Allison Johnson: How ISVs Win with AWS Marketplace + Agentic

In this episode of Inside Partnering, Allison Johnson - Director, Americas Technology Partners at AWS - breaks down how ISVs can thrive in today’s rapidly shifting partner ecosystem. From the explosive rise of agentic to the expansion of AWS Marketplace, she shares a practical and candid look at what ISVs need to build, where they should focus, and how to align with AWS field teams.

Allison also explains how her team uses AWS’s own AI tools internally, what partners should know about Agent Marketplace, how CPPO has evolved, and why SCAs only work when both sides are fully aligned. Whether you’re a startup building on Bedrock or a large ISV navigating co-sell and channel motions, this conversation delivers clarity and direction.

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Chapters

00:00 - Welcome and introduction
01:00 - Allison’s background and AWS role
03:00 - Why this is a unique moment for ISVs
05:00 - Agentic trends and the agent check ride
07:00 - How AWS helps ISVs build agents
10:00 - Marketplace as the first route to co-sell
13:00 - International expansion and procurement benefits
16:00 - Co-sell, ACE, and field alignment
17:30 - Strategic Collaboration Agreements
22:00 - Industry alignment with AWS
24:00 - CPPO, GSIs, distributors, and channel evolution
27:00 - Closing thoughts

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Key Takeaways
• Agentic is now a universal priority for ISVs
• Marketplace remains the fastest route to co-sell with AWS
• SCAs succeed only with strong sales alignment
• Industry focus helps new ISVs gain early traction
• Channel roles are converging across ISVs, GSIs, MSPs, and distributors

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Key Quotes
• “So many of our ISVs are trying to figure out how to create agents and what to do with them.”
• “Marketplace is the first route to market for ISVs who want to do anything around co-selling with our reps.”
• “If you don’t have sales alignment with any of this, it doesn’t go anywhere.”
• “It is truly the way that customers are buying today.”

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Final Thoughts

This episode is ideal for AWS-aligned ISVs, partner leaders, cloud GTM teams, channel organizations, and anyone navigating Marketplace, co-sell, GenAI adoption, or strategic partner planning. Allison’s perspective gives ISVs a clear roadmap for building, aligning, and scaling on AWS.

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Hashtags

#AWS #AWSMarketplace #Agentic #GenAI #ISVs #Partnerships #CloudEcosystem #InsidePartnering