PA R TN E R N E T W O R K

AWS Service Ready, AWS Service

Delivery, AWS Competency, and
Managed Service Provider
Programs
Program Guide
Version 2022.2

This document is provided for informational purposes only and does not create any offer, contractual commitment,
promise, or assurance from AWS. Any benefits described herein are at AWS’s sole discretion and may be subject to
change or termination without notice. This document is not part of, nor does it modify, any agreement between
AWS and its customers and/or APN Partners.
 Contents
Designations ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Program Prerequisites ..................................................................................................................... 3
AWS Service Ready .............................................................................................................................................. 3
AWS Service Delivery .......................................................................................................................................... 3
AWS Competency ................................................................................................................................................ 3
AWS Managed Services Provider (MSP) ......................................................................................................... 3
Application ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Appendix A ........................................................................................................................................... 4
Creating and Submitting an Application ........................................................................................ 4
Step One: Start an Application......................................................................................................................... 5
Step Two: Select a Designation........................................................................................................................ 6
Step Three: Attach an Offering ........................................................................................................................ 7
Step Four: Attach Case Studies ....................................................................................................................... 7
Step Five: Designate a point of contact (POC) and attach documentation ......................................... 8
Step Six: Submit and Track your Application ............................................................................................... 8
How to Update an Existing Application .......................................................................................... 9
How to Create an Offering ............................................................................................................. 10
Step One: Create an Offering record ............................................................................................................ 11
Step Two: Complete Offering Details........................................................................................................... 11
Step Three: Complete Contact Details ......................................................................................................... 12
Step Four: (Optional) Complete Marketing and Sales Details ................................................................ 12
Step Five: (Required for Software Path) Request a Foundational Technical Review ....................... 13
Step Six: (Optional) Attach Documentation and Case Studies............................................................... 14
How to Create a Case Study ........................................................................................................... 14
Appendix B ................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Application Field Definitions ............................................................................................................................... 15
Application Status .................................................................................................................................................. 16
Offering Field Definitions ..................................................................................................................................... 16
Appendix C ................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Expectations of Parties ......................................................................................................................................... 20
Impact of Merger, Acquisition, and Divestiture Activity ............................................................................... 20
Definitions ................................................................................................................................................................ 23

© 2022, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 2
 Designations
This Program Guide provides step-by-step instructions when applying for an AWS Service
Ready, AWS Service Delivery, AWS Competency, or AWS Managed Service Provider (MSP)
designation in AWS Partner Central. Within these four programs, ‘designation’ refers to the
specific use case, workload, or industry (e.g. AWS Dev Ops Competency), AWS service (e.g.
Amazon Kinesis Delivery or AWS Lambda Ready), or managed service (e.g. AWS Managed
Service Provider).

Because of their designation attainment, AWS Partners receive a variety of benefits including
funding, core marketing, technical enablement, and additional opportunities to engage with
AWS that partners outside of these programs cannot access. For additional details on benefits,
check out the benefits guides:

• AWS Service Ready Benefits Guide

• AWS Service Delivery Benefits Guide
• AWS Competency Benefits Guide
• AWS Managed Service Provider (MSP) Benefits Guide

Program Prerequisites

AWS Service Ready

• Partners must be in the Validated stage of the Software Path
• Approved AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR) for the offering submitted

AWS Service Delivery

• Partners must be in the Validated stage of the Services Path

AWS Competency
For AWS Partners that provide professional, consulting, and managed services:
• Partners must be in the Validated stage of the Services Path and Advanced or Premier
Tier

For AWS Partners that provide software solutions that run on or are integrated with AWS:
• Partners must be in the Validated stage of the Software Path
• Approved AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR) for the offering submitted

AWS Managed Services Provider (MSP)

For AWS Partners that deliver consulting, professional, managed services.
• Partners must be in the Validated stage of the Services Path.

