AWS re:Invent is always buzzing with energy, but this year’s conversations feel different. AI is no longer a concept - it is a driver reshaping the way partners build, modernize, migrate, and deliver solutions for customers on AWS.

Few people sit closer to this transformation than Rohan Karmarkar, Managing Director for Partner Solutions Architecture at AWS.

In this episode, Rohan breaks down how partners are accelerating modernization, how AI is reducing complexity, and why co-engineering between AWS and partners is entering a new era.

Modernization Is Accelerating - Not Slowing Down

For years, customers approached modernization slowly, often choosing lift and shift of their old applications because deeper transformation was risky and unpredictable. According to Rohan, that era is over.

“Modernization’s going to be accelerated. Partners are building those capabilities and there are many customers who are like, I don’t want to just migrate as is.”

AI-enabled tools inside AWS - including AWS Transform, Kiro, and Agent Core - are changing the economics of modernization. Refactoring, testing, and code transformation are no longer entirely manual, expensive, or slow.

“There are so many aspects of the modernization journey that are now going to be faster, more predictable, more secure.”

This trend is creating a market-wide shift. Customers are no longer asking whether they should modernize - they are asking how fast they can do it.

AI Is Not Separate from Modernization - It Drives It

One of the biggest insights from Rohan is that AI sits at the center of modernization, not beside it.

“AI is the driver for modernization in many cases.”

While partners use AI to accelerate code migration and testing, they are also embedding AI into the very applications being modernized. The transformation becomes a loop - AI speeds up modernization, while modernization makes AI adoption possible.

This is especially true for partners building new data patterns and industry-specific workflows across AWS.

How Partner Solutions Architecture Works with ISVs, GSIs, and SIs

Rohan leads the Partner Solution Architecture (PSA) team, one of the most technical and influential partner-facing groups inside AWS. Their responsibility is simple - work directly with partners to ensure their architectures, solutions, and integrations are optimal on AWS.

“My team is responsible for making sure that partners make the right technical decisions and architectural decisions as they build solutions.”

For ISVs, this means building deeper integrations and better together capabilities with AWS services.

For GSIs and SIs, this means designing and delivering migration, modernization, and industry-specific offerings that align with AWS best practices.

Both motions are accelerating as customers demand cloud-native, AI-embedded solutions.

How AWS Connects Partners with the Field

Field alignment remains one of the most critical motions for partner success, and Rohan’s team plays a central role. After partners build offerings with PSA, AWS drives awareness through account teams, ensuring customer conversations land in the right place.

This leads to repeatable co-sell motions: partners innovate, PSA validates, and the AWS field scales.

Co-Engineering Is Increasing Across AWS

Rohan shares that AWS engineering works more closely than ever with partners.

“Some of these partnerships are very deep. There is co-engineering between our engineering org and the partner engineering org.”

This results in:

* New service features influenced directly by partner feedback

* Shared roadmap thinking

* Co-built industry accelerators

* Stronger interoperability between partner products and AWS services

For partners, this means the opportunity to shape the platform itself.

The New Excitement: Agents, Dev Tools, and Marketplace

When asked what excites him most about this year’s announcements, Rohan highlighted several categories:

* New AWS Marketplace innovations

* Enhancements to AWS Transform

* Dev tooling

* AI security

* New compute and Lambda capabilities

* Autonomous agents for security, DevOps, and more

“I’m super excited about the agents that we are launching for security, for DevOps, as well as key autonomous agents.”

For partners, these agents open entirely new opportunities for automation, managed services, and acceleration.

A Team of Trusted Technical Advisors

Rohan closes the discussion by emphasizing the role his team plays for partners:

“They act as the real trusted advisors - the unofficial CTOs - who help partners make the right technical decisions.”

Partners come to AWS for guidance, clarity, and confidence - and PSA delivers exactly that.

Final Thoughts

This conversation reveals something essential about the moment the ecosystem is in right now. Modernization is no longer a burden - it is a strategic unlock. AI is not an add-on - it is the accelerant. And AWS partners are entering a phase where co-engineering, co-innovation, and co-sell are more aligned than ever.

If you’re a partner building on AWS, this episode delivers a clear message:

The tools exist, the acceleration is real, and now is the time to build.

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