AWS Reseller vs. Direct Purchase: Which Is Right for Your Business?

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In the last decade, the cloud revolution has empowered businesses of all sizes to leverage the power of Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help scale and grow. Cloud computing has grown into a vast ecosystem of technologies, products, and services giving rise to a multi-billion dollar economy growing exponentially each year, where many cloud providers compete for an ever-expanding cloud market share.

The popularity of the Cloud is primarily because of its unique benefits and the major economic value it presents. Many recent reports show that cloud services offer a number of advantages over traditional on-premises infrastructure, including superior scalability, resilience, and cost management.

However, as customers, navigating the complexities of the complex AWS ecosystem is quite daunting. The central question here is whether you buy your AWS resources from Amazon or through an AWS reseller. So let us deep dive into the world of reselling and understand which should be a better option for you to pursue.

Who is an AWS Reseller?

An AWS reseller is a third-party company authorized by AWS to sell its cloud services. Resellers purchase AWS services in bulk at discounted rates and then resell them to customers. They usually bundle AWS offerings with additional services such as a cost visibility platform, consulting, support, and managed services, so the final bundle seems very lucrative to the end users. The target segment for AWS resellers typically are businesses looking for more personalized and tailored cloud solutions.

Choosing the Right Purchasing Method for AWS Services

To leverage AWS services for your business, you must choose the right purchasing method while purchasing AWS resources. It can significantly impact your cost efficiency, support quality, and overall management of your cloud resources.

Direct Purchases

In a direct purchase, businesses buy AWS services directly from Amazon Web Services without any intermediaries. In direct purchase, there is a higher control of a company over the cloud infrastructure. While large enterprises can enjoy a range of benefits from direct purchase, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and digital-native businesses (DNBs) can find it challenging to go for direct purchase.

Benefits of Buying AWS Directly

Full Control and Flexibility: Direct purchasing enables you to have greater control over your AWS resources. There is also direct access to all the functionalities and benefits of AWS without any reseller in between.

Direct Access to AWS Support: There is direct contact between you and AWS support which eliminates any middleman whenever there is any issue, thus expediting troubleshooting and resolution.

Cloud cost-saving potential: Directly purchasing resources from AWS could save you the additional mark-up that resellers could add for their services. Large companies with considerable AWS expenditures can negotiate directly with AWS to secure discounts or create tailored enterprise agreements.

Access to all AWS Programs: Purchasing directly from AWS gives you access to all programs offered by AWS, including free tiers, credits for startups, training resources, etc.

Drawbacks of Buying AWS Directly

Complexity: For a small company, managing an AWS account without any reseller assistance can be challenging because of the expertise needed for the management.

Limited Support Access: Free AWS support has limitations and companies need to subscribe to a premium plan like AWS Enterprise support for more advanced support options. This can add to the overall costs and not be a feasible option for SMEs

Hidden Costs: Although direct billing saves you reseller markups, unforeseen costs can occur because of accidental resource overprovisioning or inefficient configurations if proper cost optimization practices are not followed.

Purchasing through an AWS Reseller

As mentioned earlier, a reseller is an AWS Partner. Resellers purchase AWS services in bulk at discounted rates and then resell them to customers usually bundled with other services like support etc. Purchasing AWS resources through a reseller ensures that there is a significant amount of handholding as far as cloud implementation is concerned. Let us look at the advantages and disadvantages of reseller purchases.

Benefits of Buying AWS Through a Reseller

Cost Savings: The biggest advantage that resellers offer is discounts because of bulk purchasing and negotiated rates, which can significantly benefit especially small businesses that do not have access to volume-based discounts. These discounts might otherwise go untapped if you directly purchase with AWS. It is however important to note that, buying through a reseller doesn’t automatically guarantee the best rates. You should compare the rates with direct purchases on a case-to-case basis.

Expertise & Guidance: For businesses that lack in-house AWS expertise or are new to AWS cloud, AWS resellers can assist in selecting the appropriate services for your needs, designing and implementing your cloud architecture, and resolving any issues that arise.

Industry-Specific Knowledge: Many AWS resellers focus on specific industries, such as healthcare, finance, or retail. They offer tailored advice and services that address the unique needs and challenges of your industry.

Simplified Cloud Cost Management: Resellers typically offer managed AWS services, account setup, resource management, and daily operations. This allows your internal team to concentrate on core business activities.

Enhanced Support and value-added services: Companies can enjoy the added advantage of dedicated and personalized support with the reseller support teams at no extra cost. This is a higher level of support compared to the basic AWS support that comes with direct buying. Also, there are certain value-added services that resellers offer like cloud cost optimization, cloud migration assistance, etc.

Simplified Billing Management: AWS Resellers alleviate the complexities of AWS billing by consolidating multiple accounts, services, and usage data into a single, understandable format.

Strategic Guidance: AWS Resellers can aid in developing a long-term cloud strategy aligned with your business goals. They access cloud partner network resources, programs, and incentives to further support and meet your specific business goals.

Drawbacks of Buying AWS Through a Reseller

Dependency on the reseller and less control: When working with a reseller, you might have to give up some control over your AWS account. The billing has to be done through a reseller.

Difficult to switch resellers: Switching to another reseller or even to direct purchase would become difficult if a particular reseller has managed your AWS configurations.

Markup for their services: Although in principle, resellers are supposed to offer your discounts, there is a possibility of markup fees for their additional support and services which could inflate your cloud bill.

The choice between buying AWS directly or through a reseller depends on your needs. If you are a large enterprise with a strong internal cloud team and can access volume-based pricing for AWS services, going direct could be a feasible option.

However, for savings on those who can't access volume-based pricing, lack cloud expertise, or need extra support, an AWS reseller can be invaluable. Partnering with an AWS reseller can significantly offer better cost savings, personalized support, consulting, etc. Use the APN network to find a reseller that matches your requirements and helps you reach your cloud goals.

Evaluating Reseller capabilities

One of the most reliable sources of finding a reseller is through the Amazon Partner Network(APN). It is a directory of vetted and qualified partners endorsed by AWS. All partners are categorized based on tiers (Standard, Select, Advanced, Premier) depending on their expertise, experience, and commitment to AWS. AWS also offers a partner finder tool that can ease your reseller discovery process.

Besides APN, you can consider several factors for choosing the right reseller with the right set of capabilities. Some of them are - the expertise and experience of the reseller, the range of service offerings, pricing, communication and transparency, and their success stories.

Why You Should Choose AWS Billing with CloudKeeper?

CloudKeeper AZ is a top AWS reseller certified as an AWS Premier Partner that leverages the power of group buying, the scale of spend aggregation, and volume-based discounts to help businesses achieve significant cloud cost savings on the entire bill right from Day 1. We ensure you access best-in-market discount rates at no cost, lock-in, or commitment. In addition to ensuring savings, we also provide a comprehensive cloud cost visibility platform and proactive support acting as a cloud cost management vertical for your business.