Amazon Web Services (AWS) says its co-sell strategy is paying off. The company closed twice the opportunities with partners this year compared to 2020.

The increase is down to AWS working more closely to go-to-market with partners, said Antonio Alonso Lopez, AWS’ EMEA director of partners.

Referring to the AWS Accelerate program, Lopez said: “We are helping [partners] to sell and market together with us. We are encouraging our sales teams to interlock, day-to-day with partners. We are connecting our sales teams in the field and sell together with them. That keeps growing.”

Lopez referred to a set of Partner Engagement Principles which AWS revealed in October. These values and best practices around security, customer obsession, partner obsession and “a fact-based approach” govern the relationship between AWS and its partners, including the co-sell strategy.

He cited AWS’ “willingness and effort to work more with our partners, selling together. It is an area of reinforcement.”

Changes to Partner Paths

Lopez also gave more details as to the changes to Partner Paths announced last week at AWS re:Invent.

From January 28, 2022, Partner Paths will expand from just ISVs to software, hardware, training, distribution and services. Partners offering consulting, professional, managed and/or value-added resale services all can enroll in one or more Partner Path programs.

“Our partner program was divided into technology and consulting partners,” explained Lopez. “But there were some consulting companies that were thinking about launching a new software product. They were interested also in getting the benefits of the technology partners. [Additionally] some technology partners were scaling up their consulting capabilities.”

“So, we created these Partner Paths where we are going to have five paths: software, hardware, distributors, training and services. A partner can select the paths that are more relevant to [them] — and you can select several. So, a consulting partner that is building a new software product could also join the software Partner Path.”

Lopez described the move as “a significant change” for AWS. “We will be able to pool our resources with our training capability, with the assets that we bring to our partners to help them progress on their AWS journey.”

Modernization Competency

Elsewhere, AWS announced a new migration and modernization competency.

“Partners will be able to prove their skills to help customers all through the modernization journey,” said the exec. “From the discovery and planning phase, the building of the business case, to planning and monitoring the migration. Customers are looking for a specialized partners that can help them on this modernization journey.”

Lopez said it is a priority for AWS sales teams to “work, get to know and interact with the partners very frequently. That that is an area that we are going to double down in the next year.”

Seventy percent of AWS’ 100,000 partners are outside of the U.S.