At AWS re:Invent held in Vegas in early December, I was able to sit down for a conversation about AWS co-selling partnerships with Julia Chen, VP of AWS Partner Core, Specialists and Partners. Chen shared insights on AWS’s partner ecosystem and recent innovations and how AWS’s co-selling partnerships are all about helping partners drive profitable growth. Chen highlighted the critical role partners play in AWS’s business strategy and customer success.
AWS’s Co-Selling Partnerships and a Goal of Helping Customers Drive Profitable Growth, a conversation with Julia Chen at re:Invent — watch the conversation here:
Chen, who oversees the foundational aspects of the AWS partner programs, contracts, and enablement initiatives, emphasized the significant impact of AWS’s co-selling partnerships. According to AWS research, partners who co-sell with AWS see remarkable benefits: 51% higher revenue growth, 65% higher close rates, and 54% larger deal sizes. To facilitate these partnerships, AWS has implemented several tools including Partner Central and ACE, along with a new Gen AI tool that helps AWS sellers identify optimal partners for specific opportunities.
Among the other key announcements at re:Invent, Chen expressed particular excitement about Q for Developer, a tool that modernizes legacy code. This innovation can efficiently convert various programming languages, including updating Java 8 to Java 17 and transforming COBOL to Java, potentially saving thousands of development hours. Other significant partner-focused announcements included the launch of the business outcome accelerator program, the general availability of the AWS managed service program, and the introduction of Buy with AWS on Marketplace, an accelerated procurement process on AWS partner sites, powered by AWS Marketplace that enables partners to leverage their own storefronts for AWS Marketplace access.
Looking toward the future, Chen shared AWS’s ambitious vision of having partners involved in 100% of their customer accounts, a goal recently articulated by Matt Garman in a CRN interview. She emphasized how partners like Datadog, MongoDB, Snowflake, Accenture, Deloitte, and Slalom develop crucial technologies and services on AWS’s platform.
Throughout the conversation, Chen reinforced AWS’s commitment to their builder community and customer-centric approach, which was a clear theme throughout the entire re:Invent event. She highlighted how partner feedback plays a vital role in product development and service improvement, reflecting AWS’s broader culture of customer obsession. This customer-first mindset permeates AWS’s culture and drives the company’s approach to solving complex challenges across various industries.
See more of my coverage here:
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