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AWS Partner Program Makes Room for MSPs, SaaS Providers

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Inc. recently announced several enhancements to its AWS Partner Network (APN), including an expansion of partner resources and the addition of programs aimed at managed services providers (MSPs) and Software as a Service (SaaS)-focused partners.

Announced at last week's AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas, the program changes were touted as a mark of AWS' continued commitment to its partner ecosystem, which it said has grown by over 75 percent this past year.

AWS plans to "more than double" its APN investment over the next year, said Terry Wise, AWS director of Worldwide Partner Ecosystem, in a statement. He added that 2015 will bring "the most significant set of updates, enhancements and new benefits to the APN since its inception."

The company is developing seven new competencies for 2015: Security, Internet of Things, Cloud Migration, Mobile, Digital Media, Financial Services and Health Care.

Among the other changes announced at re:Invent are the launches of the AWS Managed Service Program and the AWS SaaS Partner Program. The former is aimed at MSPs that are registered as APN Consulting Partners; have proficiency in application migration and cloud infrastructure; and offer automation, monitoring and management services to their customers. Program benefits include eligibility for marketing and other funding, as well as training and certification discounts.

The AWS SaaS Partner Program is designed for APN Technology Partners that develop SaaS solutions on the AWS platform. Benefits include eligibility for lead-generation campaigns, go-to-market funding and more.

New Program Benefits
In addition to the two new partner programs, AWS announced several new benefits and resources for partners:

  • For qualifying Advanced and Premier APN members, AWS is offering to fund as much as 50 percent of their professional services fees, and up to 100 percent of their usage fees related to customer proofs-of-concepts.

  • Qualifying partners will have access to free AWS usage credits for solution development projects.

  • Three new bootcamps: Windows on AWS, AWS Professional Services and AWS Certification Prep.

  • New Web-based training on the topic of cloud economics and calculating total cost of ownership on AWS.

About the Author

Gladys Rama (@GladysRama3) is the editorial director of Converge360.

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