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 • Partners must achieve AWS Advanced or Premier Services Tier, and have built their AWS
MSP practice.

Validation Checklist

In addition to meeting the program prerequisites, AWS Partners must meet the unique
requirements outlined in the Validation Checklist, which is different for each designation.

A Validation Checklist documents all the necessary components an AWS Partner must
demonstrate to qualify for a specific designation. You must review the Validation Checklist and
submit a completed self-assessment, which is linked within the Validation Checklist.

Validation Checklists can be found in AWS Partner Central.

Application
The application steps in AWS Partner Central will be the same for AWS Competency, AWS
Service Delivery or AWS Service Ready. For more details on the application steps listed below,
see Appendix A.

Step 1: Start an Application under “View My APN Account”

Step 2: Select a Designation
Step 3: Attach an Offering
Step 4: Attach Case Studies
Step 5: Designate a Point of Contact and attach documentation
Step 6: Submit and track your application

For more details on the application steps listed below, see the Appendix A.

Appendix A

Creating and Submitting an Application

We recommend creating an application once you have reviewed the prerequisites for the
designation, have completed the self-assessment, and have created your offering and case
studies.

Every application will have a ‘Tracker’ that will indicate, 1) the designation you are applying for,
2) the Offering you want to associate to the application, 3) the number of required Case Studies

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 for Designation applications, 4) your status towards completion of the application, and once
applied, the status of the review performed by AWS.

At any time during the application process, you can select the “Submit Later“ button in the
bottom right to save your progress and complete your application at a later time.

Continue reading below to learn how to create and complete an application

Step One: Start an Application

1. Log into AWS Partner Central

2. Select “View My APN Account” from the Quick Links

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 3. From your partner profile page, scroll down and locate the section titled “Applications”
4. Select New

Step Two: Select a Designation

1. Click on the ‘Select Designation’ button

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 2. In the pop-up window select the designation you are applying for. Use the search box or
program filter to find the designation
3. Click ‘Select’
4. Proceed to the section ‘Acknowledgement’
5. Provide confirmation that you have reviewed the program guidelines by selecting the
checkbox

Step Three: Attach an Offering

A critical step in the application process is providing information about the Offering(s) to be
reviewed for validation.

This step in the process assumes that you have already created an Offering in AWS Partner
Central. For more information about creating an Offering, reference ‘How to Create an
Offering.’

To attach an Offering:
1. Click on the ‘Select Offering’ button
2. In the pop-up window select the Offering you’d like to be considered for your application.
Use the search box or status filter to find the Offering.
3. Select ‘Select & Save’ to finalize your selection and allow you to proceed to the next steps of
the application

Step Four: Attach Case Studies

The Tracker will identify for you the minimum number of required case studies.

To create a new Case Study, click the Submit Later button to save your progress and exit the
application. Refer to the section 'How to Create a Case Study' for details on creating a Case Study.

1. Select ‘Case Studies’

2. In the pop-up window select the Case Studies you’d like to be considered for your offering
and application. Use the search box or status filter to find a Case Study
3. Click ‘Select and ‘Save’

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 Step Five: Designate a point of contact (POC) and attach documentation
Designate a POC:
Enter the contact details of the person who we can respond to questions we have about the
application

1. Select ‘Contact Details’

2. Complete Name, Email, Phone and Contact Type fields
3. Select ‘Save and Continue’

Attach Documentation:
Designations require the completion of a self-assessment leveraging the Validation Checklist
available for each designation. You can view the Validation Checklist by selecting ‘Access Validation
Checklist’ in the Documentation section. Also use this section to attach any supporting documents
for the application.

To attach the documentation:

1. Select ‘Documentation’
2. Upload or Drag and Drop relevant documentation
3. Select ‘Save and Continue’

Step Six: Submit and Track your Application

When you’ve completed all required sections, select ‘Submit’ to send the application for
validation.

