FusionAuth used Suger to go from 0 to 300 AWS co-sell referrals in 3 quarters, submit 5x faster with higher quality, and auto-enrich 100% of them
SMB seller | SaaS product | Engineering buyers
FusionAuth is a developer-focused platform for customer authentication — a robust alternative to Auth0, AWS Cognito, and homegrown Auth services — trusted by over 10 million developers. Lean at 60 employees but operating like a global startup, it serves engineering leaders at organizations of every size, including NRG, Mayo Clinic, and Culture Amp.
Aaron Verstraete, Head of Partnerships, notes that co-selling through cloud marketplaces has proven to be a powerful growth engine for technical products like FusionAuth. AWS Marketplace is the current priority, with expansion into GCP, systems integrators (SIs), and technology partners fueling the next phase of scale.
“Suger has been a game-changer — it gave us the ability to scale AWS co-sell from zero to hundreds of referrals without adding headcount.”
Before adopting Suger, FusionAuth’s partner operations were entirely manual, with no integrations to connect systems or automate workflows. AWS Marketplace’s growing subsidies made it an attractive channel — but without the right tools, scaling was difficult.
Key Challenges
Time-draining manual data entry: Copy-pasting data into AWS co-sell forms consumed hours.
Data accuracy issues: Marketplace integration gaps created inconsistencies.
“Cloud marketplaces were a huge opportunity, but without the right tool, we were stuck in spreadsheets and manual data entry — it just wasn’t scalable.”
Aaron first heard about Suger during a chance encounter at an AWS re:Invent happy hour. An AWS executive introduced him to Suger’s CEO, Jon. At the time, Aaron’s company already had a tool in place, but the conversation stuck with him.
Over nine years, Aaron had tried multiple alternatives:
DIY solution: A horrible experience he never wanted to repeat.
Tackle: Initially overpriced; even after a pricing drop, still too complex.
iToc: Quick and dirty, but ultimately insufficient.
When he joined FusionAuth, Aaron knew those past tools wouldn’t cut it.
“I wanted the right tooling to scale faster, knowing past solutions wouldn’t cut it. Suger offered a true partnership and a platform focused on my core use cases — without unnecessary complexity or cost.”
Why Suger Won
Customer success: Strong onboarding, fast support, and a true partner approach.
Pricing: No revenue-share; aligned with AWS subsidies to invest earlier and prove ROI quickly.
Product quality: Simplified and focused on core workflows — creating offers and sharing referrals — without feature bloat.
From day one, Suger integrated directly into FusionAuth’s existing systems like Salesforce, eliminating manual steps and improving accuracy.
“Suger lived up to all the promises in the sales cycle—customer engagement, efficiencies gained, and well-built features.”
Best Custom Workflow Automations
Auto-sync AWS contacts to Salesforce when referrals are approved, improving CRM hygiene and enabling AWS rep attribution to pipeline and revenue.
Referral auto-enrichment to fill in missing required outbound referral fields — company name, website, address, industry, employee count, and contact phone.
Plans to add finance and accounting workflows as new system integrations go live.
Top Features
Salesforce integration: Enables referrals and private offers to be submitted from the UI with real Salesforce data, making the process faster and more accurate. Key deal data — like Marketplace Engagement Score — is visible to reps, increasing self-sufficiency and enabling richer reporting directly in Salesforce.
Offer notifications: Sends timely alerts for created, accepted, and expired offers, making it easier to track deal progress, keep communications timely, and prevent anything from slipping through the cracks.
Customer success: A highly responsive and collaborative team that acts as a true partner — getting FusionAuth set up fast, resolving issues quickly, and working closely on innovative features that address real-world needs.
Suger enabled FusionAuth to go live on AWS Marketplace within three weeks of signing up. From zero co-sell referrals, they scaled to 300 in just three quarters. Referral submissions are now five times faster and higher in quality — enabling Aaron to submit more in less time.
“I submitted 25 referrals in 30 minutes the other day. Before Suger, that would’ve taken hours.”
Impact Highlights
300 AWS co-sell referrals in three quarters (from 0 pre-Suger).
5× faster referral submissions at higher quality.
100% of referrals enriched automatically — previously a manual process.
FusionAuth is optimistic about the future of cloud marketplaces and the role Suger can play in driving growth. The team sees potential in new AI capabilities leveraging CRM context — from opportunities to activities — to make co-sell workflows even faster and more accurate.
They also see promise in a growing Suger partner community, where insights from transactions could help connect ISVs, SIs, and other relevant partners. By making these connections easier and more data-driven, the ecosystem could become an even greater driver of discovery and revenue opportunities.
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