AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP): what it pays for, who files it, and how a startup qualifies.

IWhat is the AWS Migration Acceleration Program?

MAP is how AWS helps companies move workloads that run somewhere else onto AWS. It is a method, a set of tools and a pool of money, run with AWS partners.

The MAP user guide lists what the program includes: a migration method, a network of vetted partners, automation tools, a training path, professional services, and "financial investment to help manage migration double bubble costs". Double bubble is the stretch when you pay for your old platform and for AWS at the same time.

The AWS MAP page names supported workload types such as Microsoft, VMware, SAP and mainframe. The AWS partner funding page goes wider. It says MAP funds support "migrations or modernizations of any size or workload to AWS". That covers a startup moving off Heroku, Google Cloud, Azure, DigitalOcean or its own servers.

The money takes two forms. Partners can receive cash or AWS promotional credits for MAP work, according to the partner funding page. Customers with a MAP agreement receive MAP credits on their AWS bill in tranches; the MAP tracking guide describes a dashboard in the Billing console for customers that have received their first tranche. AWS does not publish a fixed amount or a formula on these pages.

IIWhat are the AWS migration programs?

AWS has one migration program that comes with money: MAP. Around it sit AWS migration tools and planning help that you use during the move.

• MAP (Migration Acceleration Program): The program with funding. An AWS partner files it for a migration that qualifies, and AWS decides. The rest of this page covers it.
• Planning help for startups: AWS offers migration investments, as AWS credits or partner investments, to offset one-time migration costs. The AWS Startups migrate page also has a planner that maps services, estimates costs and checks credit eligibility.
• AWS Application Migration Service (MGN): Moves servers to AWS. It can also add the MAP tag to the EC2 instances and EBS volumes it launches (section VII).
• AWS Database Migration Service (DMS): Moves databases to AWS, to the same engine or to a new one.

The tools move the workloads. MAP is what can help pay for the move, when the migration qualifies and AWS approves it. For the full list of tools, see AWS migration services.

IIIWho files MAP funding: you, AWS or a partner?

Your AWS partner files it. AWS reviews it and decides. Your company then accepts the MAP terms for its AWS account. CloudRoute files nothing.

There is no self-serve application for MAP funding. The partner who will run the migration scopes the workloads, writes the migration plan and files the funding request with AWS. AWS approves or declines it. If it is approved, your company accepts the MAP terms. That acceptance date matters, because only resources launched after it count (section VI).

MAP is one of three funding routes that only an AWS partner can request. The other two are proof of concept (POC) funding, for testing something, and incremental workload (IW) funding, for new work on an AWS account you already run. AWS Activate credits work the other way round: the founder applies, and no consulting partner can file them for you. The table shows who files what.

IVHow do the three MAP phases work?

AWS splits MAP into Assess, Mobilize, and Migrate and Modernize. Each phase has its own output, and each one feeds the next.

VHow much MAP funding can a startup get?

For startups, CloudRoute's partner records show $50K to $150K in partner-filed funding. Depends on the workload; AWS approves.

AWS does not publish MAP amounts. The range above comes from the AWS partners CloudRoute works with, not from AWS, so read it as a guide and not as a quote. Your number depends on the workload you move, and AWS approves each request.

Compare it with what a startup with no investor can get on its own. AWS Activate Founders is $1,000 to start, up to $5,000 in credits. A migration that qualifies for partner-filed funding is worth far more than that. Partner funding programs reach about $1M, but that tier is for enterprises such as banks, hospitals and municipalities, not startups.

What the money can cover:

• The overlap: the months you pay for your old platform and for AWS at the same time. AWS calls this double bubble cost.
• The partner's work: partners can receive cash or AWS promotional credits from AWS for MAP opportunities.
• Your AWS usage: MAP credits land on your AWS bill, released in tranches.

What it does not cover: invoices from your current provider and your own engineers' time. AWS promotional credits do not pay Savings Plans or Reserved Instance upfront fees. (Source: AWS promotional credit terms.)

VIDoes my migration qualify for MAP?

AWS does not publish a minimum size. It does publish rules that decide a lot of startup cases, and they are worth knowing before anyone builds anything.

