SoftwareOne – the only partner with dual recognition at the 2026 Global AWS Ambassador Summit

First-time success for Maarten Bruntink and hat trick excellence for Gokul Bala as AWS Ambassador

SoftwareOne is proud to announce that our two AWS Ambassadors, Gokul Bala and Maarten Bruntink, have been recognized at this year’s AWS Ambassador Global Summit in Seattle last week. We are the only partner with two AWS Ambassadors receiving awards in the same year.

Out of more than 300 AWS Ambassadors worldwide, only eight awards are presented annually – making this recognition highly selective and a strong reflection of both individual expertise and partner impact.

Gokul Bala has achieved an exceptional milestone, being named the #1 AWS Ambassador for ASEAN for the third consecutive year. Maarten Bruntink received his first regional recognition, named top AWS Ambassador for EMEA.

These achievements reflect not only consistent technical excellence but also sustained contributions to the AWS community and customer success.

Driving impact beyond advocacy

Gokul and Maarten are not only recognized for their individual achievements – they actively help shape how AWS expertise is applied across SoftwareOne and for our customers.   

Last year Maarten earned the AWS “Golden Jacket,” awarded to individuals who achieve all active AWS certifications – a recognition that can only be received once. And of course, Gokul has the required certifications for the AWS Ambassador program membership. 

The work of Gokul and Maarten has also been central to advancing SoftwareOne’s AWS capabilities and customer outcomes. Over the past year, this has included contributing to multiple AWS competencies – including Storage Consulting Competency and Migration Competency for CSEI – while supporting new competency areas such as AI (agentic) and acting as launch contributors for emerging AWS specializations. 

They have played a key role in developing and showcasing customer success through AWS case studies, spanning areas such as agentic AI, media platform modernization, and large-scale cloud transformation. In parallel, they continue to share insights through AWS-focused content and thought leadership, alongside technical contributions such as re:Invent sessions, including Gokul’s co-presented session: “Engineering Intelligence: Multi-Agent AI Systems for Industrials.” 

Their impact also extends into building repeatable solutions and offerings – contributing to a growing portfolio of Foundational Technical Review validated solutions and AWS Marketplace listings – and strengthening internal capability by influencing certifications and accreditations across SoftwareOne teams globally. 

Alongside this, they remain closely involved in customer engagements as subject matter experts, supporting AWS architecture design and participating directly in sales cycles, while continuing to lead and support local AWS community initiatives in Singapore and the Netherlands. 

The two of them have influenced more than 100 Certifications on AWS at Foundational, Associate, Professional and Speciality Levels and influenced a further 100+ Accreditations on various AWS Agentic AI, Business Value Realization Essentials and Learning Plans.  

Contributions recognized by the AWS community

The AWS Ambassador Program builds a global community of experienced AWS professionals across AWS Partners – individuals who act as thought leaders, drive AWS proficiency within their organizations, and actively contribute to broader community knowledge and collaboration with AWS. These ambassadors combine strong technical expertise with hands-on customer experience, playing a direct role in enabling successful cloud adoption and innovation.