AWS Partner Network (APN) Blog

The AWS Certified Developer – Associate exam has been updated to reflect the latest services and best practices related to the AWS Developer role. Though there are no prerequisites, we recommend candidates have one or more years of hands-on experience designing and maintaining an AWS-based application and an understanding of AWS services and architectural best practices. We have also released an updated exam guide to help prepare you for the new exam.

VMware Cloud on AWS is now available in the AWS Europe (Frankfurt) Region. VMware, an APN Advanced Technology Partner, has been working with AWS to release new enterprise capabilities for VMware Cloud on AWS every 90 days. In addition to the continued global expansion, new capabilities are being introduced to increase enterprise readiness and make it easier for customers to start adopting. VMware Cloud on AWS is now GDPR-ready and we have introduced major compliance certifications.

In this new series, we are highlighting best practices designed to help APN Partners maintain tier compliance. We’re calling this series “Achieve the Green” because our goal is to help you get green check marks throughout your Partner Scorecard Review. To kick off our series, we focus here on the Partner Scorecard view that is accessible in APN Partner Central. This is an integral tool for tracking and managing your APN tier status and to view eligibility requirements for upgrading to the next level.

The AWS Service Broker is an open source project that allows native AWS services to be exposed directly through application platforms, such as Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform. Developers are able to provision and expose AWS through the Service Catalog, CLI, or API without needing to interact with the AWS console, or without having extensive knowledge of AWS. In response to customer feedback, we have added new features to AWS Service Broker for OpenShift and Kubernetes.

SignalFx is an APN Advanced Technology Partner with the AWS DevOps Competency that provides AWS customers with a real-time monitoring solution supporting every stage of the cloud journey. SignalFx offers a consistent, comprehensive view of your elastic, distributed environment; noise-free, actionable alerts on all classes of metrics powered by real-time analytics; and the operational intelligence—including workload and usage patterns—to run your digital applications as a business.

To receive the AWS Competency designation, APN Partners must undergo rigorous technical validation and assessment of the security, performance, and reliability of their AWS solutions. To help APN Consulting Partners better understand this process and our validation requirements, we are releasing new versions of the AWS Competency Validation Checklists. The checklists highlighted in this post are for APN Consulting Partners, who in many cases undergo technical validation through ISSI, a third-party auditor.

A number of APN Consulting Partners have told us they would like to have access to a repository of solution blueprints that address common business patterns. To meet this need, AWS Service Catalog is now providing easy access to common and foundational AWS-based solutions and reference architectures in GitHub. There are currently five blueprints from AWS solutions architects on GitHub, and we plan to establish a formal process for APN Consulting Partners to submit reference architectures.

We are excited to announce that APN Marketing Central is now available in Simplified Chinese. If you are an APN Partner in China, or a global APN Partner with a presence in China, the assets available in APN Marketing Central can help you go-to-market with approved messaging from AWS. We have launched two new campaigns in Simplified Chinese—Big Data and Cloud Migration. APN Marketing Central is a benefit for all Standard-tier and above APN Partners and is available at no additional cost via Partner Central.

NTT DATA Services provides a mainframe re-host solution that minimizes application code change while benefiting from the agility AWS offers. NTT DATA’s re-hosting reference architecture, migration best practices, and extensive technology feature set streamline mainframe migrations to AWS. NTT DATA is an APN Advanced Consulting Partner that helps clients navigate and simplify the modern complexities of business and technology, delivering the insights, solutions, and outcomes that matter most to their objectives.

We are excited to announce a new Alexa Flash Briefing Skill for APN Partners. Adding this Alexa Flash Briefing Skill to your Alexa app lets you easily access weekly news, APN Blog posts, and event announcements for APN Partners. It’s a great way to stay up-to-date with the APN. Be sure to check in regularly for new updates and announcements for APN Partners. You can also create your own Alexa Flash Briefing Skills in the Amazon developer console.