AWS re:Invent 2025 - Transform digital experience: Accelerate AWS Partner & customer success(PEX208)

AWS re:Invent 2025 - Transform digital experience: Accelerate AWS Partner & customer success

Overview

The presentation discusses a new AWS service called "Billing Transfer" that aims to transform the billing and governance experience for AWS channel partners and their end customers. This service introduces several key benefits that address longstanding challenges in the AWS channel partner ecosystem.

Existing AWS Account Structure

• AWS Organizations have two types of accounts: Management Account and Member Accounts
• The Management Account has full administrative control over the organization, including setting policies and managing multi-account governance
• However, the Management Account is also responsible for billing the entire organization
• This has resulted in conflicts between channel partners and end customers over administrative access and control of the Management Account

Challenges with the Existing Model

1. Security and Autonomy Conflicts: Channel partners had to control the Management Account to manage billing, forcing end customers to delegate governance control and creating security risks.
2. Operational Inefficiencies: Partners had to create and manage numerous organizations to handle billing for multiple end customers, leading to complex workflows and scaling challenges.
3. Proprietary Discount Protection: Partners were unable to protect their custom pricing and discounts from end customers when sharing the same organization.

Introducing Billing Transfer

Billing Transfer allows the Management Account of one organization to delegate billing to a separate AWS organization, enabling the following benefits:

Centralized Billing Management

• Partners can manage billing for multiple end customers from a single partner account
• Partners can maintain privacy of their margins without requiring end customers to sacrifice control of their own Management Accounts

Operational Efficiency

• End customers can have complete control and visibility of their own AWS environments
• Partners no longer need to manage numerous accounts for each end customer

Enhanced Customer Experience

• End customers gain native access to AWS cost management tools like Cost Explorer and Cost and Usage Reports
• Sales conversations are simplified as end customers no longer need to compromise on control when procuring through the channel

Technical Implementation

• The partner and customer organizations are now separate, with the partner receiving all chargeable invoices
• Partners can use AWS Billing Conductor to show custom rates or public pricing to end customers
• Billing Transfer allows centralized invoice delivery and payment management across multiple end customers

New AWS Partner Central Experience

• Streamlined qualification and self-activation of channel benefits and discounts
• Simplified customer relationship management, with relationships established at the organization level
• Availability of public APIs to integrate billing operations and customer onboarding into partners' own systems

Key Takeaways

1. Billing Transfer enables partners to scale more efficiently and grow faster by simplifying sales conversations and onboarding processes.
2. End customers retain full control and visibility of their AWS environments while benefiting from partner-provided services and pricing.
3. The new AWS Partner Central experience further automates and streamlines the management of channel programs and customer relationships.
4. These changes represent a transformative shift in the AWS channel partner ecosystem, enabling greater mutual growth and success.

Getting Started

• Billing Transfer and the new AWS Partner Central experience are now generally available
• Partners can start adding customers and initiating billing relationships through the AWS Partner Central console
• Technical guides are available to help partners understand the onboarding process and migrate existing customers to the new model