APN Technical Baseline Review
Helping APN Partners mitigate security, reliability, and operational risks
The Technical Baseline Review (TBR) is available to all AWS Partner Network (APN) Consulting and Technology Partners across all tiers who have a workload running on AWS. The TBR provides APN Partners with one-on-one engagement with an AWS Partner Solutions Architect (PSA), who reviews the APN Partner’s product offering based on core AWS security, reliability, and operational best practices. PSAs have years of experience supporting millions of active AWS customers and help APN Partners optimize and refine processes to improve quality and deliver successful customer outcomes.
The TBR is offered at no extra cost to APN Partners. All APN Partners are highly encouraged to review their product offerings through the TBR process. A TBR is valid for two years from the date of successful completion.
Technical Baseline Review Benefits
Mitigate security, reliability, and operational risks
The TBR covers a concise set of AWS security, reliability, and operational best practices that are most essential to customer success and provides prescriptive guidelines for how to implement them.
Engage directly with an AWS Partner Solutions Architect
APN Partners gain an opportunity to consult with an AWS PSA regarding improvements to their AWS architecture. PSAs offer insight from years of experience supporting millions of customer workloads running on AWS.
Qualify for APN Tiers and Programs
Successful completion of a TBR qualifies APN Technology Partners for the AWS Service Ready Program and APN Advanced Tier, which provides access to greater APN benefits.
Technical Baseline Review Requirements
Successful completion of a TBR requires the following:
- AWS Business Support or Enterprise Support for all AWS production accounts
- Compliance with best practices on AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), logging and auditing using AWS CloudTrail, Amazon S3 bucket protection, and handling of sensitive data
- Documented and tested backup and disaster recovery strategy
- Additional requirements listed in the appropriate workload-specific checklist (see workload types below)
Technical Baseline Review Workload Types
Hosted and managed workloads
The APN Partner owns and/or operates an AWS account that provides customer-facing services OR the APN Partner requires access to a customer-owned AWS account. An example of a hosted or managed workload is software-as-a-service (SaaS).
Download the TBR checklist for hosted and managed workloads »
Customer-deployed workloads
Other workloads
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are considered AWS production accounts and why is AWS Business Support (or higher) required on those accounts?
The following are considered production AWS accounts:
- Accounts operated as part of a hosted or managed service
- Accounts from which customer-facing collateral, such as an Amazon Machine Image (AMI), is distributed
- Accounts that contain customer data
Customers expect APN Partners to maintain formal support and escalation processes with AWS. AWS Business Support or higher is an essential component of that relationship. Additional benefits of AWS Business Support are available here. AWS Enterprise Support benefits are listed here.
How does a Technical Baseline Review differ from an AWS Well-Architected Review?
A Technical Baseline Review (TBR) is a checklist-driven process that validates a select set of AWS best practices that are fundamental for promoting customer success. A TBR includes prescriptive directions for how to achieve the best practices covered in the review. An AWS Well-Architected Review is a Solutions Architect-led conversation guided by an expansive set of best practices and, unlike a Technical Baseline Review, may result in both critical and non-critical recommendations at the discretion of the Solutions Architect.
What happens if I do not successfully complete a Technical Baseline Review?
In the event you do not successfully complete a Technical Baseline Review, you can remediate all unfulfilled TBR requirements and submit documentation demonstrating remediation to the PSA handling the review. APN Technology Partners must complete remediation of all findings in order to qualify for APN Advanced Tier or the AWS Service Ready Program.
How do I get started with a Technical Baseline Review?
Your Alliance Lead needs to perform the following steps:
Step 1: Log in to your Partner Central account.
Step 2: Once in your account page, click the "View My APN Account" quick link on the left-hand side.
Step 3: In the Solutions section, find the solution for which the review will be requested and click the "Edit" button for the solution. If the solution is not listed, create a new solution listing by clicking "New" and completing all the required fields for the listing.
Step 4: At the bottom of the solution listing, find the field that asks "Are you ready to request a Technical Baseline Review?" and choose "Yes" in the dropdown. Click "Next," complete all other required fields, and click "Submit."