How to Strengthen Your Own AWS Practice with Help from an Experienced AWS Partner

By Jamie Planas, Marketing Manager at Tech Data
By Tad Davis, Solutions Architect at Tech Data

With more and more businesses investing in cloud products and solutions, the time to power a sustainable cloud practice is now.

For technology solution providers, it can be time-consuming and costly to figure out how to build a cloud business that offers customers the best value and stands out from the rest.

The challenges inherent to building a cloud-based business should not be impediments. Plenty of experienced guidance and hands-on assistance is available from cloud development and integration experts in the AWS Partner Network (APN).

At Tech Data, an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner, our goal is to make hard things easy. This is the essence of the APN, whose partners have demonstrated the technical proficiency and consistently reliable customer service required to help companies achieve cloud success.

While there are many options to develop a cloud practice, Tech Data created a clearly defined path through our Cloud Practice Builder framework that streamlines this journey for other AWS Partners, taking a complex process and making it easy.

In this post, we will highlight the tools and resources included in the Cloud Practice Builder frameworks, what programs are available to AWS Partners, and what success looks like for another Partner that participated in the program.

Tech Data’s Cloud Practice Builder

For AWS Partners, Tech Data’s Cloud Practice Builder path provides the tools and resources needed to:

• Assess your practice, receive actionable recommendations, and access a personalized dashboard to help elevate your practice.
• Develop a differentiated solution portfolio with top vendors, and identify the key training required to showcase your expertise.
• Leverage Tech Data’s Click-to-Run solutions to drive digital transformation for end customers faster than ever.
• Strengthen your technical capabilities, business model, go-to-market (GTM) strategy, value proposition, and streamline operations.
• Connect with a Cloud Concierge to review your path progress, overcome impediments, and receive the guidance you need to reach your cloud goals and objectives
• Develop specific areas of your business with Cloud Coach mentors.

Not only can AWS Partners develop their general cloud skills through high-touch or digital experiences, they can also focus on specific goals such as resell opportunities, APN tier advancement, and AWS Public Sector status.

Helping AWS Partners Achieving Their Goals

Tech Data can help AWS Partners grow their practice whether you’re just beginning to explore AWS, expanding on your small-to-medium business, or even if you require more in-depth engagements.

Within the Cloud Practice Builder program, Tech Data offers AWS Partners multiple options to fit your business goals:

• AWS Resale Path: Gets AWS Partners onboarded with Tech Data and AWS quickly to begin transacting.
• AWS Jumpstart Program: Develops your SMB AWS practice with the support of exclusive AWS content, training, and Click-to-Run solutions.
• AWS Cloud Practice Builder Consulting Program: Provides an assessment, education, strategy, and guidance to achieve cloud readiness for an AWS commercial practice leveraging an individualized agile action plan.
• Partner Transformation Program, Powered by Tech Data: AWS has authorized Tech Data to deliver its exclusive AWS Partner Transformation Program (PTP) for Public Sector Partners. The PTP is a consulting engagement designed to drive an AWS Partner’s evolution into a successful, thriving, and independent public sector reseller and solution provider.

Partner Success: Strategic Communications

Strategic Communications is an IT and audio-visual consultant focused on AV systems, cloud, cyber security, and network engineering.

They launched their cloud practice in 2018, and while a successful public sector practice was already in place and the company had recently progressed from the APN’s Select to Advanced tier, they still needed help developing a formal cloud execution strategy and providing technical trainings for staff.

In developing a cloud-specific marketing plan, Strategic Communications was hoping to establish a GTM strategy that aligned with their mission, value propositions, and unique differentiators to ultimately increase their AWS resale revenue.

Strategic Communications was looking for expert guidance around presales engagement offerings and technical trainings for their team. With three new sales reps solely focused on cloud and software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, it was important to understand which trainings and certifications were most beneficial and how they could leverage Tech Data resources to fill in the gaps.

“Tech Data’s Partner Transformation Program helped us become more robust in our offering and gave us confidence to go after larger public sector opportunities,” says Kathy Mills, CEO at Strategic Communications.

Figure 1 – Tech Data PTP core domains.

Since Strategic Communications was looking to grow their cloud business in the public sector space, it was important for them to earn the AWS Government Competency and learn which AWS solutions play well for specific agencies and public sector verticals.

“Not only does possessing the AWS Government Competency mean more margin, but it also means more visibility and credibility within the AWS organization,” says Mills.

Through the PTP, Strategic Communications was able to deepen their relationship with their Partner Development Manager (PDM) and build new relationships with other influencers at AWS.

“One of the key factors with PTP was getting us introduced to key players within the AWS organization as extended resources that we did not have access to before,” says Mills.

By way of these relationships, Strategic Communications gained a better understanding of which AWS solutions alleviate pain points for specific verticals within the public sector, and thus developed effective public sector-focused campaigns.

In addition to vertical-specific content, Strategic Communications leveraged Tech Data marketing programs and executed AWS demand generation campaigns to develop a cloud-specific marketing strategy. This included a number of AWS marketing campaigns centered around states where they have contracts.

“Through the marketing campaigns we launched, we talked to countless end users that we never would have had the opportunity to talk to previously,” says Mills. “It has brought more contacts through our marketing funnel, which we can nurture and bring into the sales pipeline.”

Throughout their PTP engagement, Strategic Communications worked with Tech Data consultants and subject matter experts (SMEs) to develop an AWS Professional Services training plan, specifically for new hires. In developing this plan, they uncovered gaps where they could leverage Tech Data as an extension of their team throughout the sales process.

Figure 2 – Tech Data’s AWS strategy alignment stack.

Outstanding Results

Upon completion of the Partner Transformation Program, Strategic Communications felt they had gained enough confidence around their AWS practice to pursue larger deals.

They felt positive they were focusing on the right solutions for the right public sector verticals, they were following a technical training plan that best fit their business needs, and they understood how to leverage the resources at both Tech Data and AWS during the sales process.

Since completing the PTP program, Strategic Communications has closed a high seven-figure deal and increased their AWS Cloud business by close to 500 percent in the first 90 days after program completion.

“One of our more recent AWS wins was a contract which utilized many Tech Data resources that we were introduced to through the PTP program,” says Mills. “Being able to leverage our in-house technical resources, as well as Tech Data’s presales resources, was a key differentiator in winning the deal.”

Summary

Through Tech Data’s Cloud Practice Builder framework, AWS Partners can identify exactly where their practice’s strengths lie and what opportunities they can develop.

AWS Partners can also take advantage of Tech Data resources to augment their offerings, and follow a specific step-by-step path to take them to the next level of AWS success.

To learn more, talk to a Tech Data Cloud Solutions Specialist about the advantages of working with a fellow AWS Partner on developing your AWS practice.

The content and opinions in this blog are those of the third-party author and AWS is not responsible for the content or accuracy of this post.

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