AWS announced the end of the AWS IQ expert marketplace in May 2025 and shut it down completely on May 20, 2026. What that means for companies that relied on it, and how to find the same caliber of AWS expertise now.
AWS IQ was Amazon's managed marketplace for on-demand cloud consulting. Launched in 2019, it let AWS customers post a project, browse vetted independent experts, and hire them for paid engagements: all within the AWS console. Payment was handled by AWS, and experts were reviewed and rated after each engagement.
For customers, it solved the "how do I find a trustworthy AWS consultant?" problem. The vetting process, the review system, and the fact that engagements happened through AWS gave it a legitimacy that random contractor marketplaces couldn't match.
For experts, it was a steady source of inbound work from companies actively trying to solve AWS problems — often with real budget and real urgency.
AWS announced the end of support for AWS IQ in May 2025, and the service reached full shutdown on May 20, 2026 — the console and its resources are no longer available. AWS did not announce a direct replacement.
This leaves thousands of companies without their primary mechanism for finding trusted, reviewed AWS consultants — and it leaves experienced experts who built reputations on the platform suddenly invisible to the customers who would have found them there.
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If you've used AWS IQ before, you know the quality bar it provided. The review system wasn't perfect, but 50+ five-star reviews from real clients meant something. That signal is now gone from the marketplace — but the experts who earned those reviews are still around.
The practical implication: you're back to evaluating consultants the old way. Referrals, portfolios, certifications, and direct conversations. Here's what to look for.
Ask for references from clients with similar AWS workloads, not just general success stories
Look for AWS certifications as a baseline signal, not a hiring criterion — they reflect exam knowledge, not production experience
Ask specifically about failure modes: "Tell me about an engagement that didn't go as planned." How they answer tells you more than their wins
Prefer someone who has worked across multiple AWS accounts and teams — not just one long-term client where they built familiarity over time
Watch for consultants who recommend the same solution to every problem (the "everything is Terraform" or "always use Lambda" patterns)
Ask about their approach to handoff — are they building something you can maintain, or are they optimizing for return engagements?
AWS IQ worked partly because it removed friction from finding and paying an expert. But the platform also added overhead — a markup on rates, a scheduling layer, and constraints on how engagements could be structured.
Working directly with an experienced consultant removes those constraints. You get the same expertise, often at a lower all-in cost, with more flexibility on how the engagement is structured.
AWS IQ vs. direct engagement: a practical comparison
If you prefer a marketplace model, a few options exist. None replicate the AWS-native review system, but they provide some structure for finding and paying experts.
AWS Partner Network (APN): Large consultancies and boutique firms with formal AWS Partnership status. Better for large projects, less accessible for quick engagements.
Toptal, Upwork, and similar: Broad freelancer platforms. Quality varies widely. Useful if you have strong internal AWS knowledge to evaluate proposals.
Referrals from your AWS account team: If you have a TAM or account manager, they often maintain informal lists of consultants they've seen do good work.
Direct search: Many former AWS IQ experts (myself included) now operate directly. A search for the specific AWS service you need + "consultant" will surface options.
Hoola Labs is a senior AWS consultancy that handled hundreds of engagements covering the same types of work AWS IQ experts were known for: architecture, CDK, cost optimization, security, and startup infrastructure. If you're looking for a direct path to that kind of expertise, the contact page is the starting point.
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