Cloud Desk: Your Secret Weapon for Cloud Marketplace Growth
Hi, it’s Roman from Partner Insight. Welcome back to my newsletter, where I break down winning Cloud GTM strategies and the latest trends in tech partnerships.
Today we’ll explain why implementing a Cloud Desk can transform your marketplace strategy and drive significant value in your cloud GTM engagements.
But before we dive in, I’m thrilled to announce Cohort 7 of our Cloud GTM Leader Course, which has trained 100+ incredible alums. We’re kicking off our 💡 Cohort 7 on September 10th, and a few early bird seats are still available—hurry if you want to catch one. Scroll down for more details or click below to learn more.
Scaling Your Cloud GTM with the Power of a Cloud Desk
In cloud marketplaces and partnerships with hyperscalers, scaling effectively from early wins to mainstream success is a critical challenge.
Today, we'll explore the concept of a Cloud Desk - an essential mechanism for scaling your cloud go-to-market (GTM) strategy. These insights are based on our course session by Daniel Roppert, a cloud and tech alliances leader with extensive experience in scaling Cloud GTM at Okta in EMEA, from first deals to tens of millions in ARR. Daniel is one of the Mentors and Advisors in our Cloud GTM Leader course.
Here's how you can leverage a Cloud Desk to streamline operations, enhance enablement, and drive growth.
What is a Cloud Desk?
A Cloud Desk is essentially an inside sales or contact center tailored for hyperscaler interactions and marketplace transactions. In this context, a contact center means a centralized hub that manages various aspects of cloud marketplace deals and acts as a bridge between sales teams, deal desks, and cloud hyperscalers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
Daniel shared that the initial idea for Cloud Desk was simple yet transformative: create a white-glove marketplace service that ensures smooth transaction processing. This includes handling complex transactions involving resellers and Channel Partner Private Offers, and mitigating any issues that could arise during the process. The goal was to provide a seamless experience for everyone involved in Cloud GTM - from sales reps to customers.
In real life, a Cloud Desk typically consists of 1-3 full-time employees, depending on the scale of your organization and marketplace operations.
Building and Integrating a Cloud Desk
Starting small and focusing on integration with other functions is key. Daniel’s team began their Cloud Desk journey with a single person in each region - EMEA, APAC, and the Americas - primarily to cover different time zones. This setup allowed for around-the-clock support, ensuring quick and effective responses to queries. Over time, the team expanded to include more members.
The integration of the Cloud Desk into existing processes was crucial. Daniel stressed the need to embed Cloud Desk functions into the deal desk and sales workflows to avoid creating silos.
Over time, the Cloud Desk became a natural part of operations, ensuring that marketplace transactions were processed just as any other deal would be.
The Continuous Learning Journey
Ongoing enablement is critical in Cloud GTM, and naturally, it’s among the key focus areas of the Cloud Desk. Daniel emphasized that it’s not enough to train your sales teams once and expect them to retain all the information.
Regular enablement sessions, embedded into new hire onboarding programs and ongoing training schedules, ensure that everyone stays current with the latest marketplace updates and hyperscaler offerings.
In addition to structured training, real-time support through platforms like Slack has proven essential. This setup allows sales reps to get instant answers to their questions, fostering the agility and responsiveness expected in hyperscaler partnerships.
Maximizing Impact through Account Mapping
Account mapping and intelligence gathering are critical components of a successful Cloud Desk. By aggregating and analyzing data, the Cloud Desk can identify opportunities for potential collaborations with hyperscalers.
One practical example shared by Daniel illustrates the powerful impact of a Cloud Desk in driving high-value deals. The Cloud Desk team identified a potential collaboration opportunity with a hyperscaler. They had access to comprehensive data and account histories, which highlighted the hyperscaler's involvement in a project related to the same client the company was working on. Recognizing the synergy, the Cloud Desk team reached out to the alliance leader and the account manager working on this account to suggest collaboration with the hyperscaler.
This facilitated early engagement with the hyperscaler, allowing their company to leverage the hyperscaler's influence and resources from the onset and ultimately close the deal. The result was a streamlined process that maximized the value of their partnership. This case underscores the importance of having a dedicated team focused on integrating data, maintaining relationships, and facilitating early and effective collaboration with hyperscalers.
Embracing Organizational Change
Transitioning from an isolated cloud alliance team to an integrated Cloud Desk approach required significant organizational change. It involved turning Cloud GTM from a separate route to market to a standardized motion embedded across all sales and operational processes. This change, although challenging, was necessary for achieving scale and avoiding the limitations of working in silos.
The emphasis was on driving new pipeline and growth. While hyperscalers can significantly influence and accelerate deals, they are not always the primary source of new business. By focusing on sourcing new opportunities through account mapping, immersion days, and summits, the Cloud Desk played a pivotal role in generating new pipelines and driving business growth.
💡 Enroll in Cloud GTM Leader Course
Join Cohort 7th of our 5-week cohort course starting on September 10th and accelerate your growth via AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud cloud marketplaces with 10+ leading experts in a community of exceptional alliance leaders.
Catch Early Bird seats while they are still available. Scroll down for more details or click below to learn more.
