Billing Made Easier For AWS' Software Vendor Partners

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(NOTE: This story was originally posted to CRN.com Nov. 16.)

If your company is a software vendor partner of Amazon Web Services' channel, the cloud provider is making it easier for you to collect revenue.

AWS is looking to make software developed by its technology partners more accessible by allowing customers to pay those third-party vendors through its consolidated public cloud bills.

On Wednesday, AWS launched SaaS Subscriptions, an offering on the AWS Marketplace that handles metering and billing for software that AWS customers purchase from vendors hosting their products on AWS infrastructure.

[Related: AWS Doesn't Disappoint In Amazon's Q3 Earnings]

AWS introduced several different plans for metering the software spend, all based on consumption instead of subscription costs. "For example, you can buy security services on a per-host basis, log processing on a per-GB-ingested basis, geocoding on a per-request basis, or caching on a per-GB-cached basis," wrote Jeff Barr, chief evangelist for AWS, in a blog post. "Usage charge for the services that you consume will appear on your AWS bill."

More than 20 application developers offering a range of products – from application development and monitoring, to security, databases, storage, and tax solutions – have signed up to participate in SaaS Subscriptions, Barr said.

Customers of those ISVs can manage procuring and paying for software on the AWS Marketplace, consolidating bills to Amazon and its third-party technology partners.

The new billing option will prove beneficial for both customers and partners, said Jeff Aden, executive vice president of marketing and strategic development at 2nd Watch, an AWS partner based in Seattle.

"It follows a model that we offer for managed cloud services where customers only pay for what is being managed, versus a percentage of AWS spend," Aden told CRN. "It should lead to lower prices and increased adoption."

Jonno Wells, vice president of sales and marketing at Sturdy Networks, an AWS partner based in Irvine, Calif., told CRN that AWS customers will likely find the option attractive since it allows them to pay only for what they use, and to turn tools on or off at any time.

Those characteristics allows customers, especially small businesses, to try new software without making big upfront commitments, he said.