AWS Empowers Partners with New Competencies, Hinting at Further IoT Play
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LAS VEGAS — Amazon Web Services kicked off its massive cloud computing conference AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas on Tuesday with a keynote focused on its growing partner base that is helping push AWS further into the enterprise.
AWS plans to continue investing in partner enablement, adding partners and partner programs as it invests in regional expansions over the next 18 months.
Among the partner-focused announcements, AWS launched three new AWS Partner Network (APN) Competencies in DevOps, cloud migration, and the Internet of Things(IoT). AWS is expected to make more announcements this week around IoT as it registered several IoT-related domains recently.
Terry Wise, director of AWS worldwide partner ecosystem, said that the new DevOps competency program is similar to the MSP program, and has launched with 47 technology partners and consulting partners including Chef, CloudBees, 2ndWatch, and others.
The APN Cloud Migration Competency and APN IoT Competency will launch within the coming months. IoT is a huge opportunity, expected to reach $1.7 trillion by 2020, the biggest opportunity for IT since the Internet and big data. Certainly, when speaking with attendees, the excitement around IoT is palatable and partners want to get in on the next big thing, even if it’s still early days.
APN Competencies help partners access a number of benefits including preferred access to AWS private betas.
Migration also presents a massive opportunity to partners, Andy Jassy, SVP of AWS said.
“Some of the slowest moving enterprises traditionally are realizing that they need the cloud to compete in this day and age,” Jassy said. “[There’s] a gigantic opportunity for SIs to help enterprises migrate, and provide managed services.”
“We’re at the very start at enterprise and public sector adoption,” he said.
And this adoption can be supported by AWS partners like Infor, an enterprise software company that has gone all-in on the public cloud. Pam Murphy, Infor COO, said that it has seen traction in several areas, including manufacturing and compliant industries. Knowing when to build vs. buy is key, she said, though Infor’s CEO famously said last year at AWS re:Invent that friends don’t let friends buy data centers. Also, when it comes to cloud, make sure you invest in security above all else.
During the keynote, 46 consulting partners were recognized as 2016 premier partners. The AWS Premier Consulting Partner designation showcases the top global APN Consulting Partners that have distinguished themselves through a variety of ways including providing customer exceptional service.
Original article appeared here: AWS Empowers Partners with New Competencies, Hinting at Further IoT Play