Strategic Alliance Magazine Winter 2017 - 20

Principle 1: Close to the customer
A next-generation partnering-everywhere capability
empowers the front lines-the engineers, contact center
staff, the field sales force that engage externally every
day-to innovate, develop, and deliver value-creating
solutions to customers. They have to be armed with an
understanding of:
Why your company is partnering with Compa-

ny X; how the relationship fits into corporate
strategy, ecosystem development, and business unit priorities.

Goals and objectives; roles and responsibil-

ities; who does what and the limits on their
authority.

Each party's expectations of and accountabilities to the other; how governance, especially
decision making, is managed.

Boundaries on disclosure-and more impor-

Principle 2: One platform; many relationship types and
partnering models
A single partner can play many roles with different customer use cases and at different points in the get-to-market,
go-to-market continuum. A single, overarching umbrella
partner program is becoming the preferred approach to
manage this fluidity and complexity, and to be able to scale
as required. This has been a trend among high-tech companies, including IBM, Cisco, and recently HPE (Hewlett
Packard Enterprises).
The single platform must accommodate the variety of:
Roles (e.g., customer, joint development, core
partner in one use case, ancillary in another)

Partnering models (e.g., reseller, OEM royalty
share, revenue/profit split)

Resources (e.g., dedicated partner manager,
marketing collateral and funds)

Services (e.g., certification, enablement,

tantly, what must be shared.

training)

Whom to go to within the partner for what;

Benefits (e.g., discounts, leads, deal registra-

how communication flows, internally and with
partners.

Managing relationships at the edge of the enterprise, close
to the customer, makes the most of:
Detailed knowledge of the business and
ability to better understand partners and the
dynamics of the ecosystem.

tion)

Partners will still access distinct personas, but all can be
done through a single interface-that automated self-service or high-touch human interaction. Next-generation
digital technology provides a common knowledge repository and manages workflow. The breadth of activity with
this partner will be known across business units. While
that partner may not be as important in one activity or
another, its overall relationship is respected and leveraged.

Better understanding of customers and thus
what partners need to be successful.

Stronger alignment with the business and

shared accountability for concrete business
unit goals.
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STRATEGIC ALLIANCE MAGAZINE | Q1 * 2017

Principle 3: Align and integrate with the business
An explicit partnering strategy that aligns with and is
baked into the company's overall corporate strategy and
business unit, functional, and geographic priorities is just
the starting point. Partnering strategy provides direction

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Strategic Alliance Magazine Winter 2017