New Categories and Enhanced Benefits for AWS Government Competency Partners

By Ghada Zribi, Global Lead, Government Competency – AWS
By Chris Butler, Sr. Launch Product Manager – AWS

Government organizations are increasingly turning to the cloud to innovate and transform their operations—seeking ways to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and meet their mandates across civil, defense, intelligence, and state and local governments.

As the demand for modernization in the public sector grows, customers face unique challenges that require deep understanding of government security, compliance, and procurement processes.

To address these evolving needs, we’re excited to introduce new categories for the AWS Government Competency. These specialized categories help customers identify Partners with deep expertise across citizen services, public safety, and defense and national security.

We’re also rolling out new and enhanced benefits for Partners, including exclusive Government Day events and regional expansion of Competency Partner Leadership Circles. These events give Partners access to curated industry content and opportunities to provide feedback for continuous program improvements.

By updating the Competency, we’re creating new opportunities for Partners to showcase their specialized expertise and expand their reach in the government sector. As technology and customer expectations evolve, this enhancement allows Partners to differentiate themselves in a competitive market, while strengthening their relationship with AWS in the public sector space, ultimately supporting government innovation and service delivery on AWS. 

New AWS Government Competency categories

AWS Partners in these categories are validated for their deep technical expertise and proven customer success in key areas of government procurement, like compliance, architecture, and domain expertise critical to government customers.

Citizen Services
Specializing in solutions that help government agencies better serve their citizens through digital transformation and modernization.

Defense and National Security
Focusing on National Security and Defense missions, including activities that support government agencies, defense organizations, and their partners in protecting national interests, maintaining security, and defending sovereign territories.

Public Safety
Delivering expertise in Public Safety missions to enable safer and more resilient communities.

New and enhanced benefits

The following benefits help Partners expand their reach and expertise in the public sector.

New Signature Benefit! AWS Government Day
AWS Government Day is an exclusive annual event that brings together AWS Partners to accelerate their public sector practice. This event delivers cutting-edge technical and business content from AWS experts, empowering Partners to deliver innovative solutions to government customers. Available in 6 languages.

Global expansion of Competency Partner Leadership Circles
In response to strong Partner interest, we’re expanding our annual Competency Partner Leadership Circles (CPLCs) to include new annual regional events across EMEA and APJ. These expanded events create more opportunities for Partners to connect with AWS Public Sector Sales leaders and government institution thought leaders, facilitating discussions on government technology trends, procurement processes, and AWS solutions for specific regional needs.

Watch key moments from the Leadership Circle at AWS Summit Washington, DC 2025.

Partner testimonials

As a leading independent identity provider, Okta has built long-standing presence in the public sector through the Competency: “We’ve been part of the Government Competency since its inception,” said Alan Miller, Cloud Service Provider Alliance Manager at Okta. “Being an AWS Partner in addition to being part of the Competency has really excelled Okta’s footprint in the public sector and we look forward to many more years of partnering and success.”

Effectual, an AWS Premier Tier Partner, highlights their proven expertise in the government sector: “We specialize in the most complex cloud questions that our customers have,” said Joshua Dirsmith, VP, Public Sector at Effectual. “Earning the Government Competency means that you understand how to do business with federal, state, and local government—that you have access to contract mechanisms and have proven your ability to succeed in the government sector.”

Peregrine, a real-time decision and operations management platform for public safety, has found tremendous value in the strategic connections made as a Competency Partner: “In terms of the Leadership Circle, the event is amazing,” explains Matthew Melton, Business Development and Partnerships at Peregrine. “There’s great content, but most importantly, the networking—getting to meet with AWS folks but also other technology companies. Without question, I think it’s a great move for any business, whether you’re small or large.”

Customers: Work with an AWS Government Competency Partner

AWS Government Competency Partners have demonstrated experience in delivering quality solutions to help agencies meet mandates, reduce costs, drive efficiencies, and increase innovation across civilian agencies, national defense and intelligence communities, and state and local governments.

Explore the AWS Government Competency Partners page to learn more.

Partners: Become an AWS Government Competency Partner

AWS Partners with Government solutions can learn more about becoming an AWS Competency Partner.

In addition to AWS Specialization benefits, Government Competency Partners receive access to exclusive, curated industry content through leadership circles and Government Day events. Review the Benefits Guide for details.

AWS Partners looking to get their Government solutions validated through the AWS Competency Program must be validated or differentiated members of the Services or Software Path prior to applying.

To apply, review the Program Guide and access the application in AWS Partner Central (login required).