SHIFT Receives Special Award at the 2025 Japan AWSome Business Leaders Award

SHIFT, a Tokyo-based company known for its commitment to quality and business transformation, received a prestigious special award at the 2025 Japan AWSome Business Leaders Award hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS). This award recognizes outstanding performance among partners in the AWS Partner Network (APN) within Japan's unique APN Business Leaders Hub community.

The Japan AWSome Business Leaders Award is an annual event that honors companies excelling in their use of AWS services. Partners are evaluated based on three key criteria: growth rate in AWS business, implementation of learnings from the community, and effective use of the AWS Partner Program. This year, the award featured top honors including a grand prize, excellence awards, and special awards, with SHIFT being the sole recipient of the special award recognizing its exemplary practical application of community insights.

The award ceremony took place at SHIFT’s headquarters, where prominent AWS representatives and SHIFT's project members celebrated this achievement. Notably, Hiroichiro Okuda, Head of the Public Sector Partner Alliance Division at AWS Japan, and Toshimaki Hosoda, SHIFT’s Senior Executive Officer and Head of the Development Division, were present among the awardees. Senior Cloud Architect Rishi Torano also received a personal special award for his leadership within this initiative.

Rationale Behind the Award

SHIFT has strategically developed its AWS-related services with a focus on the public sector, starting in February 2024, by addressing customer needs and nurturing AWS talent. In April of the same year, it established a cross-company organization, the AWS Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE). This initiative promoted standardization and the development of manuals and processes, enabling a scalable and reproducible operational framework.

Furthermore, in January 2026, SHIFT enhanced this structure by establishing a formal department dedicated to alliance promotion. As a result, the organization's AWS certification achievements expanded significantly—about five times the number of corporate certifications since the inception of CCoE, approximately sixfold increase in valid AWS certifications held by employees, and an eightfold rise in the number of recognized engineers. Notably, the number of AWS Customer Engagement (ACE) registrations surged, showing a tenfold increase compared to the previous year.

The rapid business growth, combined with a layered and strategic approach to building a specialized department, contributed to SHIFT being recognized as an outstanding model for other companies, culminating in receiving the special award at the 2025 Japan AWSome Business Leaders Award.

Feedback from AWS

AWS emphasized that SHIFT's commitment to further expand its business through strengthening organizational support for utilizing the AWS Partner Program was commendable. The establishment of the Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) integrated with delivery operations led to significant accomplishments such as the tenfold increase in ACE registrations and actual deployment of specialized teams by January 2026. The transition from learnings gained at the APN Japan Business Leaders Hub into actionable steps demonstrates a strong evolution in their organizational activities as an AWS partner, providing a valuable reference for similar enterprises.

APN Japan Business Leaders Hub

The APN Japan Business Leaders Hub is a community for AWS partners in the Advanced Tier, composed of companies that meet certain entry requirements. It aims to support business growth for participants by maximizing the use of the AWS Partner Program, primarily for alliance leads and their management staff.

SHIFT's AWS Initiatives

- Key Certifications Held

- AWS Advanced Tier Service Partner
- AWS 400 APN Certification Distinction
- AWS WAF Partner
- Internal Support Promotion AWS Partner
- AWS Foundational Technical Review (FTR) for Service Offerings: Received certification for