You're on AWS Marketplace. Now put it to work.
AWS now ties software and AI companies' funding and visibility to what they sell and measure with AWS. Newly enrolled ISV Accelerate partners reach Marketing Development Funds only if they implement Partner Revenue Measurement and meet selling-engagement requirements. This page maps every software path, plus the paths that open if you also deliver services.
For a founder or CEO, or a head of partnerships, at a software or AI company — startup, ISV, AI-native or data provider — already on AWS.As of
What changed for software and AI companies?
The AWS program changes that move revenue for software and AI companies, newest effective date first.
- Sep 1, 2026Marketplace professional services fee, multi-product solutions: Independent software vendors are among the sellers AWS names for the lower professional services fee, now 0% when services sit in a qualifying multi-product solution with another paid subscription.Verified Nov 1, 2026
- Jun 16, 2026Partner Central onboarding agents: Agents build your profile from your website and guide tax, compliance and payment setup, then help you create a Marketplace listing.Verified Nov 1, 2026
- Jan 1, 2026Marketing Development Funds for new ISV Accelerate partners: Funds are open to partners newly enrolled after this date, who must implement Partner Revenue Measurement and meet selling-engagement requirements.Verified Nov 2, 2026
Which paths are yours, and which are next door?
Every path below is open to software companies today, including ones that rarely decide a deal. Program names are AWS's own.
Your role: software
| Path | What it gives you | Role it needs | Works with others? |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Partner Network and Software Path | What it gives youFree to join. Enroll in the Software Path in Partner Central, then qualify your software with the Foundational Technical Review | Role it needsSoftware | Works with others?Sequence: joining comes before every path below |
| Foundational Technical Review (FTR) | What it gives youFree review with results in minutes, using a SOC 2 Type II report or a Well-Architected Framework Review. Earns a Qualified Software badge and a Partner Solutions Finder listing, valid two years | Role it needsSoftware | Works with others?Sequence: join the APN first |
| AWS AI Competency (Agentic AI and Generative AI categories) | What it gives youA validated badge in Partner Finder. Benefits listed are recognition, early access, AWS expert engagement and financial incentives; details sit in a Benefits Guide in Partner Central | Role it needsSoftware | Works with others?Sequence: Software Path and a completed FTR first |
| AWS Marketplace listing | What it gives youThe onboarding agent builds a listing from your website in minutes | Role it needsSoftware | Works with others?Sequence: seller setup (verifications, tax, payment) comes first |
| Direct private offers | What it gives youCustom pricing, terms or EULA for a buyer, created in Partner Central | Role it needsSoftware | Works with others?Sequence: needs at least one active public listing |
| Buy with AWS | What it gives youAWS co-branding and discovery on your own website, for SaaS products only | Role it needsSoftware | Works with others?Sequence: needs at least one public SaaS listing |
| APN Customer Engagements (ACE) | What it gives youShare opportunities with AWS in ACE Pipeline Manager and receive AWS referrals once eligible | Role it needsAny | Works with others?Sequence: join the APN and accept the ACE terms first |
| ISV Accelerate | What it gives youVisibility to AWS account managers, selling support and ISV funding. Asks for a generally available Marketplace product, Validated or Differentiated status, ACE eligibility, an Amazon Payee Central account, 5 launched and 15 qualified opportunities in 12 months, one person trained and $2,000 in AWS revenue | Role it needsSoftware | Works with others?Sequence: all of those come first; AWS then sends an invitation and enrollment task |
| AWS Marketplace Private Offer Promotion Program | What it gives youAWS Promotional Credits offered to customers to speed Marketplace buying; AWS names it as ISV Accelerate funding | Role it needsSoftware | Works with others?Sequence: listed among ISV Accelerate benefits |
| Marketing Development Funds for new ISV Accelerate partners | What it gives youFunds for go-to-market and demand generation, paid as cash or AWS Promotional Credits | Role it needsSoftware | Works with others?Sequence: ISV Accelerate enrollment after Jan 1, 2026, plus Partner Revenue Measurement and engagement requirements |
| ISV Workload Migration Program | What it gives youAWS Promotional Credits to offset customer migration costs, unlocked by each qualified migration opportunity | Role it needsSoftware | Works with others?Sequence: needs a fully managed SaaS offering and an FTR for the nominated workload |
Which of these fit depends on whether you sell SaaS or software you ship, whether your buyers already buy through AWS, and how many opportunities you already share with AWS.
