How to Become an AWS Partner

Amazon Web Services (AWS): A Brief Overview

AWS (Amazon web services) is the world’s leading cloud infrastructure service, with a market share of over 30% as of 2023, which accounts for a significant portion of Amazon’s overall revenue.

It incorporates a comprehensive suite of cloud services (including computing, storage, networking, databases, analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence), enabling businesses across the globe to develop and run their applications on AWS without physical infrastructure stuff. 

AWS Partner Network (APN) 

While the AWS partner network (APN) is a global community of businesses that make use of AWS resources and expertise to solve technical problems and develop products on AWS infrastructure to market and sell products (or services). The network has over 1,50,000 partners from 150 countries across the globe.

As an APN partner, you can unlock varying benefits as you progress through the tiers. We’ll discuss the tiers in more detail later, but for now, let’s take a look at some of the common benefits that you’ll unlock by becoming an AWS partner.

If you are interested in becoming an AWS Partner, there are a few things you need to know. First, you must meet the AWS Partner Program requirements. What are these requirements? Let’s have a look at the requirements to become an AWS partner. 

Requirements 

These requirements include having a certain level of technical expertise and experience and a “commitment to providing excellent customer service.” Once you have met the requirements, you can apply to become an AWS Partner. 

• Annual Fee: The annual fee for enrolling in this program costs $2500, regardless of partner tier, against which the partners will receive $3,500 worth of AWS Promotional Credits upon payment of the Annual APN Program Fee. 
  
• Monthly Recurring Revenue: You generate monthly recurring revenue of at least $1500 or fulfill necessary launched opportunities criteria for a specific tier. 
  
• Valid Reviews & Customer Satisfaction Responses: You must have customer reviews — at least two reviews for Advanced and six reviews to be eligible for the Premier tier (we will discuss AWS partner tiers later in this article). In addition, it requires at least twenty and thirty customer satisfaction (CSAT) responses for the Advanced and Premier tier, respectively. 
  
• AWS Certification: AWS certification is a must-have to show your team has required AWS skills for customers. The certification will demonstrate to your customers that you have the expertise to meet their needs.
  

You’re good to go if you fulfill all the abovementioned requirements (including AWS certification, monthly recurring revenue, fee payment, and valid reviews). And now you’ll be able to figure out which tier category you fall into.

AWS Partner Tiers

AWS offers three tiers of partner programs, each with its own set of benefits.

1. Select tier: To apply for this tier, you must have at least a team of two AWS Foundational Certified and two AWS Technical Certified Individuals. And you must have launched three opportunities with a total MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) of at least $1,500.

2. Advanced:

• Certification: For the advanced partner program, you must have at least a team of four AWS Foundational Certified and six AWS Technical Certified Individuals, with at least three of those being professional or specialty certificate holderns. And you must have launched 20 opportunities with a total MRR of at least $10,000. In addition, you have at least two satisfied customer reviews and feedback. In addition to this, you must have two valid reviews in a public forum or 20 Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Responses and must have a partner business plan.
  
  

3. Premier:

• Certifications: Premier Partners must have at least 10 AWS Foundational Certified Individuals and 25 AWS Technical Certified Individuals, with at least 10 of those being Professional or Specialty certifications.
• Experience: Premier Partners must have launched at least 50 opportunities with a total MRR of at least $50,000.
• Public forum reviews: Premier Partners must have six valid reviews in a public forum or 30 Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Responses.
• Partner Business Plan: Premier Partners must have a partner business plan.
• Competencies: Applicants for the Premier Tier must have at least 3 AWS competencies, one of which must be either the MSP or DevOps competency.
  
  

Benefits of AWS Partner

• AWS Promotional Credits: You’ll get AWS credits to use AWS services, depending on your tier. Select partners get $3,500, Advanced partners get $5,000, and Premier partners get $10,000.
• Additional AWS Promotional Credit for AWS Certification Attainment: You’ll get more AWS credits if you or your team members get AWS certifications. You’ll get $300 for up to two Associate certifications and $500 for each Professional or Specialty certification.
• Discounted AWS Training: You can get heavily discounted training packages through select APN Training Partners.
• Access to AWS Solutions Training for Partners (STP): You can attend one-day training sessions on how to deliver various workloads and AWS solutions.
• Access to Partner Development Resources: You’ll get access to resources to help you develop your AWS skills and expertise.
• Access to Partner Solutions Resources: You can get help from Partner Solutions Architects (PSAs) with solution-level questions.
• AWS Partner Solutions Finder Listing: Your company will be listed in the AWS Partner Solutions Finder so that AWS customers can find you.
• Access to APN Marketing Central: You can create co-branded campaigns with AWS using APN Marketing Central.
• Market Development Funds (MDF): Advanced and Premier partners can get MDF to help them market their AWS solutions.
• Highlighted Case Studies: Advanced and Premier partners can have their case studies highlighted on the AWS website.
  

Why Did We Become AWS Partners?

Brilworks is a software development company that helps clients with all their digital needs. We have successfully become an AWS Partner, which means we are now certified to help clients with AWS products and services. Consequently, it gives us a number of benefits, including:

• Access to AWS representatives who can help us scale our AWS cloud services.
• New marketing channel for us, as we can now promote our AWS expertise to potential clients.
• The assurance to our clients that we have the required knowledge and experience to serve them with the help of the AWS team.
• Better services, as we can now leverage AWS’s vast resources and expertise.
• More channels, as we can now partner with AWS to reach a wider range of clients.
  

Conclusion

We are proud to be AWS Certified Developers and members of the AWS Partner Network program. Also, this certification and participation in the program demonstrate our commitment to providing our clients with the best possible cloud solutions.

Moreover, Our AWS certification will help us better serve our clients and grow our business. If you are looking for a reliable AWS cloud partner and AWS-certified developer, please contact us. We would be happy to discuss your cloud needs and help you find the best solution for your business.

FAQs

• What is CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Responses)? 

CSAT responses are collected through the “Rate this Partner” in APN Partner Solutions Finder(PSF) listing. 

This function allows customers to rate their experience with an AWS Partner on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. 

• What is Executive Business Review?

An EBR(executive business review) is a review of how well an APN Partner is doing with AWS, looking at things like their business and technical achievements to evaluate if they meet the standards to stay in the Premier tier. It assesses various aspects of the partnership, including both business and technical milestones, to determine the partner’s ability to maintain their Premier tier status.

• What is Partner Business Plan?

A partner business refers to the document that outlines the goals, objectives, and strategies of the applicant. It typically includes information about the partners’ respective strengths, their target markets, their sales and marketing plans, their financial projections, etc.

• What are the launched opportunities?

In simple words, launched opportunities are opportunities that are successfully converted into paying opportunities. These opportunities can be managed through the Opportunity management tool in APN Partner Central.