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 Once your application has been submitted, you can use the application ‘Status’ as an indicator
of progress of your application. Pay attention to the status ‘Pending Partner Action’ and
‘Marketing Update’, as this indicates a request for additional information from AWS (an email
notification will also be sent).

You can find the Status both in the Application Roadmap tracker and the Applications table
accessed through ‘View My APN Account.’

How to Update an Existing Application

You may find the need to update an existing application that 1) is still in draft mode and
requires additional information to be submitted 2) has been submitted but you need to update
details 3) AWS has asked for additional or clarification on details provided in the application and
4) a previously started application that has expired and you wish to ‘reactivate’ the application.

1. Log into AWS Partner Central

2. Select “View My APN Account” from the Quick Links
3. From your partner profile page, scroll down and locate the section titled “Applications”
4. Once at the Application section, select Edit next to the application you want to update.

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 Note: Applications cannot be edited while they are being reviewed, published or declined by
AWS. Only those applications that are in the following status can be edited: Draft, Submitted,
Expired, Pending Partner Action and Resubmitted

5. Within the application update any relevant sections and fields and select ‘Done’ at the
bottom of the page.

If you are responding to a request for additional information, the internal AWS team reviewing
your application will be notified.

How to Create an Offering

Offerings submitted in AWS Partner Central are utilized by AWS for 1) reviewing AWS
Competency, AWS Service Delivery, AWS Service Ready, and AWS Managed Service Provider
(MSP) designation applications and 2) to create Offering listings that are surfaced to AWS
Customers and AWS Sellers through the AWS Partner Solutions Finder and the internal AWS
Partner directory.

An Offering listing is available for Offerings that have been Validated by AWS, which can be
achieved by attainment of a Foundational Technical Review or an approved designation
associated to the specific Offering.

Increase your visibility and opportunity for engagement with AWS Customers and AWS Sellers
by submitting all your available Offerings on AWS and planning a path to Validation.

While creating an Offering you are only required to complete the ‘Offering Details’ and ‘Contact
Details’ sections described below. However, we recommend completing all sections and doing

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 so thoughtfully as these details are surfaced in your Offering Listings and impact your discovery
in both the AWS Partner Solutions finder and our internal Partner directory.

Discovery in both of these tools can generate Leads generated by AWS Customers and
Opportunities sourced and qualified by AWS Sellers. Both Leads and Opportunities are made
available for you through the ACE Pipeline Manager in Partner Central.

Step One: Create an Offering record

1. Log into AWS Partner Central

2. Select “View My APN Account” from the Quick Links

3. From your partner profile page, scroll down and locate the section titled “Offerings”
4. Select New

Step Two: Complete Offering Details

1. Select the offering type that most closely matches your offering

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 2. Provide an Offering Title
This title should be descriptive and help to describe your Offering.

3. Provide an Offering Description.

The description should be concise but give a customer or seller a general idea of the
inherent capabilities and specific advantages for this offering

4. Provide an Offering Selling Proposition.

The selling proposition should be a written value statement to help customers understand
what the expected business results would be from adopting this specific offering. This
should avoid claims that cannot be proven with data such as “the best” and “number 1".

Step Three: Complete Contact Details

The contact refers to the individual within your organization for which questions from AWS
about the offering should be routed to. Ideally, this individual is someone who has AWS Partner
Central access and is able to effectively manage the Offering record.

Provide a Contact Name, Email, Phone and Type (Role Type within your organization).

Step Four: (Optional) Complete Marketing and Sales Details

Marketing Details and Sales sections are for you to provide relevant URLs of assets related to
your offering that AWS Customers or AWS Sellers can reference when reviewing your Offering
listing.

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 Step Five: (Required for Software Path) Request a Foundational Technical Review

Partners in the Software Path require an Approved AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR) for
the offering submitted for validation.

A Foundational Technical Review helps you identify and mitigate any technical risks for your
Offering. You can obtain an FTR for each of your Software Products available on AWS.

