AWS Partner Network (APN) Blog

AWS re:Invent 2020 is being held as a free, three-week virtual conference. To help you prepare for the Global Partner Summit, we’ve rounded up a number of things to check out (virtually, of course). Global Partner Summit offers content and activities designed specifically for AWS Partners and prospective partners alike. Learn how to leverage AWS services to build solutions for customers, and explore programs that can help differentiate your business and reach new customers faster.

AWS re:Invent is a special time for all of us at Amazon Web Services, our customers, and certainly for our valued AWS Partners. There is nothing more exciting and gratifying than bringing people together to learn and explore innovations in cloud technology. We have doubled down for 2020 on a virtual program of re:Invent sessions and activities designed to showcase how together, we can deliver incredible results for our customers.

Beginning in January 2021, any AWS Partner with a software solution that runs on or is integrated with AWS can join the new AWS ISV Partner Path. This provides a new and simplified Partner experience designed to accelerate the engagement ISVs have with AWS. It does so through prescriptive guidance, curated programs, funding benefits, and co-selling support. Among other benefits, AWS ISV Partner Path removes APN tier requirements for ISVs, while retaining their eligibility for programs such AWS Competency.

ISVs are increasingly seeking access to AWS customers to grow their cloud business, and they want a simple way to engage AWS field sellers on joint customer opportunities. That’s why we designed the AWS ISV Accelerate Program to enable partners to co-sell with Amazon Web Services. This program helps AWS Partners drive new business and accelerate sales cycles by connecting participating ISVs with the AWS Sales organization.

AWS has empowered entrepreneurs across the world with the tools they need to build and scale their companies faster and cost effectively. Since launching in 2019, the APN Global Startup Program has continued to experience significant momentum. This year, we increased the number of startups supported by the program by more than 50 percent. Startups have received dedicated support from co-sell specialists to drive engagement with AWS Sales and field teams.

It has undoubtedly been a challenging year for the travel and hospitality industry. At AWS, we are keenly aware of this and are committed to helping our customers build resilience for the long run. To support customers at this crucial time, we are proud to announce the launch of the new AWS Travel and Hospitality Competency. This designation takes on the heavy lifting of identifying and validating the most experienced AWS Partners who can help industry customers succeed—specifically at times of disruption.

AWS helps first responders, public safety agencies, and emergency and disaster response organizations complete their mission and mitigate impact to communities affected by emergencies and disasters. In 2019, we announced the launch of the AWS Public Safety & Disaster Response Competency for AWS Consulting Partners. Now, we are excited to launch an additional track within this AWS Competency that showcases specialized and dedicated AWS Technology Partners.

While the move to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model is appealing to many organizations, the time, effort, and investment that’s required to transition to a new multi-tenant architecture can represent a significant hurdle. To address this need for AWS Partners and customers, we have introduced AWS SaaS Boost, an open-source reference environment that provides developers with a low-friction way to transform existing applications into SaaS products.

Since the AWS SaaS Factory started in 2017, we have provided organizations building software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions with guidance through direct engagements, webinars, bootcamps, conferences, and events. Based on what we’ve learned from AWS Partners throughout these engagements, we are excited to announce the launch of AWS SaaS Factory Insights Hub, a central directory that makes resources and best practices available to organizations seeking extensive SaaS knowledge.

The AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR), formerly known as the Technical Baseline Review, enables AWS Partners to identify and remediate risks in products or solutions. With the new FTR Lens in the AWS Well-Architected Tool, AWS Partners can review a workload against each FTR requirement and select the best practices they are following. Once complete, AWS Partners receive an improvement plan on how to mitigate risks.

Amazon RDS customers are looking for AWS Partners with specific database engine expertise to set up, operate, and scale relational databases in the cloud. To meet this need, we are relaunching the Amazon RDS Service Delivery Program, which now validates AWS Partners by database engine type. This allows customers to identify an Amazon RDS Partner that best meets their database engine-specific migration and implementation needs.

At AWS, we are committed to supporting the global energy industry in safely meeting the energy demands the world needs today, while accelerating their transition to a more balanced and sustainable energy future. The AWS Energy Competency will formally launch in 2021 and introduce AWS Partners who have achieved this high-bar designation. Through the AWS Energy Competency, customers will have access to highly specialized AWS Partners for assistance in accelerating their digital transformation.