As expected, Amazon Web Services (AWS) broke news on products and features specific to the AWS Partner Network during their annual re:Invent conference in Las Vegas. At this year’s event, the Global Partner Summit Keynote on Monday, November 29th included several announcements from the AWS Partner Organization, AWS Marketplace, and Public Sector Partners and Programs, as well as a special fireside chat with AWS CEO Adam Selipsky.
AWS Partner Organization
The keynote was kicked off by the familiar face of Doug Yeum, Head of the AWS Partner Organization, in what is his last time in this role at re:Invent after the recent announcement that Ruba Borno would be taking over. He shared AWS’ goal of creating partnerships that last even longer than the people behind them. Updates from Yeum included:
- AWS Partner Paths better matching AWS partner profiles including Software, Hardware, Services, Training, and Distribution going into effect January 28, 2022.
- AWS Graviton Ready Program to accelerate adoption of new AWS resources.
- Updates to AWS’ Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) with the inclusion of mainframe migrations.
- Efforts to help upskill the global workforce, including an SAP on AWS certification and the upcoming general availability of AWS GameDay to all partners participating in AWS differentiation programs.
- Featured guest speaker Shelley Swanbach, President of Product and Platform at Western Union, who touched on the importance of aligning your technology strategy with your business strategy.
AWS Marketplace
Stephen Orban, GM of AWS Marketplace and Control Services, shared updates for AWS Marketplace, including:
- AWS Data Exchange for Amazon Redshift, helping customers access and subscribe to third-party data and immediately run queries.
- AWS Data Exchange for APIs, further broadening AWS’ offering to customers to find and access third-party data.
- AWS Marketplace for Containers Anywhere, extending support for new container offerings that can be deployed to any Kubernetes environment.
- AWS re/start in the AWS Marketplace, helping to close the skills gap for the underprivileged.
Public Sector Partner and Programs
Sandy Carter, Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector Partners and Programs, delivered the following updates for AWS’ public sector business:
- General availability of the energy industry competency.
- Capabilities to help partners meet Impact Level 5 standards.
- Collaboration enablement with AWS Think Big for Small Business Communities.
- Healthcare initiatives including Epic on AWS and EHR Integrated Applications Migration.
- Featured guest speaker Meg Knauth, VP of Application Development & Operations at T-Mobile, who discussed how partners can spur culture changes and how T-Mobile employees approach gaining new skills.
Fireside chat with Adam Selipsky
To close the keynote, AWS CEO, Adam Selipsky joined Yeum onstage for a fireside chat and discussed:
- His hope for the partner ecosystem to continue to be a central part of AWS’ strategy.
- Future expectations to see more sophistication in partner delivery, particularly with solutions driven by industry verticals as well as machine learning and AI.
- AWS’ efforts to reduce the impact of its business on the global climate, with a call to partners to sign a pledge to take similar action.
CloudHealth and the AWS Partner Network
We’re ready, as always, to help you navigate the AWS Partner Network. By incorporating CloudHealth into your portfolio of AWS service offerings, you can demonstrate your capabilities and competencies to customers and prospects. CloudHealth features like detailed reporting, performance analysis, and cloud asset management can help you meet the requirements of the AWS Partner Program while also delivering a more differentiated offering to customers.
Dozens of leading cloud MSPs – such as Smartronix, AC3, and AllCloud – have already partnered with CloudHealth to bring their service offerings to market. The CloudHealth Partner Platform allows MSPs to streamline billing, centralize customer management, and drive profitability at scale.
For more information on how to leverage CloudHealth to better serve your customers and validate your partner status with AWS, check out our solution brief – Amazon Web Services MSP Partner Validation: How to Ace It with CloudHealth – or email us at [email protected].
