Cloud AI Platforms (Azure, AWS)

Why it matters

Cloud AI platforms have moved faster than enterprise procurement teams have. New ISVs are publishing their AI and data platform products on AWS Marketplace and Azure Marketplace before they go anywhere else. The marketplaces simplify discovery, entitlement, provisioning and governance. They consolidate billing into your existing cloud bill. For procurement teams chasing AI tools across thousands of vendors, the marketplaces are the most efficient route to find, evaluate and buy what data and AI teams actually need.

The numbers tell their own story. AWS Marketplace operates in 14 regions with 310,000 active customers, more than 850 million hours of EC2 deployed monthly and over two million current software subscriptions, with a digital catalogue of more than 10,000 AWS cloud solutions across 50 categories from over 1,600 ISVs. Azure Marketplace offers more than 12,000 apps and services from Microsoft and its partners, certified to run on Azure. The platform operates across more than 100 countries and regions. The pricing flexibility, free trials, simplified license terms and the ability to draw purchases down against AWS spend commitments and Microsoft enterprise agreements make the economics meaningfully better than buying direct.

The risk sits the other way. Open marketplace access without governance creates cost sprawl, software the security team has not approved, duplicate purchases across business units and AI tools that escape your data residency rules. Procurement loses visibility. Finance loses budget control. The AWS or Microsoft commitment that was meant to fund AI investment ends up partly drawn down on tools nobody wanted. The marketplaces are a powerful procurement vehicle, but only with the right controls.

SCC delivers AWS and Azure Marketplace services that turn the marketplaces into a governed buying channel for cloud AI platforms. We curate private catalogues so only approved ISVs are visible to the right people. We negotiate Customer Private Pricing Offers (CPPO on AWS, equivalent on Azure) so you do not pay RRP. We support spend commitment draw-down so your AI procurement contributes to existing AWS and Microsoft agreements. Where you want a fully managed cloud platform alongside the marketplace work, SCC Hyperscale runs it.

0

14 regions. 310,000 active customers. 850 million hours of EC2 deployed monthly. Over two million current software subscriptions. More than 10,000 AWS cloud solutions across 50 categories from over 1,600 ISVs. The procurement vehicle most AI ISVs are publishing to first.

0

Over 12,000 apps and services from Microsoft and its partners, certified and optimised to run on Azure. Available across more than 100 countries and regions. Native draw-down against existing Microsoft enterprise agreements and consumption commitments.

Key features

Curated private marketplace catalogues

We help you identify approved ISV vendors and build tailored software catalogues, so only sanctioned products are visible and only the right people can buy. An exception process covers software that sits outside the standard catalogue but is needed for a specific project. The control is real, the speed is preserved.

Customer private pricing offers and discounted private offers

While public marketplace listings sit at RRP, the SCC CPPO service unlocks discounted private offers from aligned software vendors. The vendor publishes a private offer to SCC, our Customer Success Managers verify it, then publish to your marketplace account. You follow your normal AWS or Azure procurement process. The price advantage stays with you.

AWS spend commitment and Azure agreement draw down

SCC Customer Success Managers support marketplace procurement against your AWS spend commitment and your Microsoft enterprise agreement. AI software bought through the marketplaces contributes to existing commitments rather than creating new bills your finance team has to budget for separately. The cloud commitment funds the AI work.

Five named Azure consulting services to evaluate before you buy

SCC offers consulting services aligned to specific Azure platform decisions: Cloud Performance Optimisation (10-day Assessment), Public Cloud Connect (3-day Implementation), Azure Identity and Access (1-day Assessment), Azure Information Protection (1-day Assessment) and Managed Public Cloud (4-week Implementation). Several are available at no additional cost for clients with eligible Microsoft subscriptions.

How it works

Step 1

Review the procurement reality

We start with what you have. Existing AWS spend commitments, Microsoft enterprise agreements, in flight AI initiatives, the ISVs already in use and the ones data and AI teams are asking for. Outputs include a procurement baseline and the committed spend headroom available against AI investment.

Step 2

Build the curated private catalogue

We agree the approved ISV list and configure the AWS Private Marketplace and Azure Private Marketplace catalogues so only sanctioned products are visible. Role based access ensures the right people see the right catalogue, with an exception path for off catalogue requests.

Step 3

Negotiate customer private pricing offers

For each priority ISV, we work with the vendor to publish a CPPO or Azure private offer to SCC. Our Customer Success Managers verify the offer and publish to your account. Your team buys at the discounted price under your normal procurement workflow.

