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7Cloud support has become one of the most critical enablers of cloud success. In the beginning, support meant little more than raising a ticket when something broke. But as businesses started running entire platforms, SaaS products, and mission-critical workloads on the cloud, expectations shifted. Companies no longer just want issues fixed - they want guidance, optimization, and assurance that their cloud is always working at its best.
AWS has been at the forefront of this shift. Recognizing that different businesses require varying levels of support, it has developed a tiered model - ranging from Developer Support for teams experimenting with AWS, to Enterprise Support, which provides dedicated account managers, proactive planning, and rapid response for global, always-on environments.
This structured approach has helped thousands of organizations scale with confidence, but it has also sparked a new conversation: are AWS’s native support plans the only option, or can partner-led models deliver the same - and sometimes better - value?
To unpack this further, we turn to today’s guest expert.
Today’s Featured Expert: Neeraj Gupta
In this edition of Ask the Cloud Expert, we speak with Neeraj Gupta, Senior Director of Customer Success & DevOps at CloudKeeper and a seasoned FinOps leader. With over a decade of experience in enterprise cloud cost optimization, Neeraj has guided organizations of all sizes, across industries, helping them scale efficiently while optimizing their cloud setups. He specializes in leveraging Well-Architected Review principles and support frameworks, including CloudKeeper’s Partner-Led Support, to help businesses achieve enterprise-grade outcomes efficiently and cost-effectively.
Drawing on his extensive experience, Neeraj will help us understand the two models - their pros and cons, and what businesses should consider before making a decision.
Part 1: Understanding the Two Models(AWS Enterprise Support & CloudKeeper's PLS)
Q: Neeraj, let’s start with the basics. How would you describe AWS Enterprise Support and CloudKeeper’s Partner-Led Support?
Neeraj: Think of AWS Enterprise Support as the gold standard of what AWS itself offers. It’s designed for organizations running mission-critical workloads, where downtime or inefficiency could mean millions in losses. You get 24/7 technical support, rapid response times - as quick as 15 minutes for business-critical cases - and access to a dedicated Technical Account Manager (TAM) from AWS. They also provide proactive reviews, architectural guidance, and some unique perks like 500 training credits per year.
On the other side, CloudKeeper’s Partner-Led Support (PLS) delivers the same enterprise-grade SLAs but in a more flexible and cost-effective way. Instead of AWS assigning you a TAM, you work with a designated CloudKeeper TAM, who’s backed by a team of 150+ AWS-certified experts. PLS covers all the essentials - 24/7 support, case escalations, proactive monitoring, and architectural reviews - but it also extends beyond infrastructure into DevOps tools (Terraform, CI/CD, containerization, and more), third-party software & application-level support on a best-effort basis.
So at the highest level: AWS Enterprise Support is comprehensive but expensive. CloudKeeper PLS matches most of its benefits, adds more contextual services, and does so at a better cost.
Part 2: The Limitations of AWS Enterprise Support
Q: AWS Enterprise Support offers a wide range of services, but in what scenarios might enterprises need additional guidance or a more tailored support approach?
Neeraj: AWS Enterprise Support pricing is tiered – often more than 10% of your monthly AWS bill. For organizations with large-scale usage, that can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
Considering such a significant investment, enterprises naturally expect highly proactive support. However, while customers receive prompt responses and resolutions, the engagement could often feel reactive - you raise a ticket, they help you resolve it - but guidance on preventing issues before they arise might not be available.
Another limitation is scope. Enterprise Support is largely focused on AWS infrastructure. If your challenge involves an application layer dependency or a third-party software integration, you may find the guidance limited. Businesses with smaller in-house teams often struggle because what they need is a strategic advisor for optimizing their architecture.
So, the limitations boil down to three things: high cost, limited personalization, and gaps beyond infrastructure-level support - although, these could very well be caused by the huge volume of tickets the AWS teams need to manage.
Part 3: Why CloudKeeper's Partner-Led Support is Gaining Ground
Q: So how does CloudKeeper PLS address these gaps? Why are businesses choosing it?
Neeraj: The short answer is: value and flexibility.
With PLS, you’re not just buying a support plan, but partnering with a team that becomes an extension of your own cloud function. The SLAs match AWS Enterprise Support, but you pay a lower price. More importantly, you get things AWS doesn’t include - like support for DevOps tools, pro-active initiatives to ensure infrastructure is more compliant to AWS best practices via well-architected reviews & operational reviews, application-level troubleshooting, DevOps support, proactive anomaly detection, and even monthly cost analysis reports.
