Amazon Web Services (AWS) is by far the greatest Cloud provider company in the world. The numbers are disputed by many, but one source quoted it currently sits at 33.4% of market share, 14.5% of Microsoft Azure, and 4.9% of Google GCP. Most startups that wish to do business with a large cloud provider feel this is a great place to start, and they would not be wrong. As a former Amazonian working in the partner eco system, I can tell you it is a great place to start that cloud journey, and to scale fast. However, it is not easy. In this excerpt, and the following ones I am writing, I will try to guide you through the murky waters of the Amazon Partner Network (APN).
While I was at AWS as a partner manager, I frequently met with CEO's/CRO's/Alliance Director's to chat about how to get them in front of the AWS sales org. One thing I heard repeatedly from VPs of sales or CRO's was that the product of their company was revolutionary. “Our product is so fantastic that I do not have any worries that once the AWS sales team see what it does, they will send us the business. It’s that good". This exact sentence was said so many times that of my five(5) to six(6) meetings a day, I could almost predict word for word what was going to be stated when I had a sales centric senior manager on the call. My answer was almost always the same. "Mr. CRO your product could lay golden eggs at the feet of sales teams every day, but until you show sustainable value to them in dollars and Management By Objective’s(MBO's) , and to AWS, you are one of thousands of fantastic products being pushed by partners to people that have to sell over 200 products of their own".
To be noticed by the AWS sales teams is a tough thing. There are thousands of partners that do business within AWS’ eco system. The partners also have levels to attain (Reserve, Select, Advanced, and Premier). There are two categories of partners as well (ISV and GSI/SI). On top of that, there are four (4) levels of sales sectors (SMB, Start Up, Public Sector, and Enterprise). Then inside those sales sectors are subcategories like Greenfield, Medium Enterprise, and Large Enterprise. Even further, there are sub-subcategories like gaming, financial services, media, entertainment, and venture capital. This is very daunting to most companies, especially startups who are just trying to get their cloud feet under them.
These excerpts will give you the very basics you and your company will need to get the AWS ISV partner orgs attention, and hopefully get started on a journey of an AWS ISV partner business domination. There are three (3) key things that every new partner should have with AWS:
1) Advanced Partner Level Certification in the APN (Amazon Partner Network): There are three (3) levels of an ISV partner:
a) Reserve: First step, and where you will be set up when you first agree to join the APN and pay the annual fee ($2.500.00). This level basically gets you access to online tools and a road map on how to get to Select.
b) Select: This is mid-level and on the way to relevancy. In this level, you will be guided by an actual human, a Partner Development Representative (PDR), who will have 30 to 50 other partner companies that they need to guide their way to Advanced level as well. This is a stop off point for you to add your bona fides and to prove you are worthy of the top tier and an Advanced level partnership. Your PDR will give you the criteria you need to fulfill to get to the Advanced level and will try to help you as much as possible with in their allocated time constraints. This is a very tactical motion, and you will need to ask a lot of questions and be proactive.
c)Advanced: Once you get to Advanced, you will need to wait to get a Partner Development Manager (PDM). There are not as many PDM’s as there are PDR’s. This is because they are very involved in their accounts, so they have fewer clients, but more responsibility. In this tier, your PDM could have anywhere from 5 to 20 partner customers. The PDM's job is to help the clients that are the most motivated and have a product that works well with in the AWS eco system. They do this using the internal AWS tools and programs. These people are basically your main contact inside AWS. They might not know the answer to the questions you are asking, but they are very good at getting the answer by asking internally.
Many people think that having a PDM is where they have arrived and now the money starts flowing in. This is so far from the truth and many feelings are hurt believing this. Obtaining a PDM is the beginning of a long journey of fighting in the trenches for the attention of each salesperson at AWS. Once you are Advanced, it allows you to get into some sales programs that will help pay the AWS sales teams quota retirement, this is, if you are able to get into them. There are many programs. I won’t go into specifics, but understanding the programs and how to get into them is the difference between your golden goose getting put in front of the sales teams or your competitors.
2) Dedicated Alliance Person: In the beginning of many start up partners journeys, the person who is handling the majority of leveling up in the above paragraphs is a VP of Channel, CRO, VP of Sales, or even the CEO. This seems like the right thing to do to save time, effort, and money but, in my experience it is a bit short sighted. It is not that these managers could not do the job, but along the process of building the levels out, the person responsible at the partner side gains valuable relationships inside AWS and an understanding of which teams are interested in the product. This knowledge is essential to the team that will manage the relationship once you are at a level to effect change. Hiring a knowledgeable Alliance Director first is key to a successful growing period with in AWS partner levels. At AWS, I saw many partners grow from a Reserved level to an Advanced level with a great Alliance Director, who are today the VPs of Alliances at some the greatest partners. These people worked bi-coastal day and night, presented to sales teams at least 3 times a week, and threw some amazing events. On the flip side, I have seen their competitors with a better product get pushed by CEO's and VPs of Sales that haven't left the beginning stages years later. Not because they are bad at what they do, but because they are learning a new skill and wearing too many hats. Do yourself and your brand a favor and hire a professional first to start you on your cloud journey. It is the same principle as hiring a plumber. Go to the person who has done this before, before you break something that will cost a lot more to fix.
3)Open Mind: I think this is the most important thing that every partner needs to bring to the table to get noticed by AWS. By open mind I mean out of the box thinking, creative events, go-to-market strategies with frenemy partners, open to bring current customers into the AWS Marketplace, and timelines that might take up to three years to get to where you need to be. Nothing is going to be overnight, especially with a Fortune 10 like AWS. There are thousands of partners in the eco system and at least twenty of them are probably similar enough to your product to make it indistinguishable from you. Think differently, or more importantly let your Alliance Director think differently. The "if we build it they will come" only happens once in a blue moon.
In conclusion, I will share with you one more thing. The APN is a great place to add your product to its shelves. A lot of customers are there to be had, but like a grocery store you are one of thousands of products in your aisle and you will have bigger, flashier, more colorful competitors displayed as well. Getting into the grocery store is not going to make your company successful. Fight daily in the trench’s to be noticed doing at least 150 presentations a year to sales teams, sponsoring local and national events, letting that proven/creative process’ work, and make your companies body language be pushing towards AWS success.
In my next excerpt, I will be writing about Marketplace and its best practices. What is the difference between public and private offer, and just what is SPPO and CPPO, and how does it benefit AWS.
Always think alliances instead of sales first and you will be a success story at AWS.
Till next time,
Barlas Yuce
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