Singapore – Nine out of ten IT solution providers revealed benefiting greatly from marketplaces, offering opportunities for utilising customer data analytics and scalability for generating new and recurring revenue. This is according to the latest report from software company Pax8.
Data found that over one-third of solution providers worldwide generate more than 20% of their revenue through marketplaces. In particular about 87% of respondents expect to increase their marketplace usage within the next five years.
Furthermore, it was observed that the emergence of marketplaces as growth facilitators has also helped solution providers in expanding their reach and profitability. This has also enabled them to offer improved services to customers.
By enabling providers to access larger audiences with reduced overhead, these platforms further support both sales volume growth and scalability. At the same time, approximately 46% also cited greater profitability, 45% see rising demand for professional services, and 38% benefit from better customer data analytics.
Meanwhile, over half of the respondents (51%) also shared that upgrading their sales technology or developing new partnerships have become central to maintaining their growth. Expansion of specialised services further reached 46% as providers focused on enhancing customer satisfaction.
Additionally, evolving go-to-market strategies are increasingly influenced by customer purchase preferences and behaviours, with 75% of respondents stating that feedback from marketplace transactions is starting to impact their strategic decisions.
In the study, various factors have also been identified as crucial for success, which include cost-effectiveness, technological compatibility, and decision-making powered by advanced analytics.
About half of the global respondents further mentioned prioritising cost-effectiveness when devising marketplace strategies, balancing expenses against potential new revenue and growth streams.
Ryan Walsh, chief strategy officer at Pax8, remarked, “As solution providers look to marketplaces as the sales channels of the future, they are best served by platforms with comprehensive e-commerce solutions that expand their digital capabilities, deliver a seamless online sales experience, and maximise opportunities for upselling and cross-selling.”
Walsh also added, “The Pax8 Marketplace is designed to help partners unlock more sales opportunities and enhance relationships with their customers, providing them with the infrastructure and resources to drive profitability at scale.”
Larry Walsh, CEO and chief analyst at Channelnomics, said, “Marketplaces are becoming indispensable to managed service providers (MSPs) to scale more efficiently, tap into valuable customer insights, and drive new revenue streams.”
“Our survey’s findings highlight the growing importance of digital sales platforms in transforming go-to-market strategies and optimising the customer experience. As digital commerce evolves, MSPs should embrace these platforms to ensure long-term growth and profitability,” he further explained.