AWS introduces SME partner competency

Amazon Web Services AWS has cut the ribbon on a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) competency to highlight partners best positioned to deliver services and support to that customer base.

The cloud giant announced the launch of the Small and Medium Business Competency via a blog post, attributed to its SME team, including John Burchett and Dave Gervon, global SMB partner leaders, Niki Moshiri, global SMB partner specialist, WeeMeng Chong, senior partner solutions architect and Joanne Moore, senior AWS specialisation launch manager.

“In today’s fast-paced world, small and medium businesses are leveraging the power of the cloud to drive innovation, reach new customers, develop new revenue streams and increase productivity,” the post stated.

“That’s why it’s critical to work with experts who understand the unique needs of your business, including region and industry requirements, preferred deployment models, and IT capabilities,” it added.

SMB Competency Partners will be able to offer a range of offerings to customers, including platform options that cover migration, security, storage and AI – plus, on the SaaS side, accounting, resource management, customer service and relationship management.

Those looking to gain the competency must get through technical validation and an assessment of their ability to deliver AWS solutions, and be prepared to share customer case studies to support the application.

AWS kicked off the competency launch with a host of examples of partners that had made the grade, including Rebura, which was picked up by Westcon-Comstor a matter of days ago.

Rebura will be offering its AWS Audit and Risk Assessment service to help SMEs keep on top of their infrastructure.

AWS is also working with a number of software partners to provide solutions that would appeal to SMEs, including Fortinet, Sophos and Trend Micro on the security side, and the likes of Sage and Trelix.

AWS is supporting the competency with a range of benefits, including marketing campaigns and third-party research.

Speaking to MicroScope last November, Julia Chen, vice-president of Partner Core at AWS, made it clear the firm recognised the importance of the channel to support customers and deliver solutions to users.

“We very much rely on our partners to create the solutions and the outcomes that the customers need,” she said. “We’re able to close deals faster with a higher win rate and better seal economics when there are partners involved. All around, we recognise that partners are hugely important to our business.”