Starting today Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) for Oracle supports Amazon RDS Cross-Region Automated Backups. This feature extends the existing RDS backup functionality, giving you the ability to setup automatic replication of system snapshots and transaction logs from a primary AWS Region to a secondary AWS Region.  

Amazon EC2 now allows you to add tags to your Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) and EBS Snapshots during AMI creation. Tags are simple key-value pairs that you can assign to resources to easily organize, search, and identify resources, create cost allocation reports, and control access to resources. You can define fine-grained access controls using tags and AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies to control access to resources and actions.  

Today, AWS announced that managed entitlements for AWS Marketplace is now available in AWS License Manager. Managed entitlements enable buyers to govern, track, and distribute entitlements from a software license. Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) can use AWS License Manager to create, configure, and track licenses for their products used on AWS and on-premises.

The AWS SaaS Factory Program and AWS Well-Architected teams have combined their expertise in architectural best practices and knowledge of SaaS solutions to launch the new AWS Well-Architected SaaS Lens.

Today, AWS Marketplace announced that buyers can now programmatically manage their Private Marketplace through a set of publicly available APIs. With Private Marketplace, customers can curate a catalog of approved third-party software available in AWS Marketplace. This enables their organization to easily purchase software from AWS Marketplace knowing that it complies with their internal policies. This release also makes it easy for Consulting Partners that manage a customer’s AWS accounts to modify the list of approved products in a Private Marketplace on behalf of their customers.

AWS License Manager automated discovery now supports tag-based search and automatic detection of software uninstalls to further simplify the management of software licenses in AWS and on-premises environments. Administrators can now use custom defined tags to discover installed software in their environments, and have License Manager track the discovered instances throughout their lifecycle. When software is uninstalled, License Manager automatically detects the uninstallation and updates its centralized reporting and dashboard.

AWS Partner Network (APN) Partners are now able to prepare for the APN Foundational Technical Review (FTR) by applying the new AWS Well-Architected Tool FTR Lens to workloads when you conduct a Well-Architected Framework Review in the AWS Well-Architected Tool.

AWS Marketplace now enables customers to find and buy Professional Services from Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and consulting partners. Customers can choose from a selection of services such as assessment, implementation, and support for third-party software purchased in AWS Marketplace. The capability to buy software and associated services from multiple sellers in a single cloud marketplace enables customers to reduce onboarding time for each seller and simplify procurement cycles. Customers can buy services with customized pricing, payment schedules and contract terms to fit their business needs, with all software and services charges consolidated on their AWS bill. The AWS Marketplace catalog listings can be refined to show Professional Services using “Professional Services” delivery methods filter.

The AWS ISV Accelerate Program is available to AWS Partners who provide software solutions that run on or are integrated with AWS. The program helps AWS Partners by connecting the Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) with the AWS sales organization, providing increased visibility and cash incentives to the AWS field.

AWS Service Catalog AppRegistry provides a place to collect your AWS CloudFormation stacks and associate your customer-defined attribute groups (metadata) that describe your AWS applications. Customers can automate updates of stack and metadata changes by calling AppRegistry from within their CI/CD processes. IT and business stakeholders have up-to-date information on their applications, such as organizational ownership, data sensitivity, and cost center.