Today was “Partner Day” for Amazon Web Services Inc.’s virtual re:Invent conference, and much of the focus was on delivering a key message: Build the abstraction layer for the cloud, and everyone will win.

An example of this could be seen in this week’s announcement by AWS partner Okta Inc. that it would provide infrastructure and secure access capabilities for companies moving to the cloud.

“You need partners to come in and be that glue that does a lot of that heavy lifting,” said Dave Vellante, co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. “That’s a giant whitespace for partner organizations. Amazon is telling them: ‘This is what customers need, and it’s not where we’re going to eat your lunch.’”

Vellante spoke with John Furrier, co-host of theCUBE, during the third day analysis for AWS re:Invent. They discussed opportunities for companies to build on top of the cloud, the value of a robust ecosystem for AWS, how new products are fueling Amazon’s position in the marketplace, and the danger of failing to actively pursue innovation and reinvention in the current climate. (* Disclosure below.)

A redefining moment

By abstracting away infrastructure complexity from the cloud, AWS believes that more enterprises would be encouraged to build on top of the platform. Functions such as licensing and compliance in the distribution of software as a service offer prime opportunities in this regard, according to Furrier.

“These are areas that Amazon is going to create automation around,” Furrier said. “Whoever can build their own cloud on top of Amazon’s cloud will be a winner. It’s going to be the second wave of cloud, and a whole new ecosystem is going to emerge. That’s a redefining moment.”

The notion of a robust ecosystem, with partners and customers innovating on its platform, is an important element for AWS as it seeks to broaden its reach and influence in the enterprise. The company’s work with its partners in Australia has been focused on helping them go global through AWS Marketplace and its 300,000 active monthly users.

“There is no question that Amazon is out to reinvent the whole experience from procurement all the way through,” Vellante said. “Ecosystems are critical. You can start building new innovation around ecosystems.”

Call center mindset

AWS is also leveraging innovation through strategic introduction of new products and services. One of the many announcements made during re:Invent this week was the launch of a series of tools to strengthen customer service.

AWS is building on its Amazon Connect service, which infuses contact and call centers with real-time insights through machine learning. One of the new features that AWS announced was Amazon Connect Wisdom, which delivers key customer information so that call center agents can personalize service response.

“They’ve had huge success with Amazon Connect,” Furrier said. “It’s a call center mindset, but it’s not just about the call center. It’s about the point of contact.”

In his keynote address on Tuesday, AWS Chief Executive Andy Jassy noted that 50% of Fortune 500 companies in the year 2000 were now gone. In today’s fast-moving business climate, reinvention is essential for survival, and this is what drives AWS and its pointed messaging to customers and partners in 2020.

“If you don’t have the leadership chops to lean into this, you’re going to get swept away,” Furrier said. “You’ve got to have the stomach for digital transformation, and for partners that same thing is true. The people who change and modernize will be the winners.”

Watch the full analysis below, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of AWS re:Invent. (* Disclosure: AWS sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither AWS nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

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