Another reason PLS is gaining traction is contextualization. We don’t just tell you, “Here’s the AWS best practice.” We sit with your engineers, understand your environment, and tailor the guidance. In some cases, that might mean automating idle resource shutdowns with CloudKeeper Tuner. In others, it could be helping finance teams interpret cost reports with CloudKeeper Lens.
In short, businesses are realizing they can get all the enterprise-grade reliability plus a lot more personalization and optimization - without the sticker shock.
Part 4: CloudKeeper PLS - A Smarter Support Model
Q: Can you explain what makes PLS smarter than traditional models?
Neeraj: Absolutely. I’d highlight five things.
First, breadth of coverage. PLS isn’t limited to AWS infrastructure. It extends to devops tools, applications, third-party tools, and even modernization. That means fewer silos and fewer missed opportunities.
Second, proactive optimization. AWS Enterprise Support does reviews, but PLS actively monitors your costs and performance. We send cost anomaly alerts, run continuous optimization, and automate savings through platforms like CloudKeeper Tuner.
Third, personalization. Every business is different and has varying cloud needs. PLS is flexible and customized to your environment, your team’s maturity, and your growth goals.
Fourth, end-to-end enablement. Along with solving today’s issues, we prepare you for tomorrow’s challenges. Whether it’s adopting a new AWS service, modernizing workloads, or scaling globally, PLS ensures you’re not just surviving but thriving.
Fifth, cost-effectiveness. Enterprise Support comes with a premium price tag, often running into six figures annually. PLS delivers the same enterprise-grade benefits - sometimes more - at a fraction of that cost, thanks to our custom discounted pricing.
Part 5: Real-World Value with CloudKeeper PLS
Q: Can you share an example of a business that benefited from PLS?
Neeraj: Absolutely. A great example is Franconnect, a leading franchise management platform serving over 1500 brands worldwide.
Franconnect relied heavily on Amazon SQS for messaging and workflow but faced recurring operational challenges. The team was facing challenges with configuration consistency, recurring troubleshooting needs, and a dependency on external support. On top of that, an upgrade to MSK clusters carried risks of downtime and stability issues.
Here’s where CloudKeeper stepped in with the Partner-led Enterprise Support solution.
We conducted a tailored AWS SQS training program for the Engineering Team, empowering them to manage incidents independently. We also executed a risk-mitigated MSK 3.9 upgrade with zero downtime and strengthened their security governance by building and deploying Service Control Policies.
The results were transformative:
- Zero SQS-related support tickets after training
- Self-sufficiency within the engineering team
- Flawless MSK upgrade with no post-incident issues
- Faster delivery pipelines and reduced operational overhead
This is the power of PLS in action - enabling teams to grow stronger, leaner, and more resilient.
Final Verdict – Which Should You Choose?
Q: If a business is deciding between AWS Enterprise Support and PLS, how should they approach it?
Neeraj: It comes down to priorities.
If your organization values access to AWS’s unique perks - like 500 training credits per year, gamified learning challenges, or certain AWS-only tools - then AWS Enterprise Support has an edge. AWS also provides a direct relationship with their internal teams, which can be important for organizations seeking that level of vendor interaction.
On the other hand, if your priority is cost-effectiveness, personalization, application-level guidance, and continuous optimization, then CloudKeeper PLS delivers stronger value. For most businesses, especially those watching budgets while scaling aggressively, PLS is the smarter choice.
My advice: evaluate your needs honestly. If you truly need the extras that only AWS can provide, go for Enterprise Support. But if you want the same SLAs, deeper engagement, proactive savings, and a partner invested in your success, CloudKeeper PLS will likely serve you better.
Top-tier AWS Support at a Fraction of the Cost
Cloud support is no longer optional. For enterprises running critical workloads on AWS, having expert support can mean the difference between a resilient, optimized cloud and one that bleeds money or risks downtime.
AWS Enterprise Support remains the most comprehensive option directly from AWS, but its high costs and limited personalization leave many businesses underserved. CloudKeeper’s Partner-Led Support offers a compelling alternative: all the enterprise-grade benefits, plus more coverage, proactive optimization, and massive cloud cost savings.
CloudKeeper combines AWS-level reliability with the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of a partner model. Backed by 150+ certified AWS experts, proactive monitoring, and exclusive platforms like CloudKeeper Tuner and Lens, PLS ensures your cloud journey is smarter, faster, and leaner.
Ready to explore a better model AWS Enterprise Support? Talk to our team today and discover how PLS can redefine your AWS experience.
