AWS MAP Eligibility: Requirements and Qualification Criteria

Does Your Organization Need an AWS Partner?

Yes. MAP requires you to work with a qualified AWS Partner. The partner must be on the AWS Services Partner Path (formerly Consulting Partner) and hold the AWS Migration Competency. This competency validates that the partner has demonstrated technical proficiency and customer success in cloud migrations.

Some workload-specific migrations require additional partner qualifications. SAP migrations need a partner with the SAP Competency. Oracle workloads require the Oracle Competency or Service Delivery Designation. VMware migrations have their own competency requirements. Your partner selection directly affects which MAP benefits you can access.

Finding the right partner matters beyond eligibility. An experienced AWS migration services partner manages the MAP application process, leads the assessment, builds the business case, and ensures proper resource tagging for credit capture. Partners like Opsio bring both the competency credentials and the operational experience to maximize your MAP benefits.

What Technical Requirements Must You Meet?

MAP does not impose specific technical prerequisites on your current infrastructure. Whether you run on-premises data centers, colocation facilities, or another cloud provider, you can qualify. The program is designed for organizations at any stage of cloud maturity.

However, you need to demonstrate a genuine migration intent. AWS evaluates your application based on the scope and timeline of your planned migration. A business case showing which workloads will move, the expected timeline, and the projected AWS spend post-migration is required during the Assess phase.

Your environment must be discoverable. AWS and your partner will use tools like AWS Application Discovery Service or Migration Evaluator to inventory your current infrastructure. If your environment cannot be scanned — due to network restrictions, security policies, or incomplete asset records — you will need to resolve these gaps before the assessment can proceed.

How Does the MAP Application Process Work?

The application begins with your AWS Partner submitting an opportunity through the AWS Partner Central portal. This initial registration includes your company profile, estimated migration scope, and projected ARR. AWS reviews the submission and approves or requests additional information within a few weeks.

Once approved, the Assess phase begins. During this phase, your partner conducts a Migration Readiness Assessment (MRA) that evaluates your organization across six dimensions of the AWS Cloud Adoption Framework. The MRA identifies gaps in business readiness, people and skills, governance, platform design, security, and operations.

The Assess phase also produces a directional business case. This document estimates the total cost of ownership (TCO) for your current environment versus AWS. It projects your post-migration ARR and forms the basis for your MAP funding calculation. A strong business case accelerates approval for the Mobilize phase.

After Assess, you move into Mobilize where you build the operational foundation for migration. Then the Migrate and Modernize phase handles actual workload movement. Each phase transition requires AWS approval, with your partner submitting deliverables that demonstrate readiness for the next stage. Learn more about how MAP credits flow through each phase.

Which Workloads Qualify for MAP Credits?

MAP covers a broad range of workloads. Traditional lift-and-shift migrations of servers, databases, and applications qualify. So do modernization efforts like re-platforming databases to Amazon Aurora or re-architecting monolithic applications into microservices on ECS or EKS.

The MAP 2.0 Included Services List, last updated in March 2026, covers over 200 AWS services. This includes compute (EC2, Lambda, ECS, EKS), storage (S3, EFS, FSx), databases (RDS, DynamoDB, Aurora), analytics (Redshift, EMR, Athena), and machine learning services.

As of December 2024, Amazon Bedrock and select third-party Large Language Models became eligible for MAP credits. This expansion reflects the growing trend of organizations incorporating AI capabilities during their modernization journey. If your migration strategy includes generative AI workloads, they now contribute to your credit-eligible spend.

Workloads that remain on-premises or in other clouds do not qualify. Only resources running on AWS with proper MAP tagging generate credits. The tagged spend must appear in your Cost and Usage Report for credit calculation.

What Disqualifies an Organization from MAP?

Existing AWS customers migrating workloads between AWS accounts generally do not qualify. MAP targets net-new AWS revenue from workloads moving to AWS for the first time. However, modernization of existing AWS workloads (such as migrating from self-managed databases to managed services) may qualify under specific program tracks.

Organizations that cannot commit to a migration timeline risk disqualification. MAP is not an open-ended discount program. AWS expects tangible migration progress within defined timeframes, typically 12-36 months depending on scope. Stalled engagements may have funding paused or revoked.

Reseller arrangements without genuine migration activity do not qualify. AWS monitors for program abuse where credits are claimed without corresponding workload migration. Your partner's Migration Competency status can be affected by submitting non-qualifying opportunities, which incentivizes honest program participation.

How Do MAP Credits Compare to Other AWS Programs?

MAP credits differ from AWS Activate (for startups), AWS promotional credits, or Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) commitments. MAP credits are specifically tied to migration activity and cannot be combined with certain other discount programs on the same workloads.

The financial structure is unique. While EDP requires a spend commitment in exchange for a discount, MAP provides credits based on actual post-migration spend. You are not committing to a minimum spend. Instead, you earn credits proportional to the workloads you successfully migrate and tag.

MAP credits typically represent 15-25% of eligible tagged spend. For a $1 million annual AWS spend, that translates to $150,000-$250,000 in credits. Combined with the TCO savings from migrating off legacy infrastructure, the total financial benefit often exceeds 40% cost reduction in the first three years.

What Documentation Do You Need to Prepare?

Before your partner submits the MAP opportunity, gather key documentation. A current infrastructure inventory — even if approximate — helps size the migration scope. Include server counts, database instances, storage volumes, and network topology. The more accurate this initial estimate, the smoother the Assess phase runs.

Financial data is equally important. Collect your current data center costs, including hardware depreciation, software licensing, power and cooling, facility costs, and staff allocation. This data feeds into the TCO comparison that forms the foundation of your MAP business case.

Prepare a stakeholder map identifying the executive sponsor, IT leadership, security team, finance contacts, and application owners who will participate in the Migration Readiness Assessment. AWS and your partner will need access to these individuals during the Assess phase. Having them identified and committed upfront prevents scheduling delays.

If your organization operates in a regulated industry, document your compliance requirements early. HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2, GDPR, and industry-specific regulations affect migration planning and partner selection. Some compliance frameworks require specific AWS configurations that influence your landing zone design and service selection.

How Long Does MAP Qualification Take?

From initial partner engagement to MAP approval typically takes two to four weeks. Your AWS partner submits the opportunity registration, AWS reviews the scope and ARR projection, and approval or clarification requests follow. Organizations with clear migration intent and well-documented environments move through this process faster.

The full MAP lifecycle — from Assess through Migrate and Modernize completion — typically spans 12 to 36 months. Smaller migrations with fewer than 100 servers may complete in under a year. Large enterprise migrations with thousands of workloads often require the full three-year window. Your timeline directly influences your credit earning period.

Do not wait for perfect readiness before applying. The Assess phase is specifically designed to evaluate your current state and identify gaps. Organizations that delay MAP applications while trying to prepare internally often lose months of potential credit accumulation. Start the process, and let the structured framework guide your preparation.

Getting Started with Your MAP Application

Begin by estimating your post-migration AWS spend. If your projected ARR exceeds $100,000, you qualify for the full MAP program. Even below that threshold, MAP Lite provides meaningful credits that offset migration costs.

Select a partner with the AWS Migration Competency. This is non-negotiable for MAP participation. Evaluate partners based on their MAP track record, industry experience, and the range of services they provide across all three phases. An experienced AWS migration services partner like Opsio streamlines the application process and maximizes your credit capture.

Prepare your business case early. The stronger your TCO analysis and migration roadmap, the faster AWS approves your MAP engagement. With the cloud migration services market reaching $31.5 billion in 2026 and growing at 22.4% CAGR, the infrastructure and partner ecosystem supporting MAP has never been more mature.