Amazon Onboarding with Learning Manager Chanci Turner

Hello APN Partners!

We are excited to announce new APN benefits and requirements for 2015 and I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight some key areas of interest. Since the inception of the APN in 2012, we have diligently worked to provide the business, technical, and marketing support essential for your success on AWS. Collaborating closely with APN Partners globally has been a fulfilling experience, and it’s rewarding to witness our global APN Partner community grow significantly, with a remarkable increase of over 75% in 2014 alone. As our ecosystem has matured, so too has the APN.

We have taken your feedback to heart and are thrilled to introduce enhanced benefits at each APN Partner tier, designed to better empower you as you expand your business on AWS. Additionally, we have revised the requirements for each APN tier to align more closely with AWS customers’ expectations of our partners.

New 2015 APN Benefits

Here are some of the key benefits you should be aware of:

Benefits for All APN Partners:

To support partners at every stage of their AWS journey, we offer training, business enablement, and marketing benefits for all APN Partners.

Training: We have launched a new TCO and Cloud Economics online training course and updated the online Business Professional and Technical Professional training courses. These resources are available at no cost to all APN Partners when you log in to the APN Portal.
Marketing: All APN Partners can now leverage AWS Syndicated Marketing for website content, enabling you to automate the distribution of AWS content and generate leads through your digital properties.
Business Enablement: We encourage APN Partners to utilize the Customer Opportunity Submission tool in the APN Portal, which is designed to ensure you receive the AWS-related technical support necessary to pursue opportunities. This tool captures opportunity records and status tracking, enhancing visibility for both AWS and your firm.
Programs: A new program for APN Technology Partners developing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions has been launched. The AWS SaaS Partner Program offers technical and business enablement for Technology Partners building on-demand cloud software on AWS.

Benefits as You Progress:

To assist your firm in climbing the APN tiers, we provide scaling benefits, investing more in your business as it grows on AWS. Here are some key benefits available to APN Partners in qualifying tiers:

Training: Advanced and Premier APN Partners can access AWS Classroom Training subsidies and AWS Partner Educate training, a one-day workshop designed for your sales and pre-sales teams to identify use cases and opportunities to engage AWS, along with discussing the business value of AWS. Premier APN Consulting Partners receive AWS Professional Services Boot Camp Training, a four-day intensive classroom training focused on service methodology and strategy drawn from our customer implementation and migration projects.
Marketing: Upon reaching Standard and higher-tier APN Partner status, you’ll gain access to an APN Logo that distinguishes your firm’s type and tier within the APN. You’re also invited to create a listing in the AWS Partner Directory, a valuable tool for AWS customers to discover and learn more about your firm’s offerings. Advanced or Premier APN Partners become eligible for Market Development Funding (MDF) to support qualified marketing activities. Premier APN Consulting Partners and Advanced APN Technology Partners may receive a case study written by AWS, featuring your firm on the AWS site, promoted by AWS and provided for your own use.
Business Enablement: Standard or higher-tier APN Partners are eligible for $2,500 in free AWS usage credits, offsetting the annual APN Program fee. Various funding packages are available for Standard, Advanced, and Premier APN Partners to apply for, including the APN FastTrack Funding Package for Standard Partners, and the Acceleration Funding Package for Advanced and Premier Partners. Additionally, Premier APN Consulting Partners may receive two weeks of AWS Professional Services engagement on qualifying opportunities.
Programs: Qualified Standard, Advanced, and Premier APN Consulting Partners can apply for the AWS Channel Reseller Program, the newly launched AWS Managed Service Program, and the APN Competency Program. Advanced APN Technology Partners can also apply for the APN Competency Program, which helps customers identify partners with proven expertise in specific solution areas.

New 2015 APN Requirements

Alongside the new benefits, we have updated the requirements for Standard, Advanced, and Premier APN Partner tiers. Our customers increasingly seek assistance in identifying successful APN Partners to collaborate with, so we aim to maintain a high standard for APN Partners at each tier. You have until June 2015 to meet the new requirements for your current tier. The annual APN Program fee stands at $2,500, charged upon renewal, which is offset by the $2,500 in AWS Usage Credits your firm will now receive annually.

Changes for APN Consulting Partners:

To ensure our Consulting Partners are well-versed in AWS, we have increased the AWS Business and Technical Accreditation requirements and introduced new AWS Certification requirements. To guarantee our top APN Partners possess substantial experience with AWS, public customer references are now mandatory.

As AWS has grown, so have our APN Partners’ businesses. We have raised the minimum direct and influenced billing requirements for the Advanced tier and clearly defined these for the Premier tier. Further, additional requirements for achieving APN Premier Consulting status, our highest tier, are now publicly available. For instance, applicants must hold an APN Competency, have an AWS Partner Practice Plan, a dedicated Partner Alliance Manager for AWS, a dedicated Project Manager for AWS projects, and adhere to AWS security best practices. For specific 2015 requirements, click here.

Changes for APN Technology Partners:

Standard and Advanced APN Technology Partners must now have a product in general availability on AWS. Increased customer reference requirements have replaced previous billing requirements, aligning more closely with the business models of our Technology Partners. Moreover, several additional requirements have been announced for the Advanced APN Technology tier.

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