Step 4

Activate spend commitment draw down

We configure the AI marketplace purchases to contribute to your AWS spend commitment and your Microsoft enterprise agreement. Finance gets one bill, one commitment to manage and committed spend headroom is used productively rather than left on the table.

Step 5

Run the wider managed cloud service through SCC Hyperscale

Where you want SCC to manage the underlying cloud platform alongside the marketplace work, SCC Hyperscale provides 24×7 managed public cloud services, performance optimisation and connectivity. One accountability line across procurement, platform and run-state operations.

Partners

The marketplaces are the route to many of the AI and data ISVs SCC clients are now buying. The partner mix below covers the platforms themselves, the most active ISVs across data and AI categories and the brand SCC operates managed public cloud through.

Amazon Web Services provides cloud infrastructure at global scale across compute, storage, databases and specialised services. SCC is an AWS Advanced Partner delivering migrations from on-premises to AWS, managed cloud operations and infrastructure optimisation. We’ve completed 400+ AWS migrations…

Microsoft’s integrated platform spans Azure cloud infrastructure, Microsoft 365 productivity tools, Dynamics business applications and enterprise security. SCC is a Gold CSP partner delivering Azure migrations, Microsoft 365 rollout, Dynamics implementation and ongoing managed operations. We manage…

NVIDIA provides accelerated computing platforms, tools and algorithms that enable organisations to deploy AI, high-performance computing, deep learning and virtualisation at scale. SCC is an NVIDIA preferred partner with P0 status (one of two in the UK) and holds six validated competencies: AI, AI…

Buy AI platforms the way ISVs are now selling them.

If your AI ambition is moving faster than your procurement process, if AI tools are being bought through the marketplaces without a curated catalogue, or if you have AWS commitment or Microsoft EA headroom that is not being drawn down against AI investment, a marketplace conversation is worth having now. We can review your current procurement reality, scope a private catalogue and walk you through the CPPO and spend draw-down mechanics.

Speak to a specialist

FAQs

What is the difference between buying AI software direct and buying it through the marketplace?

Two practical differences. The marketplace consolidates billing into your existing AWS or Microsoft cloud bill, with simplified license terms, free trials and the ability to spin up usage quickly. AWS spend commitment and Microsoft enterprise agreement headroom can be drawn down against marketplace purchases, so the AI software contributes to existing commitments rather than creating a separate bill. Buying direct keeps the contract bilateral with the ISV but loses both the consolidation and the draw-down. For most AI procurement at scale, the marketplace is the more economical route once governance is in place.

Can we get marketplace prices below the public RRP?

Yes. The Customer Private Pricing Offer (CPPO) on AWS and the equivalent private offer mechanism on Azure allow ISVs to publish discounted offers to specific buyers. SCC negotiates these on your behalf with aligned software vendors. The vendor publishes the private offer to SCC, our Customer Success Managers verify it and then publish to your marketplace account. You follow your normal procurement process from there at the discounted price.

What is a Private Marketplace and why do we need one?

A Private Marketplace is a curated subset of the public catalogue, configured so only approved ISVs are visible to your buyers. We help you build the approved list, configure role based access so the right people see the right catalogue and put an exception process in place for off-catalogue purchases that are still needed for specific projects. Without a Private Marketplace, every buyer in your organisation can purchase from the full public catalogue, which creates cost sprawl, governance gaps and shadow purchasing.

Does AI software bought through the marketplaces count towards our AWS spend commitment or Microsoft EA?

Yes, with the right configuration. SCC Customer Success Managers configure marketplace procurement so AI software purchases contribute to your AWS spend commitment and Microsoft enterprise agreement consumption. This is a meaningful economic lever. Committed spend headroom that would otherwise sit unused is drawn down against AI investment, which improves the effective price of every purchase and avoids the situation where you are paying twice (once for the commitment, once for the AI software).

Does SCC also manage the underlying cloud platform alongside marketplace services?

Yes, through SCC Hyperscale, our specialist cloud-enablement brand. We can run a fully managed public cloud service alongside the marketplace work, including 24×7 managed operations, performance optimisation, connectivity (including SCC Public Cloud Connect for private connectivity to your hosted environments) and consulting services aligned to specific platform decisions. One contract, one accountability line across procurement, platform and run state operations.

Cloud AI platforms via AWS & Azure marketplaces