Microsoft invites Chinese software vendors to sell on its marketplace and through its partners

Would you adopt software from a Chinese vendor? We ask because Microsoft has started helping Middle Kingdom developers to sell through its online marketplaces and channel.

Microsoft’s efforts started on January 6th when, per a notice in its news feed for partners, it started to offer “Expanded global marketplace opportunities for ISVs in China”.

That means Redmond will allow Chinese developers to sell through its Commercial Marketplace, an online software souk. Microsoft partners can also resell wares offered by developers who participate in the Commercial Marketplace.

“This expansion gives ISVs in China access to millions of enterprise customers and the extensive Microsoft partner ecosystem,” trumpets Redmond’s announcement, before pointing out that Chinese developers can now:

• Generate more revenue by reaching customers across more than 140 geographies
• Simplify sales by leaning on the marketplace to streamline billing, payouts, and more
• Benefit from co-sell opportunities with the Microsoft sales teams

China has an enormous population and has rapidly developed a digital economy that, as demonstrated by its hyperscalers, e-commerce giants, and hardware champs like Huawei, clearly possesses the ability to produce quality software. The sheer size of the Chinese market means it is doubtless home to many developers who have created interesting and useful products that may be relevant to buyers around the world.

Whether buyers are keen on doing business with Chinese companies is another matter.

Many governments believe working with Middle Kingdom tech companies is very risky, usually due to Article 7 of China’s National Intelligence Law, which has been interpreted as compelling Chinese companies to cooperate with intelligence services (although Chinese analysts argue Beijing could do that before the law passed).

Whatever the law allows, it has been used as justification for the exclusion and/or removal of Chinese hardware from telecoms networks in several countries, plus rules that prevent Chinese software like TikTok and WhatsApp being run on government devices in some countries.

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TikTok is arguably China’s most successful software export and, despite working to move US users’ personal data onto American soil has been found to allow access to personal data in China. The app is currently trying to strike down a US law that would force it to shut down in the USA or find a new owner.

Buyers outside China will likely be aware of those concerns and understand that the data collected in business apps acquired through Microsoft could conceivably represent info Beijing deems useful intelligence.

Channel orgs will also likely have similar concerns, and always have questions to ask about vendors’ ability to support their products in their local language. Some may recall that Alibaba Cloud started operating outside China long before it had translated all its documentation into English.

All of which adds up to Microsoft’s effort having a lot of hurdles to overcome, particularly in a political climate that sees China regarded with considerable suspicion around the world and especially by the incoming Trump administration. ®