Eurostat data puts paid cloud adoption across EU enterprises at 52.7 percent in 2025. As procurement increasingly flows through hyperscaler marketplaces rather than resellers, the traditional channel model is being replaced by something that operates very differently.
The technology distribution chain that emerged over three decades of software resale was built on linear relationships: vendor to distributor to reseller to end customer. Cloud marketplaces, where solutions are bundled into existing cloud environments and billed on consumption, do not fit that model. According to ALSO Group, one of Europe's largest technology distributors, vendors that have not adapted their commercial strategy for marketplace ecosystems risk becoming invisible in them.
Cloud marketplaces are no longer just another route to market. They are becoming the new Channel. The challenge is that many vendors are still trying to apply traditional channel strategies to a model that operates very differently.
The shift is structural, not cosmetic. Marketplace ecosystems built by AWS, Microsoft, and Google Cloud tie procurement directly into existing cloud spend commitments. A customer buying through AWS Marketplace often uses pre-committed cloud credits, making the purchase path very different from a conventional reseller transaction. For vendors, that changes the incentive structure: product availability matters less than integration quality, solution bundles, and service delivery within the ecosystem.
For distributors, the consequences are equally significant. ALSO's assessment is that the intermediary role is being replaced by something closer to infrastructure: helping vendors instrument their products for marketplace listing, structuring consumption-based pricing, and building partner capability within platform environments.
"Rather than acting purely as intermediaries between vendors and partners, distributors are increasingly becoming ecosystem architects, helping vendors integrate solutions into marketplace platforms while enabling partners to build and deliver more complex cloud services," Appleton said. "The role of the distributor is rapidly evolving. It is no longer just about logistics or procurement."
The argument is not that traditional distribution is finished. ALSO operates across 31 European countries and works with more than 800 vendors spanning hardware, software, and services. Its point is narrower: the commercial logic that governs marketplace procurement is sufficiently different from product resale that vendors need a distinct strategy for each. Those that treat marketplace listing as an additional distribution channel rather than a separate commercial motion tend to find poor traction.
"The vendors that succeed in the next phase of the channel will be those that understand how ecosystems work," Appleton said. "Cloud marketplaces reward integration, collaboration and service delivery, not just product availability."
