Building Small Businesses to Support Commerce, Government, Education, and Nonprofit Organizations with AWS CloudStart

Organizations that promote macroeconomic growth, such as Economic Development Organizations (EDOs), around the world face the challenge of developing their economies and consistently building businesses in new and innovative ways.

Today, we announced AWS CloudStart to support EDOs by providing resources to educate, train, and embrace the cost-effective options that our cloud computing services can offer to companies that are serving customers in the government, education, and nonprofit space.

AWS CloudStart helps companies get started on AWS by providing a set of resources that will allow them to quickly learn about the AWS Cloud, while maintaining the highest levels of security and privacy at a low cost to customers. AWS CloudStart provides the following benefits to companies:

• AWS Promotional Credits
• Customized trainings
• Practice labs and Quick Start guides to get started quickly on the cloud
• Job board to post open positions

With the right technology, organizations can provide a productive environment where people enjoy improved quality of life and where businesses thrive. As small businesses leverage a broader portfolio of digital solutions, they can see an increase in agility, while simultaneously lowering costs and reducing time to innovation.

To bring cloud computing and a culture of experimentation to new areas around the world, we have been working in countries like Sweden and Saudi Arabia.

For example, a small municipality located in the heart of Sweden, is adopting cloud as they begin their journey to help small businesses adapt and thrive during the digital transformation age.

“C.A.G Malardalen is a consultant company in Västerås, Sweden, striving to bring the region the latest in cloud technology. Our ambition is to always deliver the most relevant IT solutions to our customers. Through working with AWS CloudStart, our customers benefit from the foundational knowledge we have gathered and we are already seeing a lot of new possibilities for us as a service provider across Sweden,” says Tomas Täuber, CEO of C.A.G Malardalen.

As C.A.G embraces the digital age, they are using the cloud to more effectively reach their constituents, make better decisions, facilitate the deployment of resources, and ultimately, help shape the economic conditions essential for attracting new economic activity within Sweden.

To continue to serve new and existing Nordic customers and work with partners across Europe, AWS is planning to open up an AWS Region in Stockholm, Sweden in 2018. This region will give AWS partners and customers in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden low-latency connectivity and the ability to run their workloads and store their data close to home.

In addition to providing the resources to modernize aging infrastructures and improve operational productivity, the shift to the cloud can also fuel economic growth and skill development, translating to more and better jobs. Cloud computing provides a rewarding career path for staff because these skills are in high demand. Organizations can positively affect economic growth by investing in a skilled workforce.

Misk, a nonprofit philanthropic foundation established by His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, will use the AWS CloudStart program to provide cloud skills and resources to young Saudi SMBs that will help them transform their businesses and innovate faster. For the public sector, it is anticipated that the program will help develop new solutions for service provision by harnessing the cost-effective and highly secure AWS Cloud. The program offers various enablement resources for businesses and organizations, including promotional credits, trainings, and practice labs.

As an EDO enrolled in AWS CloudStart, you can help to provide a jump-start to businesses, entities, and organizations that are government-funded (including government, education, and healthcare), not-for-profit, or target and directly support or serve the public sector. Apply for AWS CloudStart today.