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AWS Adds ISV Partner Resources, Expands Marketplace
Amazon Web Services (AWS) recently announced enhancements to its AWS Partner Network (APN) offerings, including more resources for independent software vendors (ISVs), new competencies and a broader partner marketplace.
The announcements were made during the ongoing AWS re:Invent conference, which is being held as a three-week virtual event this year.
"We are excited to continue to launch new programs and services to support our tens of thousands AWS Partners around the world," said Doug Yeum, head of Worldwide Channel & Alliances at AWS, in a prepared statement. "To help our partners, we are continuing to invest heavily in making it easier for them to build successful cloud businesses on AWS and ultimately ensure that customers have access to the best software and services to navigate their cloud journeys."
First, AWS has added four new competencies to the APN. They are Travel and Hospitality, Energy, Mainframe Migration, and Public Safety and Disaster Response.
Next, for ISVs, AWS has launched two new programs -- ISV Partner Path and AWS SaaS Boost. ISV Partner Path "replaces the previous partner tier requirements ISVs had in the APN and instead focuses on service level recognition and validation," AWS said in its announcement. This new program gives recognition to ISVs based on their competencies and specializations across verticals, workloads and use cases, according to AWS.
As part of ISV Partner Path, ISVs get access to AWS support resources and programs that are "uniquely aimed at helping them accelerate business growth." For example, the AWS ISV Accelerate program that's within ISV Partner Path links ISVs with internal AWS sales teams to promote co-selling opportunities.
The second ISV offering, AWS SaaS Boost, gives ISVs a low-maintenance path to start delivering their solutions as Software as a Service (SaaS) applications. AWS describes AWS SaaS Boost as an "open source ready-to-use reference environment." It guides ISVs through the process of migrating their applications to SaaS, as well as provides pre-built software components like deployment automation, usage analytics and tools to manage metering and billing.
Finally, to widen the customer reach of all of its partners, AWS has opened its AWS Marketplace to include third-party professional services, such as training, support, and assessment and migration services. Previously, the AWS Marketplace only listed software products from partners. The addition of professional services to the portal will consolidate the procurement process for AWS customers while broadening the potential user base for AWS partners.
"With today's announcement, software listings in AWS Marketplace will now highlight related professional services offerings, so AWS customers can quickly find the services best suited for their software implementations and purchase them with one click, leveraging AWS Marketplace's standardized terms and contracts, which reduces procurement time from months to days," AWS said in its announcement.