A MACC (Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment) is an enterprise’s contractual commitment to spend a set amount on Azure over a term. Eligible Azure Marketplace purchases draw it down — which is why buyers with a MACC often prefer to buy your software through the marketplace.
Every enterprise procurement conversation about Azure eventually surfaces the same acronym, and most ISVs sell into it without ever knowing it’s there. A buyer mentions they’d prefer to purchase through Azure Marketplace, the deal moves faster than expected, and nobody explains why.
The answer is usually a MACC — and understanding it changes how you position, price, and route enterprise deals.
Here’s what a MACC is, and why it quietly works in your favor.
What is a MACC?
A MACC (Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment) is an enterprise’s contractual promise to spend a set amount on Azure over the term of its agreement with Microsoft, usually as part of a larger Microsoft Customer Agreement or enterprise deal. In exchange for committing that spend up front, the customer earns better pricing and program benefits.
The commitment isn’t a prepayment for one product. It’s a pool the customer draws down over time as it consumes Azure — compute, storage, databases, and, crucially, eligible software bought through the marketplace. The customer’s job is to consume what it committed to before the term ends. Unused commitment is money left on the table.
That last detail is the one that matters to you as a seller, and the next section explains why.
How Azure Marketplace purchases draw down a MACC
Eligible purchases through Azure Marketplace count toward a customer’s MACC. When an enterprise buys your software as a marketplace transaction — rather than through a direct contract or a credit card — that spend can be applied against the commitment the customer already made to Microsoft.
For the buyer, this turns two budgets into one. Money they were always going to spend on Azure now also covers third-party software they need, because the marketplace purchase retires part of their commitment. The software isn’t free, but it’s paid for out of a commitment the customer is already obligated to burn down.
Not every listing or transaction qualifies, and eligibility rules are set by Microsoft, not by the seller. But the practical shape is consistent: to be drawdown-eligible, your product has to be transactable on the marketplace in the first place. A product that can’t be bought through Azure Marketplace can’t count toward a MACC, full stop.
Why buyers with a MACC prefer to buy through the marketplace
A customer carrying an unspent MACC has a standing incentive to route purchases through Azure Marketplace, because every eligible dollar spent there draws down a commitment they’ve already made. Buying your software directly does nothing for that commitment. Buying it through the marketplace retires part of it.
This changes the buyer’s internal math in your favor. Procurement teams that would otherwise scrutinize a new line item treat marketplace purchases as spending money they’d already promised to spend. Deals that would stall in budget review move, because the budget question is already answered.
It’s why “are you transactable on Azure Marketplace?” increasingly shows up early in enterprise deals — sometimes before the technical evaluation. The buyer isn’t asking out of preference. They’re asking whether they can pay you with commitment they need to consume anyway.
What ISV sellers should do about it
To benefit from customers’ MACCs, be transactable on Azure Marketplace, transact real deals through private offers, and tell buyers your product is drawdown-eligible. Three concrete moves:
- Get transactable, not just listed. A listing that only generates leads can’t draw down a MACC — the transaction has to run through the marketplace. Our guide to how to sell on Azure Marketplace walks through getting there.
- Use private offers for negotiated deals. Enterprise pricing is negotiated, not list. Azure private offers let you extend custom pricing and terms to a specific buyer as a marketplace transaction — exactly the transaction that draws down their commitment.
- Position drawdown-eligibility in the deal. A rep who can tell a buyer “you can put this on your Azure commitment” removes a budget objection before it’s raised. Make it part of the pitch, not a detail procurement discovers later.
The through-line is that none of this works if the purchase can’t happen on the marketplace. Everything downstream depends on being transactable.
How a MACC compares to AWS and Google Cloud committed spend
Each major cloud runs its own version of committed spend, and each lets eligible marketplace purchases draw against the commitment. The mechanics differ, but the seller lesson is identical across all three: being transactable on the marketplace is what makes your software count.
| Cloud | Committed-spend program | Marketplace drawdown |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Azure | MACC (Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment) | Eligible Azure Marketplace purchases draw down |
| AWS | EDP (Enterprise Discount Program) | Eligible AWS Marketplace purchases draw down |
| Google Cloud | Committed spend / Google Cloud commitment | Eligible Google Cloud Marketplace purchases draw down |
If you already sell on AWS, the pattern will be familiar — the AWS equivalent, an EDP, works the same way from a seller’s point of view. The bar is the same in every cloud: be transactable, and let the buyer’s commitment do the rest.
Frequently asked questions
What does MACC stand for? MACC stands for Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment. It’s an enterprise’s contractual commitment to spend a set amount on Azure over the term of its agreement with Microsoft, in exchange for better pricing and program benefits.
Does buying software on Azure Marketplace count toward a MACC? Yes. Eligible purchases made through Azure Marketplace draw down a customer’s MACC. That’s why buyers with an unspent commitment often prefer to buy third-party software through the marketplace rather than through a direct contract.
Why do enterprise buyers care about drawing down their MACC? Because unused commitment is spend they’ve already promised Microsoft but haven’t consumed. Routing purchases through the marketplace lets them retire that commitment while buying software they need — turning two budget conversations into one.
Does my product need to be transactable to draw down a MACC? Yes. A lead-generating listing isn’t enough. The purchase has to run as a marketplace transaction for it to count toward the customer’s commitment, which means your product must be transactable on Azure Marketplace.
Is a MACC the same as an AWS EDP? They’re the same idea on different clouds: a committed-spend agreement where eligible marketplace purchases draw down the commitment. The eligibility rules and terms differ, but the seller lesson — be transactable — holds across Azure, AWS and Google Cloud.
Takeaways
- A MACC is an enterprise’s contractual commitment to spend on Azure over a term — and eligible marketplace purchases draw it down.
- Buyers with unspent commitment have a standing reason to buy your software through Azure Marketplace, because it retires spend they already owe Microsoft.
- Being transactable is the prerequisite for everything: a product that can’t be bought on the marketplace can’t count toward a MACC.
- Use private offers to run negotiated enterprise pricing as a marketplace transaction, and position drawdown-eligibility before procurement asks.
Committed-spend programs are one of the strongest reasons enterprise buyers ask to purchase through the marketplace — and Suger helps ISVs meet them there. See how selling through Microsoft Marketplace works, from getting transactable to running private offers against a buyer’s Azure commitment.
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