To Request an FTR:
In the ‘Validations’ Section download and review the AWS Foundational Technical Review
Guide and once all required documentation is attached, select ‘Request Foundational Technical
Review.’

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 Step Six: (Optional) Attach Documentation and Case Studies
Attach any relevant Documentation to the Offering and Case Studies that demonstrate
customer success specific to the Offering.

How to Create a Case Study

Similar to Offerings, Case Studies submitted in AWS Partner Central are utilized by AWS for 1)
when reviewing Competency and Service Validation designation applications and 2) to
incorporate in your Partner listing surfaced to AWS Customers and AWS Sellers through the
AWS Partner Solutions Finder and an internal Partner directory.

While only some fields are required, we recommend providing as much detail as possible.

1. Log into AWS Partner Central

2. Select “View My APN Account” from the Quick Links:

3. From your partner profile page, scroll down and locate the section titled “Case Studies”
4. Select ‘New’
5. Complete required fields
6. Select ‘Submit

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 Appendix B
Application Field Definitions

Field Name Definition Details

Section Designation: Used to identify the designation the application is for
Name The name of the designation Generated when designation
to which you are applying for is selected
Program The name of the program Generated when designation
associated with the selected is selected
designation: AWS
Competency, Service Ready
or Service Delivery Programs
Categories The designation categories Multi-select; required only for
your offering is correlated to some designations
Section Acknowledgement: Used to provide confirmation that the related program
guidelines (AWS Competency, Service Delivery or Service Ready) have been reviewed
Section Offering: Used to associate the offering you would like reviewed and validated for
the designation
Name The title of your offering Generated when Offering is
selected
Type The offering type you defined Generated when Offering is
for the Offering (Offerings selected
are categorized into types -
Software Product, Hardware
Product, Communications
Product, Consulting Service,
Professional Service,
Managed Service, Distribution
Service and Training Service)
Status Status to display whether an Generated when Offering is
Offering is Active (agree to selected
surface on discovery tools)
FTR Status Status to display whether Generated when Offering is
your Offering has received an selected
Approved FTR
Remove Delete the selected Offering
Section Case Studies: Used to associate already created Case Studies, they must
demonstrate customer success specific to the offering identified for the designation

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 Name Title of the Case Study
Generated when Case Study
is selected
Customer Name of Customer associated Generated when Case Study
to Case Study is selected
Created Date Created date of Case Study Generated when Case Study
is selected
Public vs Private Public (surface on discovery Generated when Case Study
tools) or Private (don’t is selected
surface)
Remove Delete selected Case Study
Section Contact Details: Used to help identify points of contact for routing questions and
inquiries
Section Documentation: Used to provide a completed self-assessment for the Validation
Checklist associated to the designation being applied for

Application Status

Status Definition Application Editable

Draft An Application record is created Editable
but has not been submitted
Submitted An Application has been Editable
completed and submitted
In Review In review by AWS Not Editable
Technical Validation Requested Technical Validation Process Not Editable
Technical Validation Scheduled Technical Validation Process Not Editable
Technical Validation In Process Technical Validation Process Not Editable
Confirmed Approved for the Designation Not Editable
Declined Denied for the Designation Not Editable
Expired Application has not been updated Editable
in awhile
Pending Partner Action AWS has requested additional Editable
information
Marketing Update AWS has requested additional Not Editable
information regarding content
related to case studies
Resubmitted An application is edited after Editable
submittal
Deleted You’ve deleted the application Not Editable
and can no longer access

