Managing Private Marketplace across Multiple AWS OrganizationsTable of ContentsIntroductionWhy AWS Private Marketplace for Multiple Organizations?Solution OverviewStep-by-Step SetupConclusionFAQIntroductionIn today's cloud-centric world, managing IT resources effectively is crucial for businesses of all sizes. Particularly for large enterprises or government entities, structuring and governing cloud resources can be a complex endeavor. AWS (Amazon Web Services) simplifies this process through various advanced features, one of which is the AWS Private Marketplace. This blog post will guide you through the detailed process of managing AWS Private Marketplace across multiple AWS organizations efficiently.Imagine you are managing a multinational corporation with diverse cloud infrastructure needs. Each subsidiary or entity within your organization might have different compliance requirements, resource allocation needs, and security measures. How do you ensure that all subsidiaries adhere to a unified policy framework while keeping a centralized control on software procurement? This is precisely what the AWS Private Marketplace aims to solve.We’ll cover why managing a Private Marketplace across multiple AWS organizations is beneficial, and walk through the steps needed to set up and synchronize these environments. By the end of this post, you’ll understand how to establish a centrally managed Private Marketplace that complies with your organization's standards, providing a seamless and secure cloud experience.Why AWS Private Marketplace for Multiple Organizations?Streamlined GovernanceAWS Private Marketplace allows administrators to create a tailored catalog of approved third-party software that aligns with organizational policies. This feature helps in maintaining strict compliance and security standards while allowing different subsidiaries to function autonomously.Cost ManagementBy using a centralized governance model, organizations can better track and allocate costs associated with software procurement. This helps in implementing an efficient chargeback model, ensuring that each subsidiary or entity is accountable for its resource consumption.Enhanced SecurityWith multi-account structures, AWS Private Marketplace enhances security by offering isolation and reducing the scope of any potential security incidents. Administrators can enforce stringent procurement policies to prevent unauthorized software from being used within the organization.Solution OverviewManaging AWS Private Marketplace across multiple organizations involves a distributed, serverless solution allowing centralized control of software catalogs. This setup uses AWS Organizations for account management and employs two key components: the management organization and the member organizations.Key ComponentsManagement Organization: The central hub that defines and monitors the policy framework and approved software catalog. Member Organizations: Individual entities or subsidiaries that adhere to the policies defined by the management organization.Both components need to be deployed in their respective AWS Organizations to ensure seamless synchronization and observability.Step-by-Step SetupStep 1: Enable Private Marketplace in Each OrganizationTo get started, enable the AWS Private Marketplace in every organization. As a security best practice, avoid using your master account for everyday management tasks. Instead, identify and use a delegated administration account for enabling and deploying the necessary components.Step 2: Create Member ExperiencesCreate individualized Private Marketplace experiences within each member organization. These experiences should be associated with the AWS Organizations root node for comprehensive governance. Set these experiences as live to ensure they are synchronized with the central management account.Step 3: Establish a Management ExperienceSimilarly, create a Private Marketplace experience in the management organization. This serves as the authoritative source for policy and catalog definitions, driving the synchronization process across all member organizations.Step 4: Deploy the Management ComponentDeploy the management component in the management organization’s chosen account. This component will periodically monitor and trigger synchronization processes. Upon deployment, you will receive output parameters necessary for configuring the member organizations.Step 5: Deploy the Member ComponentNext, use the output parameters from Step 4 to deploy the member component within each member organization. This ensures each member is synchronized with the central management experience. If focusing on specific member experiences, define these in the MEMBER_EXPERIENCE_IDS environment variable to limit synchronization scope.Step 6: Validate the SetupSynchronization occurs automatically every hour. For initial setup validation, you can manually trigger the synchronization. Add products to the management experience and verify they appear across all member experiences. This step might take time, especially if the synchronization includes many products.Monitoring and MaintenanceRegularly monitor synchronization results using the synchronization timestamp logs. These logs provide valuable insights into synchronization status and timestamp updates. In case of issues, revisit the component configurations or redeploy to troubleshoot.CleanupIf needed, deactivate the setup by deleting all deployed resources to avoid unnecessary charges. Ensure to start with member organizations and finish with the management organization. Archive any Private Marketplace experiences you wish to deactivate.ConclusionBy following these steps, you can effectively manage AWS Private Marketplace across multiple AWS organizations from a central management account. This capability not only simplifies software procurement governance but also ensures compliance, cost management, and enhanced security across your entire AWS landscape. The solution offers a seamless and secure approach to managing and governing your software procurement processes in a multi-account AWS environment, meeting the stringent requirements of highly regulated industries.FAQWhat is AWS Private Marketplace?AWS Private Marketplace is a customized digital catalog that includes approved third-party software, allowing organizations to control the software procurement process.Why is it important to manage Private Marketplace across multiple AWS organizations?For large enterprises or entities with multiple subsidiaries, centralized governance ensures consistency in compliance, cost management, and security policies across all entities.How often does the synchronization occur?Synchronization occurs automatically every hour, ensuring timely updates across all member experiences.Can I specify which member experiences to synchronize?Yes, you can specify specific member experiences by setting their IDs in the MEMBER_EXPERIENCE_IDS environment variable during deployment.What if I need to disable this configuration?To disable the setup, delete the resources created during the setup process, starting with member organizations and finishing with the management organization.By implementing this comprehensive strategy, your organization can maintain a robust, secure, and compliant cloud environment while efficiently managing software procurement across multiple AWS organizations.