5 Reasons to Work With an AWS Partner for Data, Analytics & Machine Learning (ML)

Data and analytics projects on AWS can be complex and time-consuming, especially for an internal team with additional responsibilities. It requires the right technical skill set to realize your data’s full potential and see the most benefits from your AWS environment. 

Working with an AWS partner may be ideal when there is a lack of internal AWS data and analytics expertise. Whether you’re looking to build/buy a data lake, improve existing data architecture and pipelines, or implement custom AI/ML algorithms, an AWS partner can help you with data initiatives of all sizes and complexities.
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1.  AWS Partners Bridge Skills & Expertise Gaps

According to a 451 Research Black & White Paper survey, 96% of businesses reported experiencing technical skills and expertise gaps related to AWS implementation and enablement. Of those businesses, data analysis (46%) and AI/ML (34%) were identified as two of the top five areas where companies had the highest internal cloud skills and expertise gaps for organizations on AWS. Data scientists, engineers, and architects are highly sought after, and it’s also important to remember that not all on-premise experience equates to having AWS experience. 

Working with an AWS partner not only fills in gaps in your data, analytics, and machine learning skills and knowledge but also makes sure you have access to skilled data scientists, engineers, and architects who have experience with AWS. Be sure to look for partners with relevant competencies, like data and analytics. These AWS partners have been thoroughly vetted by AWS to have confirmed success in assisting customers in navigating and utilizing tools and best practices for collecting, storing, governing, and analyzing data at any scale.
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2. Collaborate With an External Team of AWS Experts on All Your Data & Analytics Initiatives

Partnering with a team of experienced outside professionals brings fresh perspectives, and new insights that may not otherwise have come from internal resources. You’ll benefit from having expansive AWS knowledge and experience in many AWS products and services, such as Amazon Redshift and Amazon OpenSearch, and many other AWS products and services that can be relevant to your data, analytics, and machine learning initiatives.

An external team can also help you break down internal silos within your company to help increase project velocity and success. Data and analytics projects often become siloed to a single internal team, preventing effective cross-functional communication and collaboration. The outside perspective of a neutral third party can help mitigate these problems and keep your data project on track and within budget.
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3. Leverage the Full Power of Your Data in All Its Forms

You can be sure that you’ll be leveraging the full capabilities of your data in all its forms when you select an AWS Partner to manage your cloud environment. An experienced AWS Partner will help you to:

• Build or buy databases, data warehouses, or data lakes in an AWS environment.
• Increase data volume without compromising access and speed.
• Modernize data pipelines and processes to manage data orchestration better
• Apply algorithms to your data that promote informed decision-making across various business initiatives. 
• Optimize machine learning models that drive continuous improvement and accuracy.
• Take full advantage of powerful business intelligence (BI) tools (Amazon QuickSight, Tableau, or Power BI) to visualize, analyze, and present your data findings.
• Evaluate available AWS data microservices and find the right ones for your needs.

Ultimately, the right AWS partner will help you find, plan, and architect the best data, analytics, and machine learning solution aligned to your business objectives and AWS best practices.
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4. Ensure Your Company Remains in Compliance

Working with an AWS Partner ensures that you remain in compliance with regulatory requirements relevant to your market and industry such as:

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH)
• Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST)
• Center for Internet Security (CIS) Foundations Benchmark
• PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)
• ISO 27001 (International Organization of Standardization)
• SOC 2 Type II 
• And more

Compliance and regulatory considerations should be made throughout project planning and build-out phases. A capable AWS partner with extensive experience with these regulations can help you implement them throughout all stages of the development process and ensure that you remain compliant.
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5. Jumpstart Your Data, Analytics & Machine Learning Initiatives

An organization would have to spend a large amount of time and overhead costs to hire in-house before even getting started. With an AWS Partner, you’ll be able to start your initiative right away without having to worry about hiring and training talent. 

If you elect to hire internal talent for your data project, you may have to settle for someone without the right AWS technical expertise. Additionally, it takes anywhere from 45 to 60 days (or often more) to hire the talent and get them fully onboarded before work on a project can even begin. Alternatively, a qualified AWS partner can get to work immediately and will take approximately six weeks or so to complete the average data project. As a result, working with an AWS partner allows you to progress efficiently and achieve desired outcomes faster than hiring and training internally.
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Conclusion

Data, analytics, and machine learning projects are complex, time-intensive, and can easily consume your internal resources. It’s essential to understand the scope of your project and objectives to develop a strategy for success. An AWS partner can help you do just that in addition to the benefits mentioned above.

As an AWS Premier Services Partner with competencies and service delivery designations in Data and Analytics, Amazon Redshift, and AWS QuickSight, amongst others, Mission provides cloud managed services and solutions to help you with every step of your data-driven journey on AWS. When you work with an AWS Premier Tier Services Partner like Mission, you’ll have access to an AWS-certified team of industry-best experts for all your data, analytics, and machine learning needs. Contact us today to schedule a call with a Cloud Advisor to discuss your data project!