Azure-docs: Clarify what Azure Applications is/are

[lukepuplett]

What is meant by Azure Applications is ambiguous. Its says Virtual Machines, Networking, Storage, Other Azure Services, which on a Venn diagram that last one would include everything. So Azure Applications are anything on Azure?

I've been working with Azure since 2009 and I've never heard this term.

Then this:

"For Virtual Machines and Azure Applications, the Azure infrastructure usage fees are billed to the customer’s Azure subscription."

If Azure Applications includes things like Azure Search or Cosmos DB then what "infrastructure" would I be using? The use of the term infrastructure has a specific meaning in cloud, and it means old-skool IT that we deal with on-prem. PaaS resources don't use infrastructure (not from my point of view, at least). So by invoking this term you raise doubts in my mind as to my understanding of what Azure Applications are.

Maybe they're not PaaS services, maybe they're something else that runs on IaaS. The name is capitalized, too, so maybe its thing larger than just a category. And why use this term when you could say PaaS Resources.

Maybe they're Office 365 extension apps, but why then would they have infrastructure (VM) costs? Or maybe you're talking about the infrastructure costs on your side that are hidden from us when we use PaaS. In which case, be consistent and keep it hidden. Say platform usage costs, or resource usage costs.

I can't really make sense the documentation because I don't understand this key term. I cannot Google it either because its two general words.

I'm lost.

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Document Details

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• ID: 9f499c98-2693-d8e4-22cf-f3214d9f06f8
• Version Independent ID: 3d2d7df1-2792-af03-9033-5a6af4ae7554
• Content: Marketplace ‎Commercial Transaction Capabilities and Considerations
• Content Source: articles/marketplace/marketplace-commercial-transaction-capabilities-and-considerations.md
• Service: marketplace
• GitHub Login: @yijenj
• Microsoft Alias: pabutler

[femsulu]

@lukepuplett Thanks for your comment. We are actively investigating and will get back to you shortly. Thanks for your patience.

[femsulu]

reassigning to @qianw211 to review

[qianw211]

@lukepuplett Hi, here's the answer to your question:

Using solution templates built on Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates, you can define resources to provision automatically within a customer’s Azure subscription. Any Azure resource supported by ARM can be configured as part of an Azure Application (solution template), and they are in Azure Marketplace and not Microsoft AppSource due to the dependency on an Azure subscription. Customers pay for their Azure consumption, and to monetize your IP, you charge for VM images deployed by the solution template.

The solution template is not monetized itself, and Azure Applications charge based on the underlying resources. First, create a VM image offer, set the consumption price for the VM, and optionally set the VM offer to “hidden.” Then, configure your Azure Application’s solution template to deploy the hidden VM offer.

Learn more about Azure Resource Manager templates https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/resource-group-authoring-templates or watch this video about VM images and Azure Apps in the commercial marketplace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxs5P4d6LQc&feature=youtu.be.

[femsulu]

thanks @qianw211.
@lukepuplett hope the above answer helps. We will now close this issue. If there are further questions regarding this matter, please reply and we will gladly continue the discussion.

[lukepuplett]

Thank you. Its occurring to me that Azure Applications are Microsoft's name for the _customer's_ marketplace application - or at least one of the three types of marketplace apps/value-props customers can setup.

Wow. I thought by Azure Applications you meant like, Azure resources/services/things like Cosmos DB or Azure Search.

It's funny how when you chat informally to people they're better at explaining something than official documentation which, in its attempts to sound professional, actually ends up stiff and hard to understand.

The MS docs have always been pretty good and are better than ever, but the goal should be that the official docs are easier to comprehend than personal blog sites. Personal blogs work so well because people chat normally.

Anyway, thanks.

[qianw211]

Thanks for sharing! We'd love your feedback on this guide, which is written to be a little more casual and conversational (nicely put in your terms 😊).

https://www.microsoftpartnercommunity.com/t5/Microsoft-AppSource-and-Azure/Simplified-Commercial-Marketplace-Guide-Sell-through-Microsoft/m-p/13770#M539