Partnership drives success: what we learned from the AWS Summit New York

How are Amazon Web Services’ cutting-edge products helping to transform businesses and shape industries? How are organizations partnering with AWS? What’s going on in the wider tech market? I was among 15,000 people at the AWS Summit New York on Wednesday 16th July at Javits Convention Center. AWS experts, builders, customers and partners shared practical insights on critical topics such as AI, industry-based solutions, independent software vendors, data, cloud infrastructure, migration, modernization and security. Here are my takeaways from the flagship event for the AWS market. 

Positive co-dependence  

Organizations which have been partnering with innovative product companies have been enjoying the most success. Providing access to funding, technical support, training and go-to-market strategies, these partnerships allow businesses to leverage AWS’s vast resources and expertise to build and market their products more effectively. 

It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. By bringing in a service company to complete a big migration project, for example, AWS benefits from the provider’s specialist expertise, efficiency and tailored service for that specific migration scenario. 

Shift in senior talent 

There’s a clear trend of senior sales leaders (account executives, VPs, senior FinOps professionals) moving from large consultancies to boutique firms and smaller start-ups. This is largely because they feel their careers are stagnating at enterprise scale organizations, and although equity remains uncommon, the lure of uncapped on-target earnings (OTEs) is often too powerful to resist. It’s important that larger organizations offer clear career pathways, development opportunities and transparency on the organization’s future direction, to give themselves the best opportunity of retaining talent at this level. 

Emphasis on selling and scaling 

It was clear that data engineering and MLOps are becoming core priorities for organizations building at scale. But the paths companies are taking vary widely. I spoke with leaders from a few fast-growing MSPs who are expanding their regional sales presence to better support customer demand for more tailored AWS solutions. Across the data space, many organizations are broadening their approach to modern data platforms, looking beyond single-vendor strategies and investing more in end-to-end machine learning and analytics capabilities using AWS-native tools. 

A clear theme was the shift in how global systems integrators approach partnerships. It is not just about aligning with AWS for co-sell opportunities. It is about building solutions where those partnerships are embedded from the start. I also came across a new go-to-market platform focused on helping AWS partners operationalize co-sell strategies more effectively, which seems to be gaining interest. 

There is always noise at large events, but underneath it, the direction of travel for cloud, data and partnerships is becoming easier to spot.

The AWS world is only expanding 

The importance of partnership was certainly implicit in the number of subsidiary events taking place outside the formal summit. The availability and approachability of AWS personnel, especially at these offsite events, made it an extremely collaborative environment for clients looking to connect directly with AWS teams. 

In particular, it was great to see the number of successful networking events co-hosted by services firms and product vendors, which boosted their visibility and partner clout while driving real engagement. 

Find out more 

How is your organization benefiting from partnership with AWS? If you’d like to discuss the main themes of the AWS Summit in more detail, are looking to hire the right tech expert for your organization or are a tech professional looking for your next role in data and AI, please get in touch with us.