Cloud Desk: Lessons Learned and Best Practices
Reflecting on their journey, Daniel shared several key insights and how-to strategies in building a successful Cloud Desk.
Key Insights
Timing is Everything: Implement a Cloud Desk when you hit around 100 marketplace deals in a region. This threshold indicates sufficient volume to justify dedicated resources.
Bridging Gaps: Cloud desk serves as a bridge between your sales team, hyperscalers, and customers, facilitating smoother transactions and problem-solving.
Beyond Transactions: While initially focused on marketplace operations, Cloud Desk roles are expanding to include broader alliance support functions.
How-Tos for Cloud Alliance Teams:
Structuring Your Cloud Desk:
Start with one Cloud Desk person per major region (e.g., EMEA, APAC, Americas) to cover different time zones.
Consider the seasonality of your business when staffing - allow flexibility for busier quarter-ends.
Integrate Cloud Desk into your broader ecosystem strategy, positioning it between partner managers and marketplace operations.
Defining Cloud Desk Responsibilities:
Marketplace transaction support
Hyperscaler referral management
Account mapping and intelligence gathering
Enablement for sales teams
Liaison between internal teams and hyperscalers partners
Setting KPIs for Cloud Desk:
Number of marketplace deals processed
Enablement sessions conducted (especially for newer or underserved teams)
Contribution to overall cloud revenue targets
Customer satisfaction metrics for transaction support
Enabling Scale Through Cloud Desk:
Use Cloud Desk to free up partner managers for higher-value activities like sourcing new opportunities and strategic influence.
Leverage Cloud Desk's expertise to standardize processes, reducing the need for constant re-enablement of sales teams.
Utilize Cloud Desk as a central point for hyperscaler communications, streamlining partner interactions.
Integrating Cloud Desk into Your Ecosystem Strategy:
Position Cloud Desk as part of a modern ecosystem approach, centered around hyperscalers.
Use Cloud Desk to break down silos between cloud and traditional channel teams.
Leverage Cloud Desk insights to drive more CPPO (Consulting Partner Private Offers) deals by facilitating collaboration between resellers and hyperscalers.
Evolving Cloud Desk with Your Business:
Start with manual processes, then gradually automate using tools as volume increases.
Continuously refine the role based on changing business needs and marketplace evolution.
Expand Cloud Desk responsibilities to cover multiple hyperscalers as your multi-cloud strategy matures.
Measuring Cloud Desk Impact:
Track time saved for partner managers and sales teams
Monitor improvements in marketplace deal closure rates and times
Assess the quality and quantity of account intelligence gathered
Evaluate the increase in early-stage hyperscaler engagements facilitated by Cloud Desk
The Bigger Picture: Cloud Desk as a Catalyst for Growth and Change
Implementing a Cloud Desk is more than just adding a new role - it's a strategic move that can drive broader organizational change. Implementing a Cloud Desk can also significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your cloud go-to-market strategy. By centralizing expertise, automating routine processes, and enabling continuous learning, a Cloud Desk helps scale operations and drive better outcomes in partnerships with hyperscalers.
For cloud alliance leaders, the key is to position the Cloud Desk not as a siloed function, but as an integral part of your ecosystem strategy. By centralizing hyperscaler expertise and operations, you can make Cloud Desk an axis for shifting your entire go-to-market approach to be more cloud-centric.
As cloud marketplaces continue to grow in importance, a well-implemented Cloud Desk can be the difference between struggling with marketplace complexity and leveraging it as a true competitive advantage.
Unlock Growth on Marketplaces: Join Cohort 7
I’m thrilled to invite you to join Cohort 7 of our Cloud GTM Leader course starting on September 10th to unlock and accelerate your traction in cloud marketplaces.
Here are what our alums said on why you should join us:
🔀 Transformative Experience
"It's a game changer to really understand the potential and the opportunity… knowing what it takes… how complex the path can be."
💡 Actionable Cloud GTM Strategies
"This was really amazing... I learned a lot." "The different speakers from across the domains covering different aspects of the entire GTM were very helpful."
🛠️ Practical Implementation
"I really loved the discussion on internal versus external…why co-selling is important, why the marketplace is important…and I truly resonated with everything that was said... because that's something I struggle with on a daily basis."
📢 Join Cloud GTM Leader Cohort starting on Sept 10th
Don't miss out on your chance to be a part of this transformative experience.
Join 20+ alliance leaders for a 5-week cohort course to learn and apply proven Cloud GTM strategies to accelerate your revenue growth on cloud marketplaces of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.
📅 What’s on the Agenda:
✔️ 10 In-depth Expert Sessions - explaining key aspects of successful Cloud GTM
✔️ 5 Masterminds - get your questions answered, learn from each other and build your network
✔️ 5+ VP-level Mentors who can support you and answer your questions
✔️ Slack community for supporting you
By the end of this course, you'll have actionable strategies that are proven to drive sales from $0 to $MM+ on marketplaces for software companies.
Join us starting on September 10th and learn how to unlock cloud co-sell, leverage your superpowers to get your share of the $348 Bn market opportunity, and more.
Hurry up to catch a few early bird tickets while they are still available.