Maximizing AWS Enterprise Support Benefits with a Partner-led Strategy

In the cloud era, one of the standout benefits of migrating to the cloud is the promise of seamless, uninterrupted services. Businesses rely on this continuity to maintain smooth operations and avoid disruptions. To fully leverage this advantage, you should have a robust cloud support system, which is crucial for managing outages, interruptions, and technical challenges effectively.

Cloud support options vary widely, ranging from basic billing and payment support to extensive end-to-end support programs by hyperscalers or even the more specialized third-party offerings catering to niche use cases. AWS, for instance, offers a spectrum of support tiers designed to meet different needs. 

Basic tiers like AWS Developer Support, costing under $30 a month, cover general queries and billing issues but often have slower response times and limited service access. AWS offers higher-tier support for organizations with more complex needs, including the renowned AWS Enterprise Support.

AWS Enterprise Support stands out with its extensive range of services which includes proactive planning, advisory services, automation tools, and 24/7 access to expert guidance. With a dedicated Technical Account Manager (TAM), you receive personalized architectural and operational advice, ensuring you derive maximum value from AWS.

However, AWS Enterprise Support does come with a significant cost, starting at around $15,000 per month. This investment may not be suitable for every organization, and AWS has specific criteria for qualifying for this level of support. Additionally, some AWS programs, like the Enterprise Discount Program (EDP), mandate onboarding to the Enterprise Support Program, which could strain budgets that don’t account for such expenses. 

The key is to strike a balance—leveraging the benefits of premium cloud support while managing costs effectively. This needs a tailored approach to meet your organization's needs effectively and economically.

Partner-led Enterprise Support - Top-tier Services at a Fraction of the Cost

For businesses who need a wide range of cloud support offerings but cannot commit to a large service cost, the right way to go about is the Partner-led Enterprise Support program. This involves qualified AWS partners offering the same level of support, but also sharing some of their partner benefits with their customers in the form of lower costs and commitments. 

How does it work?

AWS partners who have qualified for the AWS Solution Provider partner program can offer Partner-led Enterprise Support to their customers. They undergo rigorous certification processes and once qualified, establish a Support Agreement with AWS, outlining the services, SLAs, and responsibilities. 

When the partner onboards a customer for the Partner-led Support program, they become their primary point of contact, providing technical support and guidance. The support partner delivers cloud assistance and also offers other value-added services like consulting, managed services, migration support, and third-party software support.

In case any cloud support issues require deeper cloud expertise or an escalation with the hyper scaler, the partner can access the AWS support team and raise tickets on behalf of the customer. It adds an extra layer of assistance between the customer and AWS, offering comprehensive support at a significantly reduced cost.

Let’s Compare the Offerings

Although both Partner-led Support and AWS Enterprise Support offer access to certified experts, proactive support, and efficient problem resolution, there are a few notable differences between them. Here’s a snapshot of how the two programs compare.

Partner-led Support provides nearly all the core support services AWS Enterprise Support offers. However, there are two key differences:

• Training Credits: AWS Enterprise Support includes 500 training credits per year, which can be used to upskill your cloud engineers on various AWS services. Partner-led Support typically does not offer these credits.
• Pricing: AWS Enterprise Support follows a tiered pricing model, averaging around $15,000 monthly. In contrast, Partner-led Support utilizes a custom pricing model, which is significantly more affordable.

Advantages of Partner-Led Support

While the offerings of Partner-led Enterprise Support and normal AWS Enterprise Support are very similar, here are the benefits you can expect while signing up for the former. 

• Cost Savings: Partner-led Support generally comes at a lower cost than AWS Enterprise Support, making it accessible for organizations with tighter budgets.
• Flexible Pricing: Partners offer customized pricing models based on the business's specific cloud support needs, allowing for better cost management.
• Lower Costs for Partner Programs: Customers who sign up for programs like AWS EDP could avail of Partner-led Support as an alternative, to fulfill the mandate at a reduced cost.
• Personalized Service: With a focus on customer relationships, Partner-led Support often includes tailored advice and solutions specifically aligned with the business’s unique requirements.
• Extended Expertise: Partners bring additional expertise in cloud-native technologies and DevOps, which can be beneficial for more specialized cloud support needs.

Dependency on AWS

Partner-led Support covers a broad range of features suitable for nearly all business use cases. However, there are specific instances where support still relies directly on AWS services.

• Service Limit (Service Quota) Increases: Requests for quota increases must still be handled directly through AWS.
• Pre-warming Requests for Load Balancer: Essential for avoiding latency issues during major events, this request must be managed through AWS.
• RCAs for AWS Services Issues: Root Cause Analysis for issues such as latency on load balancers and network status checks failing on EC2 instances must be addressed with the AWS team. 
• AWS Service Degradation: Direct cloud support from AWS is necessary for issues related to service degradation.
• Account and Billing Issues: Problems with credits, refunds, or account-related queries need to be resolved directly with AWS.

However, the partner can act on behalf of the customer, raising support tickets and working with them in resolving their issues promptly. 

Premier Support Services by CloudKeeper

At CloudKeeper, we offer premium cloud support services, expert guidance, and round-the-clock assistance to you, with our comprehensive Partner-led Support (PLS) Program. An AWS Premier Consulting Partner, CloudKeeper offers you all the benefits of AWS Enterprise Support at a custom discounted pricing tailored to your specific needs. 

In addition to all the benefits of the partner program and the cost discounts, we also offer certain extended benefits at no additional cost. 

• Support for DevOps & Cloud-native Technologies: Specialized cloud support for modern DevOps practices and cloud-native technologies, enhancing your cloud operations.
• Adoption of New AWS Services: Guidance on adopting new AWS services and technologies, including transitioning from self-managed solutions to AWS-managed services.
• Workload Modernization: Assistance with modernizing workloads, such as migrating to Graviton-based instance types or upgrading storage volumes from GP2 to GP3.
• Cloud Automation: Supports implementing cloud automation to streamline operations and optimize performance.
• Cloud Cost Optimization: Resource-level insights and expert strategies to optimize cloud costs for your entire infrastructure. 
• Performance Optimization: Unique techniques and tools to enhance the performance of your cloud environment.
• Consulting and Advisory: Expert advice on cloud innovations, migration strategies, and resource optimization.

CloudKeeper offers you almost everything that you get with AWS Enterprise Support and more, at a fraction of the original cost. 

Conclusion

The AWS Enterprise Support program offers a comprehensive range of cloud support for all kinds of businesses but has a substantial cost barrier. Partner-led Support Program is a valuable alternative that offers the core support services at a more accessible price point. 

In addition to the cost discounts, Partner-led Support by an expert AWS Partner like CloudKeeper will help you with extended cloud support benefits like DevOps support, guidance in cloud innovations, automation support, and performance optimization. Working with a partner can help you access benefits far beyond AWS Enterprise Support, while still actively maintaining the relationship with the AWS support team for any dependencies.