Offering Field Definitions

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 Field Name Definition Details
Section Tracker: This section is used to provide status updates on the offering
System
This field is a system generated unique identifier for each
Name Generated; Not
offering record.
Editable
An indication of registry between AWS Partners and AWS. System Provided;
The status helps to inform whether or not a specific record Not Editable
Offering Status
should be published as actively supported and an available
offering.
An indicator of the state of review for a specific offering System Provided;
Foundational
record. Not Editable
Technical
Review*
*This field only relates to Software Product offering types.
Section Offering Details: This section is used to help describe your offering, when validated
through a designation, these details are surfaced our customers via the AWS Partner Solutions
Finder and to AWS Sellers via an internal Partner Directory
A structured categorization of offering records. The Required;
defined types will aim to group based on shared Editable; Picklist
characteristics. The offering types will be: Software
Product; Hardware Product; Connectivity Product;
Offering Type
Consulting Service; Professional Service; Speciality Practice;
Managed Service; Distribution Service; Resale/Billing
Service; & Training Service. This field is used within
PDP/PSF.
This field will define the current state of the offering. This Required;
data will help to inform whether an offering record is Editable; Picklist
Availability
available to be used by a customer or not. Nonactive
records are ineligible to be published to PDP/PSF.
The name of the specific offering. Each title should help to Required;
differentiate a partner's capability and clearly articulate the Editable; Free
Offering Title
domain or function by which the related listing will help to Text
achieve. This field is used within PDP/PSF.
A written representation to help customers understand Required;
Offering more about the inherent capabilities and specific Editable; Free
Description advantages for this offering. This field is used within Text
PDP/PSF.
A written value statement to help customers understand Required;
Offering Selling what the expected business results would be from Editable; Free
Proposition adopting this specific offering. This field is used within Text
PDP/PSF.

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 A link to a microsite of partner-generate website to enable Required;
Offering URL customers to learn more through the branding and Editable; URL
messaging of partners. This field is used within PDP/PSF.
Optional;
Offering Demo A link to a partner-generated demonstration of the
Editable; URL
URL offering. This field is used within PDP/PSF.

The method in which an offering is available to be adopted Optional;

by a customer based on the architecture and adoption Editable; Picklist
method build by AWS Partners. This field is used within
Delivery Model PDP/PSF.

*this field is only applicable to Software Product offering

types.
Section Marketing Details: This section is used to help capture links to collateral or additional
resources pertaining to the offering.
A link to a suite of assets & collateral generated by AWS Optional;
Partners or by AWS Partner Marketing to help AWS Editable; URL
Offering Field
customer account teams better understand the unique
Ready Kit URL
value of a specific offering. This field will be used within
PDP.
A link to a partner-generated webpage where customers Optional;
Buy Now URL can adopt and purchase the offering. This field will be used Editable; URL
within PDP/PSF.
A link to a marketplace listing where customers can adopt Optional;
Buy Now on AWS Editable; URL
and purchase the offering. This field will be used within
Marketplace URL
PDP/PSF.
A link to a specifications sheet containing technical details Optional;
Spec Sheet URL related to adoption of the offering. This field will be used Editable; URL
within PDP.
A link to any published authorship related to Optional;
Thought demonstration of leadership within this space. This can be Editable; URL
Leadership URL for example: speaking at a conference for this offering or
3rd party research. This field will be used within PDP/PSF.
Optional;
AWS Quickstart A link to the published quickstart listing for this offering (if
Editable; URL
URL applicable). This field will be used within PDP/PSF.

Other Partners Optional;

A list of additional partners who either work with or Editable; Free
collaborate on this offering. Text

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 Section Sales Details: This section is used to help capture information pertinent to AWS
Customer Account teams
Optional;
Estimated Sales An indication for the expected average sales cycle time for
Editable; Picklist
Cycle Time customers to adopt this offering.

