This article is based on a market research summary originally published via newsparent.com in early 2020. Specific figures and forecasts originate from that third-party report and have not been independently verified.
What Is the AWS Managed Services Market?
The AWS Managed Services (AMS) market encompasses third-party providers and Amazon’s own offering that help organizations operate workloads on Amazon Web Services. These providers handle day-to-day infrastructure operations — including monitoring, patching, security, backup, and cost optimization — so that engineering teams can focus on product delivery rather than undifferentiated cloud operations work.
As cloud adoption has accelerated across industries and government agencies, demand for qualified AWS managed service providers (MSPs) has grown significantly. The AWS MSP Partner Program adds a layer of credibility, requiring partners to meet validated operational and technical standards before earning that designation.
Market Growth Outlook
According to the market research report summarized in the original source, the global AWS Managed Services market was projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 15.4% over the forecast period studied. Key growth catalysts cited in the report include:
- Rising AWS customer base: A larger pool of AWS customers creates proportionally greater demand for managed operations support.
- AWS MSP status importance: Enterprises increasingly require certified MSP partners, raising the strategic value of the AWS MSP designation.
- Government cloud adoption: Public-sector cloud mandates and investments have expanded the addressable market. The report noted that more than 2,000 government agencies were using AWS-based infrastructure at the time of publication.
- Large government contracts: In February 2018, the U.S. Department of Defense signed a reported US$950 million cloud agreement with AWS partner REAN Cloud LLC, signaling growing public-sector confidence in AWS-based managed services.
Market Segmentation
The market is typically segmented along the following dimensions:
By Service Type
- Operations Services – Ongoing management, monitoring, and maintenance of AWS infrastructure.
- Cloud Migration Services – Planning and executing the movement of on-premises or legacy workloads to AWS.
- Advisory Services – Architecture review, cost optimization, security posture assessment, and cloud strategy consulting.
By Geography
- North America
- South America
- Europe
- Asia-Pacific
- Middle East and Africa
Key Market Competitors
The competitive landscape spans global systems integrators, born-in-the-cloud consultancies, and managed hosting specialists. Prominent players identified in the report include:
- Accenture plc
- DXC Technology Company
- Capgemini SE
- Microsoft Azure (as a competing managed cloud platform and services ecosystem)
- Rackspace Inc.
- Logicworks
- Cloudreach
- Claranet Group
- Slalom LLC
- Onica (acquired by Rackspace)
- Cloudnexa, Inc.
- GS Lab
- e-Zest
- Smartronix Inc.
- 8K Miles Software Services Ltd.
- Stratalux
- Reliam LLC
- Amazon (via its native AMS offering)
Competitive differentiation among these players typically comes down to industry vertical expertise, geographic coverage, AWS competency and certification levels, and the breadth of DevOps tooling and automation they bring to managed operations.
Notable Industry Developments
The report highlighted several product launches and partnership announcements that illustrate how the market evolved in the years leading up to 2020:
- Smartronix + CloudHealth Technologies (2018): Smartronix announced a partnership with CloudHealth Technologies to deliver continuous cloud optimization and cost management capabilities to joint customers.
- AWS Media & Entertainment Expansion (2018): AWS expanded its managed video delivery and intelligent video application services — enhanced by machine learning — for media companies, enterprises, startups, and government agencies.
- Claranet AWS Well-Architected Partner (2018): Claranet achieved AWS Well-Architected Partner status, enabling the firm to formally assess and remediate customer workloads against AWS’s five pillars: operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, and cost optimization.
- Accenture + AWS Collaboration (2014): Accenture announced an end-to-end cloud migration and management services partnership with AWS, an early signal of the large-scale systems integrator investment in the AWS ecosystem.
- Basic6 Launch (2014): Basic6 was introduced as a tool for managing cloud servers, data center services, accounts, and credentials through Amazon EC2 features.
Analytical Frameworks Used in Market Research
Market research reports covering this space typically apply the following analytical frameworks to characterize competition and dynamics:
- PESTEL Analysis: Evaluates Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors shaping the market.
- Porter’s Five Forces: Assesses competitive intensity, barriers to entry, buyer and supplier power, and the threat of substitutes.
- Value Chain Analysis: Maps the flow of services from cloud infrastructure through managed operations to end customers.
- SWOT Analysis: Per-company evaluation of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
- Patent and Trademark Analysis: Tracks intellectual property filings to gauge innovation activity among key players.
What This Means for DevOps and Cloud Engineering Teams
For engineering leaders evaluating whether to build internal AWS operations capability or engage a managed services partner, the competitive landscape described in this report offers a useful reference point. A few practical takeaways:
- AWS MSP certification matters: When shortlisting partners, verifying current AWS MSP Partner Program status is a meaningful quality signal — it requires documented operational processes and customer references.
- Specialization varies widely: Some providers (e.g., Smartronix, Cloudnexa) are more narrowly focused on AWS, while global SIs like Accenture and Capgemini offer AWS services as part of a broader multi-cloud portfolio. Alignment with your team’s needs should drive selection.
- Cost optimization tooling is table stakes: As the Smartronix/CloudHealth partnership illustrates, cloud cost management has become an expected component of any credible managed services engagement — not an add-on.
- Government cloud is a distinct segment: Providers serving U.S. federal or DoD workloads must meet additional compliance requirements (FedRAMP, IL4/IL5, ITAR). Ensure your shortlisted partner has the appropriate authorizations.
Original source: newsparent.com (2020). Market data figures are sourced from a third-party research report and have not been independently verified by this publication.