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AWS re:Invent: Gen AI (Unsurprisingly) Dominates AWS Partner Agenda
Gen AI was highlighted, alongside new specializations, AWS Marketplace changes and a popular price cut for partners.
3 Min Read
AWS' Ruba Borno on stage at AWS re:Invent 2023 in Las Vegas, Nov. 29.
With generative AI (gen AI) dominating conversations at AWS re:Invent this week, it was little surprise it also dictated the agenda for AWS partners Wednesday.
During her keynote, AWS channel leader Ruba Borno described gen AI as “an amazing opportunity for AWS and for all of our partners, but most importantly, for our customers.”
Borno cited McKinsey research that estimates gen AI could add as much as $4.4 trillion to the global economy annually. She said AWS partners have already introduced more than 90 gen AI demos and 50 partner solutions in the AWS Marketplace.
“We have just begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible, and you are the catalyst,” Borno told partners. "You’re the catalyst for customers to dream bigger. Or the catalyst for them to harness the true potential of generative AI.”
Borno said “the nascent stage and the rapid pace of innovation of generative AI” mean customers need partners more than ever.
“Customers need help ensuring that they get their data security foundations right. AWS and our partners are building and delivering an incredibly comprehensive suite of foundation models, application developer tools to support a wide range of business," said Borno.
AWS showcased how pure-play managed services provider Mission Cloud used gen AI to help Magellan TV translate its library of documentaries into languages for a global audience. It created a solution that automated the entire workflow of translating and transcribing the documentaries into any language.
Gen AI Center Of Excellence
Borno also detailed AWS’ Gen AI Center of Excellence, focused on advancing customer application and AI. It provides partners with direct access to AWS’ field and technical resources, enablement content and training.
“This Center of Excellence is a crucial bridge between the potential of AI and the growing landscape of tools, applications and use cases that have the potential to revolutionize our customer experience,” said Borno.
AWS Marketplace Additions, Price Drop
Elsewhere, the exec also announced changes to AWS Marketplace based on partner feedback.
The launch the AWS Marketplace SaaS Quicklaunch enables partners to configure, deploy and launch AWS on AWS CloudFormation templates. These are defined and validated by both the ISV software vendor and on latest AWS security standard.
AWS also is introducing AWS Marketplace APIs for sellers, which means customers no longer have to leave the partner’s website to make purchases.
And significantly, Borno announced AWS is lowering its pricing in AWS Marketplace, ranging from 1.5%-3%, depending on the size of the deal.
Finally, AWS launched the AWS Partner CRM Connector based on Salesforce CRM. It allows partners to manage their marketplace private offers and opportunities within a single unified Salesforce app.
New AWS Partner Specializations
Borno also introduced three new crowd-pleasing additions to specializations in the AWS partner program. The first is AWS Resilience.
“This is a path that our customers have been asking for,” said Borno. “Partners can help customers meet their resilience responsibilities with a standardized framework that includes design, operations and recovery.
Also now available is the new AWS Cyber Insurance specialization.
“Customers can quickly provide insurers [with] the data they need to more effectively evaluate risk and security posture and working with AWS cyber insurance partners. Customers can find affordable policies and receive a quote within two business days, ” said Borno.
Third is the general availability of AWS Built-in for ISVs. This produces so customers can automatically install, configure and integrate the ISV partner solution with foundational AWS services.
“This saves customers time, it saves partners time, it simplifies the process for our customers to deploy third party software your automated packages,” said Borno.
For a deeper dive into these, and more partner announcements, click here.
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