AWS gives partners three distinct ways to fund a migration – OLA, MAP, and more recently the ISV Tooling Funding Program, which spans both OLA and MAP. Used separately, they each individually help. Used together, they compound, resulting in deeper discovery, faster funding approval, and a fully-funded runway from first assessment to migration execution.

More and more partners are seeking clarity on which program is best suited for their needs, how much is covered by AWS’ funding, and how they can initiate the process with us. Here’s the full breakdown.

AWS Optimization of Licensing Assessment (OLA) Program

Cloudamize helped AWS build this program more than six years ago. Initially, as the name suggests, the premise of the program was highly focused on optimizing licensing as customers migrated to the Cloud. Over time, an OLA has greatly evolved to include many additional value-add elements. Cloudamize continues to be one of AWS’ lead third-party platforms in this space, providing not only the licensing insights, but also workload right-sizing, multiple modernization pathways, storage analyses, and application dependency mapping as part of the OLA engagement. 

OLA at a glance:

  • Any partner can kick off an OLA directly with Cloudamize
  • The Cloudamize Platform License and TAM support are fully funded by AWS
  • AWS OLA Certified Partners can also receive additional cash from AWS for initiating an OLA
  • AWS typically asks for an estimated ARR of $125K or greater, but exceptions can be made with a clear business case

What a Cloudamize-powered OLA engagement includes:

  • Live data collection
  • Multiple TCO designs spanning a mix of right-sizing, commercial savings plans, and modernization pathways
  • A fully customizable TCO Design to meet the specific needs of the customer
  • Application-centric and Server-centric migration planning
  • World-class human support at every step of the process

AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP)

As AWS’s flagship migration program, MAP was built to accelerate enterprise cloud adoption by providing financial incentives that offset the “double bubble” cost of running two environments during a migration. Over time, MAP has evolved into a highly structured, three-phase framework (Assess, Mobilize, and Migrate & Modernize) designed to reduce risk and speed up delivery. Cloudamize serves as a critical engine for the Assess and Mobilize phases, providing the foundational discovery, comprehensive TCO modeling, and deep application dependency mapping required to build the business case. From there, Cloudamize’s MIGRATE capabilities seamlessly bridge the gap into execution, drastically streamlining the heavy lifting of the Mobilize phase. 

MAP at a glance:

  • Three-Phase Framework: Funding and milestones are broken down into Assess (readiness), Mobilize (planning and foundation), and Migrate & Modernize (execution).
  • Dual Financial Incentives: AWS promotional credits offset customer’s overlapping infrastructure costs, alongside while partners earn cash incentives for the execution
  • Partner Requirements: Leading full MAP engagement and unlocking maximum funding typically require the executing partner to hold the AWS Migration Competency.
  • Target Spend: AWS typically requires an estimated projected ARR of $500K or greater for full MAP (though specialized tracks like MAP Lite or SMB exist for smaller workloads).

What a Cloudamize-powered MAP engagement includes:

  • Accelerated Funding Approval: Deep, automated discovery data that perfectly satisfies AWS’s rigorous business case requirements for the Assess phase.
  • A Streamlined Mobilize Phase with MIGRATE: Seamlessly transition from planning to execution by leveraging our MIGRATE capabilities to easily convert deep application dependencies into actionable, highly accurate migration move-groups.
  • MAP-Adjusted TCO Designs: Customizable cost models that automatically factor in MAP credits alongside right-sizing and commercial savings plans, helping to accelerate customer sign-off.
  • Tagging Readiness: Clear insights into infrastructure mapping to ensure proper MAP 2.0 resource tagging, guaranteeing the customer captures all eligible credits.
  • World-class Human support: Expert guidance at every step of the process to help you navigate data collection, wave planning, and the AWS funding ecosystem.

The Old MAP Challenge – and Why ISV Tooling Changes IT

For years, AWS expected partners to share MAP funding with ISV tools like Cloudamize. But the reality was that Partners were leveraging that funding to stretch the value of what they delivered to the customer. The ISV Tooling Offer Funding Program was built to close that gap.

ISV Tooling Offer Funding Program

The ISV Tooling Offer Funding program was formalized in 2025, with a few simple goals:

  • Fund the ISV tool directly. AWS pays Cloudamize funding straight, instead of routing it through the partner’s MAP allocation.
  • Stack with existing funding programs. Migration partners keep every MAP dollar they receive and use the ISV Tooling Offer Funding to fund the use of Cloudamize throughout the entirety of the MAP engagement.
  • Lower the overhead for partners. Cloudamize handles all of the AWS funding requests, cash claims, etc. — partners don’t have to.

The eligibility criteria for Migration Partners to use ISV Tooling are:

  • The partner must be MAP eligible, have a migration competency, OR have a modernization competency
  • The opportunity must be $125K+ ARR, and contain one of the following workload types:
    • VMware
    • Microsoft
    • Oracle
    • SAP
    • Mainframe
  • The customer must be committed to migrate workloads. The funding is ARR-based, so this is a key element.

Putting It All Together

Here’s the recipe for success that we’ve seen partners use over the past 18 months

  • Use Cloudamize to run an OLA with the customer. This can be an early stage prospect or a customer that’s ready to migrate.
  • Use Cloudamize’s outputs to accelerate MAP funding submission. Our automated outputs (reports, AWS calculator link, etc.) reduce the effort needed to build the MAP submission package.
  • Make the most of your OLA license while MAP funding is still pending. Begin to leverage the PLAN components of Cloudamize to organize the applications and migration strategy.
  • Extend Cloudamize with ISV Tooling Funding. Once MAP is approved, we’ll extend your access to Cloudamize for up to an additional 12 months. This enables you to leverage the planning and migration automations.

Common Questions

Q: Can I use Cloudamize with Transform?
A: Yup! We’re now fully integrated (Read more [Link to our Transform Integration blog post]). And you’re eligible for the $5K (MAP Lite) or $10K (MAP 2.0) partner cash.

Q: Do I have to use MAP funding to get access to ISV Tooling funding to support Cloudamize?
A: Nope! The two are independent.

Q: Can I re-run data collection at the start of the MAP engagement?
A: Yup! We recommend it.

Author

Ken Henderson
Partner & COO of Cloudamize