AWS Well-Architected Software

Funding Program
User Guide

2023 Q4
Version 2.1

© 2022, Amazon Web Services, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

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Notices

This document is provided for informational purposes only and does not create any offer,
contractual commitment, promise, or assurance from AWS. Any benefits described herein are at
AWS’s sole discretion and may be subject to change or termination without notice. This document is
not part of, nor does it modify, any agreement between AWS and its customers and/or APN
Partners.

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Table of Contents
Notices..................................................................................................................................................2
Overview ..............................................................................................................................................4
AWS Well-Architected Review ...............................................................................................................4
AWS Well-Architected Funding Eligibility ...............................................................................................4
Step 1: Conduct the AWS Well-Architected Review ................................................................................4
Step 2: Resolving High-Risk Issues (HRIs) ................................................................................................5
Step 3: Pass AWS Foundational Technical Review ...................................................................................5
Step 4: Requesting funding under the AWS Well-Architected Software Partners Funding Program ..........6
Step 5: Receiving funding under the AWS Well-Architected Software Partners Funding Program .............6

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Overview
This document is for AWS Well-Architected Software Partners requesting funding through the AWS Well-
Architected Funding Program. It covers information related to the AWS Well-Architected review, resolution
process, and steps to request and receive funding.

AWS Well-Architected Review

In order to receive funding, all your AWS Well-Architected workloads must be reviewed using the AWS Well-
Architected Tool through your AWS Account. You can complete an AWS Well-Architected Review through
one of three mechanisms:
- Self-Service: Your team’s technical and business leads conduct an AWS Well-Architected Review in
the AWS Well-Architected Tool;
- APN Partner Involved: Leverage an AWS Well-Architected Services Partner to perform an AWS Well-
Architected Review and make improvements where you need assistance; or
- AWS Solutions Architect: Use an AWS Solutions Architect to support your AWS Well-Architected
Review. They can help you identify issues that your team can improve upon.

AWS Well-Architected Funding Eligibility

If you are otherwise eligible, you will receive $5,000 in AWS Promotional Credits for conducting an AWS Well-
Architected Review and successfully resolving at least 45% of the high-risk issues discovered. In order to be
eligible to receive funding, AWS Well-Architected Software Partners must meet the criteria below:

Funding Eligibility:
- Registered for the AWS Partner Network (APN)
- Pass the APN Technical Baseline Review
- Product must be in production
- Conduct an AWS Well-Architected Review for all workloads in the AWS Well-Architected Tool
- Successfully remediate at least 45% of high-risk issues discovered and captured as a Milestone in the
AWS Well-Architected Review

Follow the steps below to request and receive funding.

Step 1: Conduct the AWS Well-Architected Review

AWS Well-Architected Reviews can be conducted by self-service, through an AWS Solutions Architect, or AWS
Well-Architected Services Partner, but the review must be captured in AWS Well-Architected Tool.

AWS Well-Architected Tool is a free tool in the AWS Management Console. It is a self-service assessment to
identify which AWS Well-Architected best practices your company is following. Once the AWS Well-
Architected Review is complete, you will receive a report of the high-risk issues identified. You must identify
an improvement plan for high-risk issues listed in the report that you would like to resolve.

See more details on AWS Well-Architected Tool through the User Guide.

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Step 2: Resolving High-Risk Issues (HRIs)
Once you have identified existing high-risk issues based on the AWS Well-Architected Review, identify the
risks you would like to resolve, and remediate those issues based on the improvement plans generated by
the AWS Well-Architected Tool. Capture the improvements you have made through the Milestones in the
AWS Well-Architected Tool.

About Milestones
A Milestone records the state of a workload at a particular point in time. Save a Milestone after you initially
complete all the AWS Well-Architected Review self-assessment questions associated with a workload. As you
change your workload based on completion of addressing high-risk issues in your improvement plan, you can
save additional Milestones to measure progress. A best practice is to save a Milestone every time you make
improvements to a workload.

Saving a Milestone
The owner of a workload can save a Milestone at any time.

To save a Milestone, follow the steps below:

1. In the AWS Well-Architected Tool, from the workload details page, choose “Save Milestone”.
2. In the “Milestone Name” box, enter a name for your Milestone.
3. Choose “Save” to save Milestone.
After a Milestone is saved, you cannot change the workload data that was recorded. When you delete a
workload, its associated Milestones are also deleted.

In order to be eligible for the AWS Well-Architected Funding Program, you must conduct an AWS Well-
Architected Review and successfully remediate at least 45% of high-risk issues discovered. For example, if
there were 12 high-risk issues discovered during your AWS Well-Architected Review, 5.4 of those high-risk
issues need to be resolved and updated as a Milestone to be eligible for funding.

Step 3: Pass AWS Foundational Technical Review

If you have not yet passed the AWS Foundational Technical Review, you will need to pass this review to be
eligible for the AWS Well-Architected Funding Program.

The AWS Foundational Technical Review is based on the AWS Well-Architected Review, but focuses on
ensuring that an APN Partner’s product offering follows specific security, reliability, and operational best
practices to ensure customer success. Passing the AWS Foundational Technical Review is required in order to
be eligible to receive funding.

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Requesting the AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR)
Review the AWS Foundational Technical Review Guide for further information
To request the FTR:
1. Review your architecture and operational practices
2. Prepare the required documentation and assets
3. Submit your request through AWS Partner Central
a. To find an offering for which the review is being requested: Go to Partner Central > Offerings
> Edit > Select ‘Yes’ > Next > Complete all required fields for the listing.
b. If the offering is not listed, create a new offering by clicking “New” and completing all the
required fields for the listing.
c. AWS will review your submitted documents and provide confirmation upon FTR approval or
email instructions for remediation.
d. Upon successfully completing an FTR, you gain immediate access to AWS Partner benefits
including ‘qualified software’ badge, funding, marketing resources, and more.

Step 4: Requesting funding under the AWS Well-Architected Software Partners

Funding Program
If you meet the eligibility requirements for AWS Well-Architected Funding Program, you can request funding
through the AWS Partner Funding Portal (APFP) in AWS Partner Central. If all criteria are met, please follow
the steps in the APFP User Guide to submit a funding request.

You will need the Amazon Resource Number (ARN) of the AWS Well-Architected Review to submit the form.
The ARN uniquely identifies the Amazon Resource. The ARN can be found on the workload properties page
for each specific workload. To learn more about ARNs, see here.

Step 5: Receiving funding under the AWS Well-Architected Software Partners

Funding Program
Once you have submitted the AWS Well-Architected Funding Program Request with the supporting ARN, a
member of the AWS Well-Architected Software Partner Program team will review your request to confirm
you meet all the eligibility criteria. If you meet all the eligibility criteria, you will be issued the AWS service
credit code within 5 business days AFTER the team has approved your request for funding. Approval can take
up to 30 business days. Any receipt of AWS Promotional Credits is subject to the AWS Promotional Credit
Terms & Conditions, as may be updated by AWS from time to time. Dollar values assigned to benefits as
described herein merely represent dollar value equivalents solely for purposes of defining the scope of the
available benefit. AWS Promotional Credits are not redeemable or exchangeable for cash under any
circumstance. Your AWS Promotional Credit code expires 6 months after the date of issue.

If the AWS Well-Architected Software Partner Program team reviews your submission and finds that you do
not meet all the eligibility criteria, an AWS Well-Architected Software Partner Program team member will
contact you with the steps required in order to be eligible for funding under the AWS Well-Architected
Funding Program.

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