APN Customer Engagements Program Requirements and Guidelines ~ Partner Central

Last Updated: October 27th, 2021

Overview

The APN Customer Engagement (“ACE”) Program helps enable AWS Partners to support customers and drive successful engagements on AWS. Qualifying AWS Partners who have demonstrated their capabilities to drive customer engagements on AWS are eligible (as described below) to receive referrals of inbound prospects generated by AWS (“Leads”) or pre-qualified opportunities with AWS customers or potential AWS customers (“Opportunities”). The ACE Program also provides AWS Partners who have submitted Opportunities to AWS with access to sales and technical support resources to assist in driving successful customer outcomes. Participating AWS Partners can access customer engagement tools on APN Partner Central (collectively, the “ACE Pipeline Manager”), in order to submit, receive, access, and manage information related to Opportunities and Leads. The ACE Program is a benefit made available to AWS Partners as part of the AWS Partner Network Program, and each AWS Partner (“you” or “AWS Partner”) agrees that its participation in the ACE Program is governed by the AWS Partner Network Terms and Conditions, currently available at https://aws.amazon.com/partners/terms-and-conditions/, as may be updated by AWS from time to time (“APN Terms”), and the terms herein.

AWS Partner Eligibility Requirements

AWS Partners must meet the following requirements to participate in the ACE Program, subject to AWS’s review and approval:

Opportunity Submissions (from AWS Partner to AWS): All AWS Partners are eligible to submit Opportunities to AWS via the ACE Pipeline Manager.
Customer Engagement Referrals (from AWS to AWS Partner): AWS Partners who meet the following requirements are eligible to receive Lead or Opportunity referrals from AWS via the ACE Pipeline Manager (collectively, “Customer Engagement Referrals”):2.1. Select Tier AWS Consulting Partners and Select Tier AWS Technology Partners:2.2. Advanced through Premier Tier AWS Consulting Partners and Advanced Tier AWS Technology Partners:2.3. ISV Partners:

10 Opportunities submitted to and validated by AWS (in its sole discretion) on a rolling 12-month basis;
An active listing on the AWS Partner Solutions Finder Directory;
Participation in at least one of the following programs: AWS Competency Program, AWS Managed Service Provider Program, AWS ISV Accelerate, AWS Public Sector Program, AWS Service Delivery Program, Well-Architected Partner Program, AWS Service Ready Program, APN Global Startup Program;
Provide updates to AWS regarding Customer Engagement Referrals; and
Any other requirements that may be communicated by AWS from time to time.

An active listing on the AWS Partner Solutions Finder Directory;
Provide updates to AWS regarding Customer Engagement Referrals; and
Any other requirements that may be communicated by AWS from time to time.

Achieved confirmed status on ISV Partner Path;
10 Opportunities submitted to and validated by AWS (in its sole discretion) on a rolling 12-month basis;
An active listing on the AWS Partner Solutions Finder Directory;
Provide updates to AWS regarding Customer Engagement Referrals; and
Any other requirements that may be communicated by AWS from time to time.

Requirements for Submitting Opportunities to AWS

AWS might provide sales or technical support if your Opportunity submission is “validated” by AWS, meaning AWS has reviewed the Opportunity and determined that it has been fully prospected by the AWS Partner. Further, an Opportunity might not be validated by AWS if it is already being pursued by AWS at the time of submittal. In addition:

By submitting an Opportunity, you are confirming you have made significant pre-sales efforts related to the Opportunity (e.g., meeting with the customer’s decision-makers, qualifying the Opportunity). Such efforts must be described when submitting the Opportunity.
You must obtain clear and affirmative consent from the customer to disclose customer contact information and other Opportunity information to AWS and for AWS to use this information for sales and marketing purposes in accordance with the AWS Privacy Notice available at https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/, as may be updated by AWS from time to time. For example, you presented the customer with the following statement and the customer provided clear and affirmative consent:

Yes, I'd like for you to provide my contact information to Amazon Web Services (AWS) so AWS can share the latest AWS news and offers with me by email, post or telephone. I understand I may unsubscribe from receiving news and offers from AWS at any time by following the instructions in the communications received. I understand AWS handles my information as described in the AWS Privacy Notice.
As reasonably requested, you will provide sufficient evidence of such consent and assist AWS in responding to any inquiry regarding such Opportunity information.

You should not disclose information to AWS that is confidential, sensitive or that would be considered personal information of an individual (unless you have received the necessary consents).
Leads originating from a contact form, webinar, marketing campaign or any other lead generation sources are not eligible for submission until they meet the above Opportunity requirements.

Customer Engagement Referral Requirements

AWS may provide eligible AWS Partners with Customer Engagement Referrals. Upon receiving a Customer Engagement Referral, AWS Partners are subject to the following:

Customer Engagement Referrals are confidential and provided solely for the purpose of you contacting such customer in your own name and capacity (i.e., as an independent service provider) to assist such customer with their AWS needs (the “Intended Purpose”). Your message to the customer must be consistent with the Intended Purpose and you may not use any Customer Engagement Referral for other purposes (e.g., for general marketing).
You may reach out to a Customer Engagement Referral by email or phone only. At that time, you must make clear you are acting in your own name and capacity and not on AWS’s behalf. Failure to contact the Customer Engagement Referral within 3 business days of AWS providing the Customer Engagement Referral to you may result in your access to that Customer Engagement Referral being revoked.
You may disclose to the Customer Engagement Referral that you were referred by AWS, and provide them with information to unsubscribe from receiving marketing or other communications from AWS (e.g., https://pages.awscloud.com/Partner-Communication-Preferences.htmland/or https://pages.awscloud.com/communication-preferences.html). You must inform AWS of any instructions, or similar communication, regarding a customer’s request to be removed as a Customer Engagement Referral from the ACE Program.
You must have a publicly available privacy policy for any Customer Engagement Referral to view without fee or charge.
You are responsible for complying with all legal obligations applicable to your possession and use of Customer Engagement Referral information.

Use of ACE Pipeline Manager

The ACE Pipeline Manager is AWS Content as defined in your Customer Agreement (as defined in the APN Terms). Log-in credentials to APN Partner Central and the ACE Pipeline Manager are for your internal use only and you will not share them with any other person or entity. Additionally, you will not: (a) probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the ACE Pipeline Manager; (b) breach the security or authentication measures of the ACE Pipeline Manager; (c) monitor data or traffic on the ACE Pipeline Manager or collect or use any data made available via the ACE Pipeline Manager in an unauthorized manner; or (d) take any action that imposes unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the ACE Pipeline Manager. For technical questions or assistance related to the use of the ACE Pipeline Manager, visit the Contact Us page on Partner Central (https://partnercentral.awspartner.com/PartnerPortalContactUs)

Removal from the ACE Program

AWS may, in its sole discretion, remove you from all or any part of the ACE Program without notice, including revoking your access to any Customer Engagement Referral or the ACE Pipeline Manager. If your access to a Customer Engagement Referral has been revoked or is no longer accessible, you must immediately delete such information from your systems and destroy any such information that is otherwise in your possession. You may not use such information any further, except with the express permission of the Customer Engagement Referral or if you rightfully obtained such information outside of the ACE Program.

Modifications

AWS may modify or terminate the ACE Program at any time and without notice. AWS may also modify the terms herein at any time by posting a revised version within APN Partner Central, and such modified terms will become effective upon posting. By continuing to participate in the ACE Program after the effective date of any modifications to these terms, you agree to be bound by the modified terms. It is your responsibility to check regularly for modifications to these terms.