1. AWS Is ‘Partner Obsessed’

Selipsky and Borno have made significant changes over the past year to drive partner momentum around co-selling and upskilling thousands of partners via new training programs.

Partners told CRN that AWS is leaning into the channel unlike ever before with a new motto to go along with its “customer obsessed” culture.

“Speaking of customer obsession, many of our partners are our customers as well. So we are partner-obsessed. Our partner experience is key to providing our customers with a great experience,” Borno told CRN. “We know that a superior partner experience will result in a superior customer experience.”

AWS partners are hailing the hiring of Borno last year from Cisco as one of the biggest and most influential channel moves in the company’s history, while Selipsky continues to back up partners.

Selipsky and Borno pushed for the formation of dozens of new partnerships with ISVs, distributors and other technology vendors to help drive simplicity, co-selling and new customer opportunities for partners.

“When we have partners who have innovated and created incredible solutions with us and on top of us, then it becomes an easy decision to put that in front of a customer because it drives customer value,” Selipsky said.

“We have a very significant go-to-market capability now across AWS—as you might imagine given the scale of our business—and we have many different ways that we bring partners along with that,” he said.

One new partner program driving AWS partner evolution is AWS Partner Paths.

Launched this year, Partner Paths provides a simplified and tailored experience to help partners differentiate themselves. The program includes benefits and AWS resources designed for each partner’s strengths and goals.

Training was also top of mind for AWS this year.

In 2022, AWS expanded its re/Start reskilling programs across the globe, opened an AWS Skills Center in Arlington, Va., to support in-person learning and launched its new AWS Training Partner Social Impact Program, which allows partners to offer customers a broad set of AWS skill development options by accessing government and public funding.

“We will keep on figuring out how to build value for customers with partners. And we will keep on ensuring that partners have increasingly strong businesses building alongside and on top of AWS,” said Selipsky. “I expect [our partner] commitment to continue for decades to come.”

The takeaway for 2023: Simply put, 2023 looks like a blockbuster year to be an AWS partner with Selipsky and Borno at the helm.