• You are moving to AWS: MAP is for workloads that run somewhere else today: another cloud, a platform like Heroku, or your own servers. If you already run on AWS and are launching something new, look at AWS incremental workload funding (IW) instead.
• Only new AWS resources count: AWS's MAP FAQ says only resources launched after the MAP agreement acceptance date are eligible. Tagging something you already had does not make it count. So do not build production on AWS before the agreement is in place.
• The move happens in your payer account: The FAQ says migrations must run under the management (payer) account named in the MAP plan, or accounts linked to it.
• The services are on AWS's list: AWS publishes a list of MAP-eligible services. The FAQ also points to Amazon Bedrock foundation models that are eligible for MAP credits, which matters if part of your move is an AI workload.
• A partner can scope it: The partner files a scoped plan and AWS decides. A very small app may not qualify. Ask the partner to say so before any paid work starts.

Two cases that are not MAP: testing a new idea (that is POC funding, see AWS POC funding explained) and a brand-new build with nothing to move (start with Activate, or POC if you are testing first).

VIIWhat do you have to do once MAP is approved?

Tag what you migrate. AWS tracks MAP through one tag, and the MAP guide says you must tag migrated workloads to get the full benefits.

• Use the tag key map-migrated exactly: AWS says you cannot add spaces, change the case of any letter or alter the key. The value comes from your MAP plan.
• Tag as you migrate: The FAQ says tags are applied when each workload moves, and the process repeats until the full scope has moved.
• Let tools tag for you: AWS Application Migration Service (MGN) can add the MAP tag to the EC2 instances and EBS volumes it launches. AWS Config rules can flag resources that are missing the tag.
• Use new S3 buckets for migrated data: If you must reuse an existing bucket, AWS asks for its ARN and current baseline spend so it can be added to the MAP agreement.
• Know your MPE ID: It is the project number in your migration plan. Keep it handy when you set up tags and when you talk to AWS.
• Check progress: The MAP tracking guide shows a Cost Explorer report for tagged and untagged spend on MAP-eligible services, and a MAP 2.0 dashboard in the Billing console once your first tranche of credits arrives.

VIIICan you get MAP funding without a partner?

You can start with AWS directly, and you can pick a partner yourself. Here is the honest version of each path.

• Talk to AWS: The MAP page has a button to talk with a Migration and Modernization specialist. If you already have an AWS account manager, ask whether your move fits MAP and who would file it.
• Find a partner yourself: The AWS Partner Solutions Finder lists partners by service. Look for migration work on your source platform and in your region, and ask each one whether it has filed MAP funding before.
• Plan the move with AWS tools: AWS Startup Advisor builds a migration plan from Google Cloud, Heroku and other platforms, with service mapping, cost estimates and credit eligibility. Heroku plans run in its IDE plugin.
• Apply for Activate yourself: Activate Founders is $1,000 to start, up to $5,000 and self-serve. If a VC, accelerator or angel group backs you and is an Activate Provider, use its Org ID for Activate Portfolio (up to $200,000). No partner is needed for either.

What CloudRoute adds is the match: one vetted partner that fits your stack and region, picked for you, at no cost to you. We reply within 24 hours; your matched partner reaches out within 5 business days.

IXHow is MAP different from AWS Activate?

They are separate programs with different owners. A partner files MAP for a migration. The founder applies for Activate to build on AWS.

They are not alternatives to each other: one helps fund a move, the other helps fund building. If you hold Activate credits already, tell the partner, so the migration plan accounts for them.

For the full Activate rules, see AWS Activate credits and CloudRoute's AWS entry in the startup credits directory.

XHow does AWS MAP funding work for the partner?

The partner files the MAP request with AWS, and AWS decides. Partners submit funding requests through the AWS Partner Funding Portal in AWS Partner Central.

The AWS partner funding page says MAP funds support migrations "of any size or workload to AWS", and that partners can receive them as cash or AWS promotional credits. The partner scopes the migration with the customer, writes the plan and files the request. AWS reviews it and decides the amount.

After approval, the customer accepts the MAP terms for its AWS account, and only resources launched after that date count. So the partner and the customer agree the plan before production moves.