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AWS Courts ISVs with Launch of SaaS Partner Program
Amazon Web Services Inc. (AWS) has just upped the ante for partners who use the AWS cloud to build and grow their Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions.
On Thursday, the cloud giant announced the launch of its SaaS Partner Program, which aims to "provide architecture best practices, cost optimization, deep technical training, product development credits, and go-to-market support" for independent software vendors (ISVs) that are looking to develop SaaS products on top of the AWS platform, said Terry Wise, vice president of the AWS Worldwide Partner Ecosystem, in a prepared statement.
There are currently over 100 partners enrolled in the program, according to a post on the AWS Partner Network (APN) blog. They include Sumo Logic, Infor, Informatica, Splunk, Software AG, Tibco, MicroStrategy, Looker, Qlik, and Works Applications.
AWS describes the listed partners as those who have gone "all-in" on the AWS platform. While partners don't necessarily have to be "all in" to participate in the SaaS Partner Program, the program is geared at attracting and helping ISVs that "treat AWS as a priority platform for customers to run their software," the blog said.
The SaaS Partner Program is open to all APN members that either plan to or already have SaaS applications. It has three levels: "Learn," "Build" and "Grow." Participating partners move up the levels to receive more program benefits.
Benefits include educational materials, guidance regarding best practices, training and certification opportunities, Innovation Sandbox credits to develop and test new SaaS solutions, access to enablement content, funding for go-to-market campaigns, lead-generation campaigns, and more. The table below outlines which benefits are available to which partner levels:
[Click on image for larger view.] The three levels of the SaaS Partner Program and benefits. (Source: AWS.)
Additional benefits are in the pipeline for 2015, AWS said.
Thursday's launch of the SaaS Partner Program coincided with the AWS Summit taking place in New York. Read David Ramel's article here for a roundup of AWS' various product announcements from the event.