What is the AWS Foundational Technical Review?
The AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR) is a structured assessment that ensures your SaaS solution aligns with AWS best practices across security, reliability, and operations—often a key requirement for Marketplace listings, co-sell, and partner program eligibility. One commonly misunderstood requirement is the need for Business Support or higher on production workloads. This post breaks down why that matters, how to navigate the approval process, and how to turn it into a strategic advantage for your business.
Why FTR?
For software companies building on AWS, the FTR is more than just a technical milestone—it’s a critical step toward deeper cloud partnership and building trust.
Successfully completing an FTR opens doors:
- Eligibility for co-sell support
- Access to AWS partner programs like ISV Accelerate
- Increased visibility within the AWS field
- The ability to confidently list or grow through AWS Marketplace
But more importantly, the FTR ensures you’ve met best practices across security, reliability, performance, and operations—which helps you earn trust with both AWS and your customers.
In short, it’s the foundation for scaling responsibly in the AWS ecosystem.
The Unexpected Friction Point: AWS Support Tiers
Most teams I work with are prepared for architecture and security reviews. They’ve invested in documentation, automation, and observability.
But one FTR requirement often catches folks off guard:
“Are all production workloads covered by AWS Business Support or higher?”
If the answer is no, the FTR questionnaire flags it—and now the conversation shifts.
You’re no longer reviewing architecture—you’re aligning stakeholders across product, finance, and AWS to talk about support, cost, and value.
Why AWS Requires This
It’s not about upselling support—it’s about demonstrating operational readiness.
When you move into co-sell, or list on Marketplace, you’re signaling to AWS that you’re ready to serve enterprise customers. That means being prepared for anything that could go wrong in production.
Business or Enterprise Support ensures:
- Rapid response for critical issues
- Access to technical account managers (TAMs)
- Guidance on architecture and scaling
- Escalation paths during go-to-market initiatives
In other words—it’s not just for you. It’s for everyone depending on your solution.
Turning Support Tier Readiness Into a Strategic Advantage
This doesn’t need to be a friction point. In fact, it’s an opportunity to level up your readiness and align internally around growth.
Here’s how I recommend approaching it:
1. Start the conversation early.
If you’re even thinking about an FTR in the next 1–2 quarters, review your current AWS support level and get ahead of the decision.
2. Loop in your AWS account manager.
They can explain the requirement in context, help with funding options, or flag if you’re eligible for support credit programs. They will be interested to support you because it will ultimately support their success as well.
3. Position it internally as a growth enabler.
This isn’t a cost line item—it’s a signal to AWS and your customers that you’re serious about production-grade support and enterprise trust.
4. Document your business case.
You’ll need to show stakeholders how this improves your offering, supports your GTM plans, and strengthens your ability to scale.
Final Thought
The AWS FTR is about more than passing a checklist—it’s about becoming the kind of partner that AWS wants to co-sell with, and that customers trust with their workloads.
Support tier readiness is one piece of that, and when approached strategically, it becomes a launchpad—not a roadblock.
Need help preparing for your FTR, aligning with AWS Marketplace, or building a stronger cloud go-to-market motion?
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