AWS re:Invent 2025 - Accelerate new customer engagement and revenue growth (PEX101)

Accelerating New Customer Engagement and Revenue Growth with AWS Partners

Overview

• This presentation from AWS re:Invent 2025 discusses how AWS partners can leverage various programs and resources to build successful partner practices and go-to-market strategies at scale.
• The presenters, Christine Henley and Rahan Shaw, cover the key phases of the "Partner Profitability Framework": build, market, sell, and grow.
• They highlight specific AWS partner programs, tools, and resources that can help partners at each stage of this framework.
• The goal is to enable partners to efficiently acquire new customers, drive revenue growth, and deliver successful customer outcomes.

The Vast Opportunity for Partners

• The AWS Partner Network has grown to over 140,000 partners across 200+ countries and territories, representing a significant opportunity.
• 98% of organizations are small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), with 90% of SMBs expected to consider AI solutions in the next 3 years.
• Industry focus, customer outcomes, AI/ML, and multi-cloud are key trends driving partner opportunities.

Building a Partner Practice

• The "Partner Profitability Framework" outlines four key phases:
  1. Build: Develop clearly defined solutions and capabilities, with a targeted customer scope.
  2. Market: Generate scalable demand and align with AWS sales teams.
  3. Sell: Establish dedicated teams, clear success metrics, and a repeatable sales process.
  4. Grow: Implement robust customer success functions and expand within existing accounts.
• AWS offers various programs to support partners in each phase, such as:
  • Innovation Sandbox credits for building new solutions
  • Competency programs to validate expertise
  • SMB Competency for go-to-market support in the SMB segment
  • Partner Greenfield Program (PGP) and Small Business Acceleration Initiative (SBIA) for multi-year investments and enablement

Marketing and Selling at Scale

• Leveraging AWS partner tools and resources, such as Partner Central, marketing development funds, and co-branded content, is crucial for effective marketing.
• Aligning with AWS Cloud Sales Center (CSC) teams, including demand generation, seller, and SBI territory managers, can help partners scale their sales efforts.
• Programs like the AWS Marketplace, MAP, and Rapid Funding can provide partners with the necessary resources and incentives to accelerate customer acquisition and workload migrations.
• Examples of successful partner initiatives, such as Predictive's pitch competition series and Innovative's three-step marketing approach, demonstrate effective go-to-market strategies.

Driving Customer Growth and Retention

• Becoming an authorized AWS reseller or managed service provider (MSP) can help partners build long-term customer relationships and expand their offerings.
• Leveraging AWS Marketplace, partner-led support, and tools like the Partner Matching Engine can enable partners to identify growth opportunities and deepen customer engagements.
• Soft Choice's example showcases how partners can use incentives, managed services, and automation to drive over 50% annual growth with AWS.

Key Takeaways and Next Steps

• Partners should assess their maturity in the "Partner Profitability Framework" and choose one program from each phase (build, market, sell, grow) to focus on.
• Evaluating their partnership maturity level (opportunistic, intentional, or business practice) and aligning their team accordingly is crucial.
• Sharing this framework and actionable insights with the entire team can help partners effectively leverage AWS resources and build a successful, scalable business.