3 ways to be recognized for your AWS excellence 

We all love a bit of recognition, but when it comes to professionals and partners working with AWS, there haven’t been too many opportunities in the past to celebrate the amazing work being done right across the community.

And one thing’s for sure—it’s certainly not down to a lack of suitable candidates. With AWS estimating that its Partner network surpasses 100,000 practices worldwide, and 650,000 individuals holding an AWS certification to date (meaning the total number of AWS professionals is likely to be much, much higher), there’s little doubt that there is cloud excellence in every corner of the AWS community that deserves to have a moment in the spotlight.

Awards are a great way to shine a light on those organizations and professionals making waves in the stack, whether that’s by achieving outstanding results themselves or empowering others to make the most of everything AWS has to offer. And it’s not just about winning a shiny trophy that looks great in your home office or workplace (although who doesn’t want to proudly show off a bit of silverware?). Awards and accreditations can also be a super-effective way for professionals to bolster their career prospects by setting their resume apart from the crowd, while organizations can benefit from the magnetism these accolades have in your talent attraction and retention strategies.

Sounds good, right? But what awards and accreditations are available to those innovating and inspiring in the AWS community day after day?

AWS Heroes program  

 The AWS Heroes program awards professionals going the extra mile in the AWS universe with the prestigious ‘AWS Hero’ title.  

In the words of AWS themselves, the program ‘recognizes a vibrant, worldwide group of AWS experts whose enthusiasm for knowledge-sharing has a real impact within the community’. This means any professional dedicated to lifting up their peers through education, guidance and mentorship is eligible for this respected accreditation.  

Perhaps you’re highly active on social media, contribute to open-source projects and forums, speak at conferences or Community Days, run workshops or user groups, create blog posts, videos or tutorials—it’s no exaggeration to say there are a whole lot of ways to demonstrate the values and qualities of an AWS Hero. 

However, the only way for these influential and inspiring builders to be nominated is via an Amazon employee who can attest to their community contributions, with all nominations then going through a robust quarterly review process. The AWS Hero title sure doesn’t come easy!  

AWS Partner Awards

 The AWS Partner Awards are hosted annually by AWS. They recognize those organizations in the partner space that have achieved outstanding results and innovations by embracing specialization and collaboration while utilizing AWS products and solutions.  

Celebrating born-in-the-cloud and traditional services, software, and hardware partners, there’s a wide range of categories related to different focus areas and technologies. This means partners making a real impact in a whole host of ways are eligible for nomination—if you’re leading the way in helping AWS users thrive, why couldn’t it be you?!  

Nominations closed for the 2023 AWS Partner Awards back in August, meaning it’s too late to take part in the next edition. But for the second time, candidates this year were able to self-nominate for a number of categories—so be sure to keep that in mind for the future!  

Digital Revolution Awards  

 Luckily, nominations for the Digital Revolution Awards remain open until November 30, 2023.  

These annual awards, hosted by our parent company Tenth Revolution Group, have been celebrating excellence in the cloud since 2020, with an exciting range of cloud-specific categories, including several dedicated to AWS. End users, partners and professionals going above and beyond in the AWS community are all eligible for nomination worldwide.   

Those from North America, the UK and DACH regions have their own in-person award ceremonies that encourage the community to come together and celebrate. Those from elsewhere around the globe have the chance to go up against regional winners and others worldwide in the global awards, where your contributions and achievements will be recognized in a virtual ceremony. Don’t worry though—you’ll still get a trophy to put out on display! 

The Best AWS Partner to Work For category celebrates employers of excellence from across the AWS universe, acknowledging those partner organizations leading the way in every aspect of their employer brand. Partners going that little bit further with their efforts in areas like Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), CSR, sustainability, and employee health and wellbeing, can also nominate themselves for categories that aren’t stack-specific. Digital Transformation Project of the Year, Exceptional Cloud Team of the Year, Diversity and Inclusion Employer of the Year, and Excellence in Learning and Development are all highly desirable awards that will look fabulous in your workplace.  

Individuals also have an abundance of opportunities for recognition, including the Outstanding Contribution to the AWS Community award, which is dedicated to those making a significant impact that benefits those right across the stack. Elsewhere, categories like Rising Star of the Year and Outstanding Leader of the Year platform those whose achievements inspire and empower users and/or businesses to accomplish more with AWS, no matter their role or experience within the ecosystem.  

Be sure not to underestimate your own achievements—whether it’s mentoring others or fostering a sense of community, there are a whole lot of ways you can make amazing contributions worth celebrating. Perhaps you create or feature in educational content and videos, play a role in mentorship initiatives, host or contribute to meetups and User Groups, help to drive innovations, or simply have an active involvement within the community—however you showcase thought leadership and community spirit, the judges want to hear from you.  

Nominations can be entered either on behalf of yourself or somebody else, and are submitted via a 3-5 minute video or a 400-850 word nomination that describes how the individual/organization has excelled in the relevant criteria. Try to demonstrate the value these efforts bring to the AWS community, and reference key metrics and performance outcomes where possible to really grab the judges’ attention—but if you’re unsure how to put together a written nomination, this handy cheat sheet will guide you through, step-by-step.  

 Nominations for the 2024 Digital Revolution Awards close November 30, so register on the Awards Hub now for your chance to be recognized for AWS excellence.