Westway and AWS partner to transform classified cloud innovation

Defense and national security customers are shifting away from legacy systems toward innovative, best-in-class commercial solutions in the cloud that can provide warfighters a superior technical advantage. Nontraditional defense contractors and commercial companies building these solutions face a challenge: accessing classified IT quickly and cost-effectively. Today, we’re excited to announce a partnership between Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Westway Services Group LLC that tackles this challenge head-on.

Current state of classified infrastructure access

For many defense contractors, building a mission solution in classified environments is a major hurdle. Recent research shows that 44 percent of defense contractors consider accessing classified environments their biggest challenge when working with the government. The traditional process can take over 3 years and requires substantial investment in facility construction, secure compartmented information facility (SCIF) accreditation, on-premises IT procurement and installation, and network authorizations.

“Nontraditional defense contractors and commercial tech innovators with game-changing capabilities have been effectively locked out of classified environments due to prohibitive costs and timelines,” said Greg Lindsey, president at Westway Services Group LLC.

With AWS, customers can rapidly access cloud services that are secure, reliable, and scalable to meet the mission requirements.

A new approach to classified cloud innovation

The partnership between AWS and Westway Services Group LLC introduces a streamlined path for authorized partners to the AWS Top Secret cloud through Westway’s Secure Cloud Connect offering. This solution directly supports recent executive initiatives to modernize defense acquisitions and boost commercial innovation in the defense industrial base.

“Our partnership with AWS creates a bridge between commercial innovation and classified missions, providing these nontraditional players secure spaces with government-approved connectivity to the cutting-edge high performance computing and generative AI capabilities of the AWS Top Secret cloud,” said Lindsey.

Approved companies can now access classified facilities and connectivity to AWS in weeks rather than years, unblocking nontraditional defense contractors’ access to best-in-class compute, database, and generative AI services—such as Amazon Bedrock—that are available in the AWS Top Secret cloud. This dramatic reduction in time, cost, and complexity removes barriers that have historically deterred innovative commercial technology from building defense and national security solutions.

“By partnering with Westway, we are reducing business risk and accelerating the innovation cycle for our AWS Partner Network in the AWS Top Secret Cloud. This will allow authorized partners to rapidly access, build, and deliver next-gen AI/ML solutions in AWS Top Secret Regions for our mutual government customers,” said Keith Brooks, director of AWS Government Regions and Federal Delivery Organization.

How it works

Westway provides Intelligence Community Directive 705 (ICD-705) compliant facilities with preestablished connectivity to the AWS Top Secret cloud. This turnkey approach reduces customer onboarding time by over 70 percent, with AWS customers only paying for what they use in the cloud. Similarly, Westway offers scalable “as a service” options for customers to adjust their space and AWS connectivity requirements, to include AWS Direct Connect for compute and bandwidth intensive workloads.

AWS customers can find Westway Services Group LLC’s Secure Cloud Connect solution in AWS Marketplace, giving customers accelerated procurement options to easily manage their cloud related spend in a single, consolidated AWS bill.

Westway has strategically established locations across the country for contractors to access AWS, including Herndon and Chantilly, Virginia, St. Louis, Missouri, and Aurora, Colorado. Westway plans to expand to additional strategic locations across the US, including Huntsville, Alabama, in 2026.

Watch the video below to learn more about Westway at the Globe Building in St. Louis:

Looking forward

This partnership represents a significant step forward in bringing commercial innovation to classified environments. By removing traditional infrastructure barriers, we’re enabling more commercial companies to contribute their capabilities to national security missions while maintaining rigorous security standards.

AWS and Westway Services will work closely with customers to navigate mission requirements for onboarding and access. For more information about accessing the AWS Top Secret cloud through Westway’s Secure Cloud Connect offering, visit Westway’s listing in AWS Marketplace.

If you’re interested in learning more about the AWS Top Secret cloud, complete the form at AWS Top Secret Cloud – Contact the team to reach a representative.