An expected cost to the customer for adopting this Optional;

offering in terms of monthly recurring revenue. This Editable; Free
Average Monthly
estimate should be in USD. Text
Recurring
Revenue (MRR)*
*this field is only applicable to Software Product Offering
Types
A link to the estimated calculation breakdown provided in Optional;
the Average MRR field. This link should help to provide a Editable; URL
line by line breakdown of incremental cost to the
MRR Estimate
customer.
URL*
*this field is only applicable to Software Product Offering
Types
For SaaS Software Products, an estimated percent of the Optional;
Percent of product which is running on AWS. Editable; Free
Product Running Text
on AWS* *this field is only applicable to Software Product Offering
Types
Section Contact Details: This section is used to help identify points of contact for routing
questions and inquiries
An indication of the persona for the respective registered Required;
contact. This will help to identify if the identified contact is Editable; Picklist
Contact Type
a sales representative or a technical representative to
better direct questions.
Required;
Contact Name The first and last name for the contact. Editable; Free
Text
Required;
Contact Email The email for the contact Editable; Free
Text
Required;
Contact Phone The phone number for the contact. Editable; Free
Text
Section Validations: Used to highlight the validations performed by AWS on the offering
record.

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 Section Documentation: Used to attach documentation relevant to the offering.
Section Case Studies: Used to relate case studies to the offering to show demonstrated
previous success with customers.
Section Designations: Used to identify the designations which a specific partner has attained
as related to the specific offering.

Appendix C
Expectations of Parties

Once AWS Partners have applied for a designation, AWS Partners undergo a validation of their
capabilities known as the technical validation. AWS leverages in-house expertise and may
leverage a third-party firm to facilitate the review.

AWS reserves the right to make changes to this document at any time. It is expected that AWS
Partners will review this document in detail before applying, even if pre-requisites are met. If items
in this document are unclear and require further explanation, please contact your AWS Partner
Development Representative (PDR) or Partner Development Manager (PDM).

Incomplete applications will not be considered and will be declined until all requirements are met.
Once your application has been submitted, the APN Team will review for completeness and for
compliance with the prerequisites. Next, we send applications to in-house or third-party experts
to complete a Technical Validation.

AWS recommends that AWS Partners have individuals who can provide evidence of compliance
during the validation process. AWS Partners should ensure that they have the necessary consents
to share with the auditor (whether AWS or a third-party) all information contained within the
application. It is expected that AWS Partners have individuals who can speak in-depth to the
technical requirements about the AWS Service during the validation process.

Upon completion of the Technical Validation, AWS Partners will receive a final status for the
submitted application either confirming or declining the AWS Partners’ acceptance into the
Program.

Impact of Merger, Acquisition, and Divestiture Activity

AWS Service Ready

AWS Service Ready includes an audit to validate the AWS Partner’s technical capabilities, as well
as its business and delivery models. These business and delivery models are often significantly
impacted in the process of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. As a result, AWS Partners may

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 be required to reapply and complete a new audit based on the resulting businesses from their
M&A activity.

Acquisition/Merger/Divestiture
AWS Service Ready Program Partner acquires non-AWS Service Ready AWS Partner: No
immediate action required. The AWS Service Ready Program Partner should describe any impacts
to its AWS Service Ready Program practice during any subsequent audit.

Non-AWS Service Ready AWS Partner acquires AWS Service Ready Program Partner: New
application and audit required for acquiring AWS Partner to be recognized as an AWS Service
Ready Program Partner. The new business and delivery models, as well as the integration of the
acquired technical capabilities, must be validated through the audit process. We recommend that
this be done as soon as possible to ensure continued recognition by AWS Service Ready Program.

AWS Service Ready Program Partner acquires another AWS Service Ready Program Partner: No
immediate action required. The consolidated entity will be assessed during the renewal audit for
either of the original entities (whichever date is soonest).

AWS Service Ready Program Partner divests a portion of its business related to its AWS Service
Ready Program practice: The divesting business should immediately disclose significant impacts
to its AWS Service Ready Program practice that would materially impact its standing as an AWS
Service Ready Program Partner. Depending on the significance of the impact, the AWS Partner
will either be immediately removed from the program or will be required to highlight impacts to
the business within 60 days. The divested business will be required to apply to AWS Service Ready
Program as a new AWS Partner.

