolving role of cloud commits in enterprise software procurement.

With AWS's marketplace fees now capped at 3%, comparable to standard credit card processing fees, cloud commit transactions have become an economically compelling payment method. Their approach demonstrates how Buy with AWS can enhance existing purchase workflows rather than replacing them.

Takeaways for ISVs considering Buy with AWS integration

These implementations reveal three critical principles for ISVs considering Buy with AWS deployment.

1. Integration should address specific business challenges while complementing existing sales motions.
2. The feature's positioning—whether for new customer acquisition or payment optimization—should align with clear strategic objectives.
3. Implementation timing can create meaningful competitive advantages as enterprise cloud commit spending continues to accelerate.

‍Note: While Buy with AWS buttons can be implemented independently, maximizing their impact often requires careful integration with your existing sales and analytics infrastructure.

Clazar can help

Simplify the customer journey with Buy with AWS

Buy with AWS brings marketplace capabilities directly to your website, offering retail-like simplicity in software purchases while preserving the governance and financial advantages of utilizing cloud commits. It transforms what was once a multi-step process into a streamlined transaction that satisfies both the need for speed and the requirements of enterprise procurement.

However, implementing Buy with AWS is only half the battle. The real challenge is operationalizing it at scale—across listings, pricing, private offers, and revenue workflows.

That’s where Clazar comes in.

Clazar is purpose-built to help SaaS companies launch, manage, and grow their presence on cloud marketplaces. 

If you’re ready to transform your marketplace strategy, our experts can guide you through implementing Buy with AWS effectively, ensuring you maximize its potential for your business.

Top FAQ's

1. What is the benefit of using “Buy with AWS” for enterprise software purchasing?

Enterprise buyers today face a dual expectation:

• They want fast, retail-like purchasing experiences.
• They must operate within strict procurement workflows, budgets, and compliance gates.

Buy with AWS bridges this paradox by bringing AWS Marketplace purchasing directly to the vendor’s website, letting buyers use pre-approved AWS commits instantly.
It removes context switching, reduces procurement friction, and allows buyers to purchase the way they already prefer—fast, controlled, and inside existing cloud commitments.

2. How does Buy with AWS change the traditional AWS Marketplace buying journey?

Traditionally, buyers must leave a vendor’s website, search the AWS Marketplace, find the correct listing, and complete a multi-step purchase.
This leads to:

• buyer drop-off
• loss of attribution
• operational friction

Buy with AWS reverses this sequence:

1. Buyer clicks on a Buy/Try/Demo/Private Offer button on the ISV’s website
2. AWS processes the transaction using their cloud commit
3. All activity is tracked end-to-end

The result is retail-like simplicity with enterprise-grade governance.

3. What types of transactions does Buy with AWS support?

ISVs can deploy four purpose-built buttons tailored to the buyer’s stage:

• Buy with AWS: Immediate fixed-price purchase using cloud commits
• Try free with AWS: Frictionless trial activation
• Request a demo: Route qualified prospects to sales
• Request private offer: Start custom pricing workflows

This creates a full-funnel procurement experience without requiring customers to navigate away from the product website.

4. How does Buy with AWS improve visibility into buyer behavior?

Unlike standard AWS Marketplace listings, which offer limited front-end analytics, Buy with AWS provides:

• full point-of-sale visibility
• tracking of button interactions
• funnel analytics from click → authentication → purchase
• insights into trial, demo, and private offer requests
• attribution clarity for marketing and revenue ops

This is the first time ISVs can connect website engagement with AWS-facilitated transactions.

(Note: Point-of-sale purchase-page analytics require a custom integration with Amazon’s analytics system.)

5. How can SaaS companies operationalize Buy with AWS effectively?

To fully leverage Buy with AWS, companies need:

• Clear pricing and packaging
• Aligned sales and RevOps workflows
• Efficient private offer management
• Visibility into marketplace performance

Platforms like Clazar help automate these processes, making it easier to scale Buy with AWS as a consistent revenue channel.