What is the Microsoft commercial marketplace?

The Microsoft commercial marketplace is a catalog of solutions from our independent software vendor (ISV) partners. As an ISV member of the Microsoft Partner Network, you can create, publish, and manage your commercial marketplace offers in Partner Center. Your solutions are listed in our online stores, alongside our own Microsoft solutions, connecting you with businesses, organizations, and government agencies around the world.

The commercial marketplace is available in more than 100 countries and regions, and we manage tax payment in many of them. If you sell to established Microsoft customers, they have the added benefit of including commercial marketplace purchases in their existing Microsoft purchase agreements to receive a consolidated invoice from Microsoft.

Commercial marketplace online stores

The Microsoft commercial marketplace has two online stores: Microsoft AppSource and Azure Marketplace. Microsoft AppSource contains business solutions and Azure Marketplace contains IT solutions. Commercial marketplace software and services can also be found in Microsoft products such as Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Platform, and Azure. Our online stores and in-product experiences draw millions of potential customers each month. Each online store offers different scenarios to make sure your solution or service is available to the right customers.

When you create a commercial marketplace offer in Partner Center, it may be listed on either or both online stores based on the offer type, categories, and other options you select. In the rare case that the offer is relevant to the users of both online stores, it can appear in both. To learn more, see Listing and pricing options by online store and A Buyer’s Guide to Microsoft AppSource and Azure Marketplace.

Microsoft AppSource

Microsoft AppSource is for business solutions, such as software as a service (SaaS) applications, and also apps that extend directly into Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Power Platform. AppSource consulting services are professional services offerings that help customers get started with or accelerate usage of Dynamics 365 and Power BI.

Here’s an example of an offer listing page in AppSource:

AppSource in-product experience

Customers can also access your AppSource offers through Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, the Power Platform, and Azure. The following example shows how to access AppSource add-ins from the Power BI File menu.

This option opens a window where the customer can search for Power BI add-ins by name or category.

Azure Marketplace

Azure Marketplace is for solutions that are built on or built for Azure and intended for IT professionals and developers. This includes listings for consulting and managed services. Azure Marketplace consulting services are professional service offerings that help customers get started with or accelerate the use of Azure.

Here’s an example of an offer listing page in Azure Marketplace:

Azure Marketplace in the Azure portal

Azure customers can discover and deploy Azure Marketplace solutions through the Create a resource option in the Azure portal.

This option opens the Azure Marketplace within the Azure portal, where they can search for solutions by name or by category.

Benefits of selling with Microsoft

Our goal is to help you accelerate your business in partnership with Microsoft, and to connect Microsoft customers with the best solutions that our partner ecosystem offers. To do that, we support you throughout your journey, from onboarding to publishing and growth. Take advantage of the capabilities in the commercial marketplace to grow your business.

• Expand your solution portfolio to new markets and segments.
• Generate new marketing leads and sales opportunities.
• Upsell and cross-sell your solutions as your customers move their workloads to the cloud.
• Market your solutions for specific workloads and industry scenarios to reduce sales cycles, accelerate projects, and increase deal profitability.
• Get actionable insights on your listing performance and orders to learn how to maximize campaign activities for your solution.

Partners who list with the commercial marketplace are eligible for a diverse set of free technical, marketing, and sales benefits to help grow your business:

• Leverage the technical resources you need to get your application ready for launch, from technical support, application design, and architecture design, to Azure credits for development and testing.
• Access free Microsoft Go-To-Market Launch Fundamentals to help you launch and promote your solution. You might also be eligible for additional Microsoft marketing campaign inclusion and opportunities to be featured in the commercial marketplace.
• Reach additional customers and expand your sales opportunities with the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program, the co-sell program, and Microsoft Sales teams.

To learn about these benefits in more detail, see Your commercial marketplace benefits.

Where are Windows Store Apps installed & how to access the folder

UWP apps can be accessed from and started by clicking on the Tiles on the Windows Start. But where are they installed or located? The Universal or Windows Store Applications in Windows 10/8 are installed in the WindowsApps folder located in the C:\Program Files folder. It is a Hidden folder, so in order to see it, you will have to first open Folder Options and check the Show hidden files, folders and drives option.

Now you will be able to see the WindowsApps folder in the C:\Program Files folder.

Access or open the Windows Apps folder

Before you read further, we suggest you create a system restore point first.

Now, if you try to click on it to open it, you will not be allowed to, but you will instead see the following road-block.

Clicking on Continue will open the following warning box, saying that you have been denied permission to access this folder.

To gain access to the WindowsApps folder, click on the Security tab link. The following Properties box will open.

To be able to view the contents of the folder you must have at least Read permissions. Click on the Advanced button to open the Advanced Security Settings for the protected folder.

Clicking on Continue will open a box that will list down the permission entries for the folder. You will now have to give yourself permission, and you can do so by changing the Owner from TrustedInstaller to your name. Do note that, as an example, I have given myself complete blanket permissions, but you may give yourself limited permission as are required, by editing the permissions entries from its settings.

