Amazon Raises Stakes for MSPs

Amazon has increased requirements for its allied managed service providers, aiming to increase partner value and overall customer satisfaction.

According to the new validation checklist, which goes into effect in April, Amazon will place an elevated emphasis upon the Plan & Design, Build & Migrate, Run & Operate, and Optimize portions of the partners’ overall value propositions.

Partners will be required to have AWS Solution Architect-certified personnel on board to review and approve design and final deliverables. The updated program will also require that all Customer References include new customers, or new engagements with existing customers that have taken place in the last 18 months. In either event, customers involved in public references must be consuming managed services from the APN Partners or AWS, and they must have been running on those services for at least six months. This change is expected to provide a clearer demonstration of customer success.

The AWS MSP Program is introducing an annual performance-based renewal process, which includes an assessment of overall program compliance, a review of five managed service accounts that have been active over the past year, successful completion of a specified number of customer service reviews, and a third-party validation audit that must be executed every 36 months.

The company has also expanded the AWS Knowledge section of its program requirements to cover a breadth of services across multiple technology categories.

Channel Impact^®
Customers are demanding comprehensive cloud-native solutions that reduce costs, improve business agility, increase security, and empower organizations to focus on their goals. AWS is clearly raising the bar for its MSP partners, which is expected to result in higher overall customer satisfaction scores.