AWS Service Delivery

AWS Service Delivery includes an audit to validate the AWS Partner’s technical capabilities, as well
as its business and delivery models. These business and delivery models are often significantly
impacted in the process of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. As a result, AWS Partners may
be required to reapply and complete a new audit based on the resulting businesses from their
M&A activity.

Acquisition/Merger/Divestiture
AWS Service Delivery Program Partner acquires non-AWS Service Delivery AWS Partner: No
immediate action required. The AWS Service Delivery Program Partner should describe any
impacts to its AWS Service Delivery Program practice during any subsequent audit.

Non-AWS Service Delivery AWS Partner acquires AWS Service Delivery Program Partner: New
application and audit required for acquiring AWS Partner to be recognized as an AWS Service
Delivery Program Partner. The new business and delivery models, as well as the integration of the
acquired technical capabilities, must be validated through the audit process. We recommend that

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 this be done as soon as possible to ensure continued recognition by AWS Service Delivery
Program.

AWS Service Delivery Program Partner acquires another AWS Service Delivery Program Partner:
No immediate action required. The consolidated entity will be assessed during the renewal audit
for either of the original entities (whichever date is soonest).

AWS Service Delivery Program Partner divests a portion of its business related to its AWS Service
Delivery Program practice: The divesting business should immediately disclose significant impacts
to its AWS Service Delivery Program practice that would materially impact its standing as an AWS
Service Delivery Program Partner. Depending on the significance of the impact, the AWS Partner
will either be immediately removed from the program or will be required to highlight impacts to
the business within 60 days. The divested business will be required to apply to AWS Service
Delivery Program as a new AWS Partner.

AWS Competency
The AWS Competency Program validates AWS Partners offerings, as well as its business and
delivery models. These business and delivery models are often significantly impacted in the
process of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. As a result, AWS Partners may be required to
reapply and complete a new audit based on the resulting businesses from their mergers,
acquisitions, and divestitures activity. Please refer to the guidelines below.

Acquisition/Merger:
AWS Competency Partner acquires non-Competency Partner: No immediate action required.
The AWS Competency Partner should describe any impacts to its AWS Competency offering
during any subsequent validation.

Non-Competency Partner acquires AWS Competency Partner: New application and validation
required for acquiring AWS Partner to be recognized as an AWS Competency Partner. The new
business and delivery models, as well as the integration of the acquired technical capabilities,
must be validated through this process. We recommend for this to be done as soon as possible
to ensure continued recognition in the AWS Competency Program.

AWS Competency Partner acquires another AWS Competency Partner: No immediate action
required. The consolidated entity will be assessed during the renewal for either of the original
entities (whichever date is soonest).

Divestiture:
AWS Competency Partner divests a portion of its business related to its AWS Competency
offering: The dive sting business should immediately disclose significant impacts to its AWS
Competency that would materially impact its standing as a Competency Partner. Depending on
the significance of the impact, the AWS Partner will either be immediately removed

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 from the program or will be required to highlight impacts to the business during the next
renewal. The divested business will be required to apply to the AWS Competency Program as a
new AWS Partner.

AWS Managed Service Provider (MSP)

The MSP Partner Program incorporates the use of an annual 3rd party audit to validate the
Partner’s technical capabilities, as well as its business and delivery models. These business and
delivery models are often significantly impacted in the process of mergers, acquisitions and
divestitures. As a result, APN Partners will be required to reapply and complete a new audit
based on the resulting businesses from their mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures activity.
Please refer to the guidelines below.

Acquisition/Merger:
AWS Managed Service Provider (MSP) Partner acquires non-MSP Partner: No immediate action
required. he MSP Partner should show any impacts to its AWS MSP practice during its next
regularly scheduled renewal audit.