Next door: services
| Path | What it gives you | Role it needs | Works with others? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional services listing fee | What it gives youA 0.5% listing fee on professional services private offers, down from 2.5%, and 0% in a qualifying multi-product solution | Role it needsServices, Software | Works with others?Sequence: needs a professional services listing; existing offers keep their original terms |
| Services Partner Tiers: Select, Advanced, Premier | What it gives youRecognition for services firms, with annual APN fees; Marketing Development Funds are listed under Advanced and Premier | Role it needsServices | Works with others?Check with AWS: the tiers page says it is for consulting, professional, managed and resale organizations |
Whether these pay off depends on whether your implementation team sells separately from the product, and on whether your customers buy services and software together.
Why do two similar companies choose differently?
Illustrative.
A 15-person AI-native startup vs. a 40-person SaaS company with an implementation team
Company A is a 15-person AI-native startup that sells only software. It has no security report yet, so it starts with the Foundational Technical Review, then the Marketplace listing and first ACE opportunities, and checks its AI category fit. ISV Accelerate and its funding come later, once it has opportunity history. Company B is a 40-person SaaS company with an implementation team. It holds the same software paths, and also lists its implementation work as a professional services offer, where the fee is lower in a multi-product solution. It reads the Services tier requirements to see whether that side needs a tier.
AWS has the paths. Playmaker finds yours.
You’ve just seen how much AWS offers: programs, funding, listings, specialists and the many ways they combine. All of it is real, and much of it can run at the same time. Which of it fits your company depends on your tier, your roles and your deals.
Playmaker does that work for you:
- Ranked by revenue. It looks at your company and orders the AWS plays by revenue expectancy, so you spend your time on the plays that matter most.
- A recipe for each play. Every play comes with the steps to run it. You know what to do next, not just what exists.
- Built for your mix. Reseller and services, a Marketplace listing and ISV Accelerate, several funding programs at once. Playmaker works out how they fit together for your company, not for a generic partner.
- Ready in 3 minutes. Generate your playbook in 3 minutes, then refresh it as your deals change.
What does your playbook show?
Frequently
asked questions
The short answers for software and AI companies on AWS. Playmaker shows you the rest in 3 minutes.
AWS lists a generally available Marketplace product, Validated or Differentiated status, ACE eligibility, an Amazon Payee Central account and an opportunity history.
AWS's ISV Accelerate page asks for Validated or Differentiated status and its review page describes a Qualified Software badge. The pages do not say how they connect, so check with AWS.
AWS opened them to software partners newly enrolled in ISV Accelerate after Jan 1, 2026, who also implement Partner Revenue Measurement.
AWS describes the Software Path and the Services Path as separate paths, and names independent software vendors among sellers who benefit from the lower professional services fee. Its pages do not say whether one company can hold both, so check with AWS.
It validates partners across the Agentic AI and Generative AI categories, and software companies enroll in the Software Path and complete the Foundational Technical Review first.
Sources
The AWS pages this page reads, each accessed Nov 1 or Nov 2, 2026. Program names and terms belong to AWS.
- AWS, Partner Paths
- AWS, Foundational Technical Review
- AWS, AI partners on AWS
- AWS, ISV Accelerate
- AWS Partner Network blog, new ISV Accelerate benefits
- AWS, ISV Workload Migration
- AWS, Funding benefits for AWS Partners
- AWS, ACE
- AWS docs, Creating and managing private offers
- AWS docs, Product marketing
- AWS, Services tiers
- AWS Partner Network blog, new agentic capabilities from registered to ready to sell
- AWS, professional services listing fee
- AWS, multi-product solutions fee
AWS, AWS Marketplace and AWS Partner Network are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. WorkSpan is not affiliated with or endorsed by AWS.
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