AWS committed $1 billion to forward-deployed engineering in June. Three months on, the part worth revisiting is not the money. It is the promise to leave customers self-sufficient.
What happens when an AI system goes live, the engineer moves on, and a data pipeline breaks on a Thursday afternoon? Who knows where to look?
Issue 3 of Forward Deployed examines what it means to leave a customer with more than working software.
In The Quiet Part, we revisit the overlooked clause in AWS’s announcement: a successful launch does not, by itself, establish that the customer can operate the system.
In Field Notes, we introduce a five-task handover rehearsal that tests whether the receiving team can recover from failures, explain outputs, make controlled changes, monitor costs and identify who is responsible.
In In Production, we examine AWS’s reported work with the NFL, distinguishing a production launch from long-term operational independence.
The same handover challenge is addressed in AIU’s Certified Forward Deployed Engineer (CFDE) programme. October cohort enrolment closes 5 October; December cohort admissions open 7 October.
If the person who understands your AI system best were unavailable tomorrow, what would your team be unable to do?
Read Issue 3 in full on LinkedIn Subscribe to Forward Deployed