Non-MSP Partner acquires AWS MSP Partner: New application and audit required for acquiring
partner to be recognized as an AWS MSP Partner. The new business and delivery models, as
well as the integration of the acquired technical capabilities, must be validated through the 3rd
party audit process. We recommend that this be done as soon as possible to ensure continued
recognition in the MSP Partner Program.

AWS MSP Partner acquires another AWS MSP Partner: No immediate action required. The
consolidated entity will be assessed during the next regularly scheduled renewal audit of either
of the original entities (whichever date is soonest).

Divestiture:
AWS MSP Partner divests a portion of its business related to its AWS MSP offering: The
divesting business should immediately disclose significant impacts to its AWS MSP practice that
would materially impact its standing as an MSP Partner. Depending on the significance of the
impact, the APN Partner will either be immediately removed from the program or it will be
required to highlight impacts to its business during its next regularly scheduled renewal audit.
The divested business will be required to apply to the program as a new partner.

Definitions

Offering
This is the overall description of your offering that summarizes your business offering for
customers. You will elaborate on how your offering directly relates to customers in your case
studies and architecture diagrams. If approved for a designation, your offering description will

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 be listed on your AWS Partner Solutions Finder business listing and on the AWS webpage
related to your designation. Upon award of a designation, this offering will be the summary
used on AWS Partner Solutions Finder to market you to customers.

AWS Case Studies

All AWS Partners will need to provide AWS case studies detailing completed deployments of their
offering. An AWS case study is a written description of a completed customer project that includes
individual customer solutions and outcomes. Case studies should include an introduction to the
customer, overview of the challenge, details about how the AWS Partner built and deployed their
AWS service-integrated product, and additional 3rd Party tools leveraged, date delivered, and
outcomes realized by the customer. AWS case studies should be identified in writing to AWS as
being either public (can be shared with public audiences) or non-public (can only be shared with
AWS and its third-party auditor for the audit or demonstrating to AWS that AWS Partner meets
program requirements). Once approved for the designation, public AWS Case Studies will be used
on the AWS website to showcase customer success.

AWS Technical Validation

All AWS Partners will undergo an AWS Technical Validation to achieve a designation. Technical
Validations are assessments of an AWS Partner’s products and service level skills in the context
of specific AWS case studies and application details submitted. Technical Validations confirm the
AWS Partner's capabilities while conforming to the AWS best-practices. AWS Partners
demonstrate to in-house or third-party experts what they've done specific to the application
submitted for the designation.

Validation Checklist
Validation checklists include all the requirements specific to each designation and are available
in AWS Partner Central. The AWS Partner should use this checklist for verification and
acknowledgement that each requirement is addressed.

Self-Assessment Spreadsheet
The Self-assessment spreadsheet is an excel template that outlines the specific requirements of
a designation. This spreadsheet is designed to help AWS Partners identify program readiness by
indicating “Yes(Y) or No (N)” answers for each requirement listed in the spreadsheet. AWS Partners
must complete each line and address any requirements that are not yet met before applying.
Self-assessments must be attached to each application.

Microsite
The Microsite is a portion of the AWS Partner’s webpage dedicated to explaining their offering
to customers. An AWS Partner’s internet presence specific to their offering provides customers
with confidence about the AWS Partner’s capabilities and experience. The microsite also
provides customers with a seamless and frustration-free experience when navigating between

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 the AWS Partner’s information on AWS webpages such as their AWS Partner Solutions Finder
listing. A microsite is a recommended best practice. Read how to build a microsite.

Documentation Review
AWS Partners will be expected to present technical documentation detailing the AWS Partner
capabilities. AWS or third-party experts will use the documentation to confirm alignment with
the applicable validation checklist. The documentation is expected to consist of both public
information (e.g. on- or offline deployment guides, installation manuals) and non-public
information (e.g. architecture diagrams, design documents, and security assessments). Public
information will be assessed for alignment with AWS best practices and the use of APN-
approved marketing language. Non-public information may be anonymized at the AWS
Partner’s discretion.

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