What is AWS’ Proof of Concept Program? AWS POC Explained

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Corrin Jones

POSTED ON

September 17, 2022

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Categories: AWS

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What is AWS’ Proof of Concept Program? AWS POC Explained

If you’re thinking about making a transition to AWS (or just trying to manage your current installation), you may have heard of “AWS Proof of Concept,” sometimes shortened to “AWS POC.”

The AWS Proof of Concept (POC) Program is designed to help customers and partners validate their technical architecture and business processes on the AWS cloud platform. This program provides access to AWS resources, tools and expertise to help customers and partners accelerate their deployment and adoption. The program also helps ensure that customers are successful by providing guidance and best practices from AWS Solutions Architects.

Amazon itself recognizes that it’s not easy to transition to AWS. While AWS solutions are incredibly powerful, they are also difficult to configure — and easy to misconfigure. With the AWS Proof of Concept program, you can identify your best deployment path.

What Is AWS POC? Who Does the AWS POC Program Serve?

The AWS POC Program is a great way for customers and partners to start with AWS. The program provides access to everything you need to build and validate your infrastructure on AWS, including:

  • A dedicated POC environment in your AWS account
  • A team of AWS Solutions Architects to help you plan, build and run your concept
  • Guidance and best practices from AWS Solutions Architects
  • The ability to extend your POC to a production environment on AWS

Ideally, your organization can build its AWS POC and then move it into production — neatly avoiding many of the traditional, disrupted issues that come with building a new infrastructure.

The Advantages of Working with the AWS POC Program

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The AWS POC Program provides several advantages for customers and partners, including:

  • Flexibility. You can use the resources in your AWS account to build and run your POC. This lets you customize your POC environment to meet your specific needs and truly ensure that the deployment will work for your organization.
  • Expertise. The team of AWS Solutions Architects assigned to your POC will help you plan, build and run your POC. They can also provide guidance and best practices to help ensure your POC is successful.
  • Support. The AWS POC program provides access to the resources, tools and expertise you need to build and run your POC on AWS. This includes the ability to extend your POC to a production environment on AWS.

It’s possible that the AWS POC program will reveal issues with your AWS pilot. This will only mitigate issues for you in the future.

How do you know whether you need to use the AWS POC program? An AWS partner can help. An AWS partner will give you insights into whether the Proof-of-Concept program is right for you.

Major Challenges When Building on the AWS Cloud Platform

There are a few challenges an organization may face when building on the AWS cloud platform. These challenges include:

  • Security. You need to be sure that your data and applications are secure when you move them to the cloud. The AWS POC Program can help you plan and implement the security measures you need to keep your data safe.
  • Compliance. You also need to ensure that your applications and data comply with all applicable laws and regulations. The AWS POC Program can help you assess your compliance requirements and implement the controls to meet them. You will build your infrastructure with these things in mind from the ground up.
  • Cost. You need to know the costs associated with running your application on AWS. The AWS POC Program can help you estimate the cost of your POC and find ways to optimize your use of AWS resources.

Ultimately, the AWS POC Program connects you with expert professionals and specialists who can review your organization’s AWS infrastructure to ensure you get the most value for your money. Without using the AWS POC Program, it’s very possible to design a deployment that is inefficient, poorly optimized or not cost-effective at scale.

Alternatives to the AWS POC Program

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If you’re not sure if the AWS POC Program is right for you, there are a few other options to consider. These alternatives include:

  • The AWS Partner Network (APN). The APN is a global network of companies that offer services and products on the AWS platform. If you’re looking for help with your AWS installation, the APN can connect you with an AWS partner with the expertise you need. The AWS POC program is only one of the services that this partner network can provide.
  • The AWS Marketplace. The AWS Marketplace is an online store that offers a wide range of software products that run on the AWS platform. If your organization is already high-tech savvy, it’s possible that you can use AWS marketplace tools to optimize, improve and test your AWS infrastructure. But you will need the internal team available to utilize and integrate these tools, understand the results and manage and maintain your services.
  • Internal management. If your organization is an expert in everything cloud and AWS, it’s possible to manage your solutions internally. The AWS POC program is meant to test your cloud infrastructure’s functionality, efficiency, cost-effectiveness and feasibility. If you are already past the risk assessment, optimization and improvement stage, you may only need minor consulting from an AWS professional to move forward with your internal team.

Amazon has many solutions, from the AWS Migration Program to AWS Re:Scale. Despite all these tools, however, many of them are far from intuitive and will need the help of a professional to unpack and optimize.

Without the help of a professional, you run the risk of building an infrastructure that can’t scale — or that will vastly lose its cost-effectiveness as it scales. Using a professional Amazon Partner for your infrastructure’s architecture and deployment will sidestep these issues without putting an additional burden on your internal team.

How to Get Started with the AWS POC Program

The AWS POC program is available for any organization that wants to test its AWS cloud services.

The more work you put into your infrastructure, the more value you will receive later. Every organization’s infrastructure is different. The AWS POC solution will help you work toward the best infrastructure management for you — but it’s not the only solution available.

Contact us if you want to start the AWS POC Program. We will work with you to understand your needs and determine if the program is a good fit for you. It’s possible that you already have all the resources there — but it’s also possible that you may need a helping hand.