You may click on the desired entry and click View to see the individual permission entries and make changes there too. You will have to change the Principal / Owner first, however.

To do so, click on Change in the earlier step and enter the object name and click on Check Names too, as this will check if you have entered the name correctly, and correct it, if you haven’t.

I repeat, as an example, I have given myself complete blanket permissions, but you may give yourself limited permission as are required, by editing the permissions entries from its settings, as shown in the Permissions Entries box above.

The permission will be changed and will see a dialog box.

You will have to close the explorer window and re-open it.

You will now be able to click open on the WindowsApps folder and see its contents.

Any hacker or malware that gains access to this folder, could potentially modify the apps source code maliciously. So it might be a good idea to change the permissions back to their defaults, after you have completed your work. To do this, you have to simply reverse or undo the changes you made in the Advanced Security Settings.

If you wish to only see the list of all the apps along with their shortcuts, you can copy-paste the following in explorer address bar and hit Enter to open the following Applications folder:

Using this way you can change the permissions of any folder in Windows.

To reverse the changes, you need to retrace your steps and undo the changes made – or else you could go back to the created system restore point.

Date: September 8, 2018 Tags: Folder, Windows Apps

What is the Microsoft commercial marketplace?

The Microsoft commercial marketplace is a catalog of solutions from our independent software vendor (ISV) partners. As an ISV member of the Microsoft Partner Network, you can create, publish, and manage your commercial marketplace offers in Partner Center. Your solutions are listed in our online stores, alongside our own Microsoft solutions, connecting you with businesses, organizations, and government agencies around the world.

The commercial marketplace is available in more than 100 countries and regions, and we manage tax payment in many of them. If you sell to established Microsoft customers, they have the added benefit of including commercial marketplace purchases in their existing Microsoft purchase agreements to receive a consolidated invoice from Microsoft.

Commercial marketplace online stores

The Microsoft commercial marketplace has two online stores: Microsoft AppSource and Azure Marketplace. Microsoft AppSource contains business solutions and Azure Marketplace contains IT solutions. Commercial marketplace software and services can also be found in Microsoft products such as Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Platform, and Azure. Our online stores and in-product experiences draw millions of potential customers each month. Each online store offers different scenarios to make sure your solution or service is available to the right customers.

When you create a commercial marketplace offer in Partner Center, it may be listed on either or both online stores based on the offer type, categories, and other options you select. In the rare case that the offer is relevant to the users of both online stores, it can appear in both. To learn more, see Listing and pricing options by online store and A Buyer’s Guide to Microsoft AppSource and Azure Marketplace.

Microsoft AppSource

Microsoft AppSource is for business solutions, such as software as a service (SaaS) applications, and also apps that extend directly into Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Power Platform. AppSource consulting services are professional services offerings that help customers get started with or accelerate usage of Dynamics 365 and Power BI.

Here’s an example of an offer listing page in AppSource:

AppSource in-product experience

Customers can also access your AppSource offers through Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, the Power Platform, and Azure. The following example shows how to access AppSource add-ins from the Power BI File menu.

This option opens a window where the customer can search for Power BI add-ins by name or category.

Azure Marketplace

Azure Marketplace is for solutions that are built on or built for Azure and intended for IT professionals and developers. This includes listings for consulting and managed services. Azure Marketplace consulting services are professional service offerings that help customers get started with or accelerate the use of Azure.

Here’s an example of an offer listing page in Azure Marketplace:

Azure Marketplace in the Azure portal

Azure customers can discover and deploy Azure Marketplace solutions through the Create a resource option in the Azure portal.

This option opens the Azure Marketplace within the Azure portal, where they can search for solutions by name or by category.

Benefits of selling with Microsoft

Our goal is to help you accelerate your business in partnership with Microsoft, and to connect Microsoft customers with the best solutions that our partner ecosystem offers. To do that, we support you throughout your journey, from onboarding to publishing and growth. Take advantage of the capabilities in the commercial marketplace to grow your business.

• Expand your solution portfolio to new markets and segments.
• Generate new marketing leads and sales opportunities.
• Upsell and cross-sell your solutions as your customers move their workloads to the cloud.
• Market your solutions for specific workloads and industry scenarios to reduce sales cycles, accelerate projects, and increase deal profitability.
• Get actionable insights on your listing performance and orders to learn how to maximize campaign activities for your solution.

Partners who list with the commercial marketplace are eligible for a diverse set of free technical, marketing, and sales benefits to help grow your business:

• Leverage the technical resources you need to get your application ready for launch, from technical support, application design, and architecture design, to Azure credits for development and testing.
• Access free Microsoft Go-To-Market Launch Fundamentals to help you launch and promote your solution. You might also be eligible for additional Microsoft marketing campaign inclusion and opportunities to be featured in the commercial marketplace.
• Reach additional customers and expand your sales opportunities with the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program, the co-sell program, and Microsoft Sales teams.

To learn about these benefits in more detail, see Your commercial marketplace benefits.