Thorben Consulting Drives Growth and Helps Government Customers Modernize Workloads through AWS Partner Transformation Program

Thorben Consulting, LLC is an AWS Partner that offers enterprise cloud solutions and services for public sector and other organizations. Thorben participated in the AWS Partner Transformation Program (AWS PTP), receiving training and guidance from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and creating a new business plan. Through the AWS PTP, Thorben learned how to market its products more effectively, added 12 new government contract vehicles, doubled the number of requests for information from prospective customers, and listed its key solutions as a service on AWS Marketplace.

Thorben Consulting is a woman-owned small business and AWS Partner that provides cloud solutions and services for businesses and government organizations. Thorben has helped design and implement nearly all major enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for US government branches including the Department of Interior, Treasury Department, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, and Internal Revenue Service. Since becoming an AWS Partner in 2021, Thorben has focused on developing new solutions for public sector customers. For example, the company created the AWS Secure Enclave Platform for the Department of Defense. The platform, built on an Landing Zone Accelerator on AWS, helps customers enable modernization for highly regulated workloads.

Thorben faced challenges as it sought to continue creating new solutions in the government sector. “We wanted to start growing more intentionally and rapidly, and that can be difficult in the government world,” says Chris Koomey, chief operating officer and general counsel for Thorben Consulting. “Expanding opportunities is all about adding contract vehicles and building partnerships, and things often move very slowly with government agencies.”

To grow more quickly, Thorben knew it could benefit from additional assistance from AWS. “We have a 10-year plan, with the goal of at least doubling the business,” Koomey says. “We thought we could benefit from expanding our view by looking at that plan more systematically.”

Thorben found what it was looking for in the AWS Partner Transformation Program (AWS PTP), a comprehensive assessment, training, and enablement program designed specifically for AWS Partners. Through participation in the PTP, AWS Partners develop business plans after spending time in training sessions and workshops with AWS representatives. “The AWS Partner Transformation Program was appealing to us because it was a systematic way we could apply to a program that was already happening,” says Koomey. “We're in year four of our 10-year plan, and we saw how this program could accelerate our plan.”

Thorben worked closely with AWS product managers and other leaders during the program, which featured special workshops on selling solutions on AWS Marketplace. “The PTP initially got us focused on all the resources AWS has available to partners, which was helpful for us in building a go-to-market strategy for new products and selling those products via AWS Marketplace,” Koomey says.

The AWS PTP, delivered by Iron Arrow Consulting, also helped Thorben create a new marketing and communications plan for its products and take advantage of AWS resources. “Throughout the process, we were able to get in contact with other people within AWS, which gave us an opportunity to communicate more easily with the Department of Interior, for example,” says Koomey.

Thorben’s training and education in the AWS PTP helped it focus more on marketing and positioning instead of only products and client services. “The AWS Partner Transformation Program helped us communicate better internally, and to think more strategically and broadly about how we’re presenting ourselves to the world,” says Koomey. “We started thinking more about the persona we’re selling to and identifying what matters to that persona and how to communicate effectively with them. We incorporated that into the marketing plan.”

With a more focused approach, Thorben has been able to expand its own partner network, leading to new opportunities. “During the PTP, we recognized that we needed more avenues to the government, so we added 12 contract vehicles through a joint venture. That provides more deal flow for us,” says Koomey. In addition, Thorben doubled the number of requests for information (RFIs) received from potential government customers for Thorben’s AWS Federal Modernization Platform.

Because it learned more about AWS Marketplace during the PTP, Thorben plans to list three of its key solutions there: AWS Well Architected Framework Government Lens, SAP on AWS Modernization Accelerators, and the AWS Federal Modernization Platform. “There are a lot of landing zone offerings, but only a few specific to the federal government, so we saw that as an opportunity,” says Koomey. “Through the education we received during the PTP, we recognized we could communicate these products as a service on AWS Marketplace,” says Koomey. “Now we have a defined product set to move forward with, which will help federal government customers address their challenges through modernization.”

As a result of participating in the AWS PTP, Thorben also began new conversations with AWS resellers on AWS Marketplace. “The PTP opened our eyes to the potential of working closely with other AWS partners, taking advantage of those relationships to find resell and co-sell opportunities,” says Koomey. “Overall, our relationship with AWS has been extremely productive and mutually beneficial. We expect to build on that partnership as we continue to innovate and pursue new opportunities in the government sector.”