Strategic Alliance Magazine Winter 2017 - 22

Powering a proactive and reactive "ecosystem

development engine" that provides a single

point of entry for prospective partners, managing a process of vetting and onboarding

partners in a manner that aligns with the roles
of the partner and nature of the relationship.

Once a core partner is onboard, the following routines
work together so that activity flows seamlessly throughout the business model, from creating to delivering to
capturing value:

Planning the partnership (including estab
lishing governance and operating rhythm)
and planning at an account or project level.

Partner enablement (technical and sales).

Communications (flow within the partnership

and more broadly within the ecosystem).
Rules of engagement, operating principles,

and IP management.

Data capture, measurement, and reporting

of objectives.

The fluid nature of partnering in ecosystems means
a similar governance framework must exist across all
relationships and be:
Scaled, based on the intended partnering

Principle 5: It is all in the execution
The difference between the winners and losers is the
ability to execute within the complexity of our hyper-connected business world. The winners leverage the core
principles of partnering, but rewrite the rules to account
for the sheer number of partners, the speed enabled by
technology, and the new ways of creating, delivering, and
capturing value.
Success in executing a capability for partnering everywhere in the ecosystem will improve with a centralized
strategic alliances/partnering function charged with
driving the transformation. It influences more than it
controls, but controls core aspects of developing and
deploying next -generation partnering- everywhere
capability to the edges of the organization. (See Figure
3-Control/Influence Spheres)
This corporate or global group:
Serves as a center of excellence or exper
tise for the partnering-everywhere world,
developing and managing the overarching
governance process.

self-service to a high-touch model that unites

Empowers those directly interfacing with

partners in development and deployment

model and ranging from fully automated and

across the spectrum of develop, market, sell,

activities-as well as those providing support-

deliver, service, and support.

ing functions-to optimize value.

Catalytic, committing appropriate resources,

to the ecosystem, and measuring specific

units, but the day-to-day work is done by

metrics that matter to the ecosystem.

people in the business units.

Holistic, serving to unite executives with the

business edge in the field-and all stakehold-

Ensures the organizational capability to part
ner everywhere exists, and is appropriately

encouraging partners to bring greater value

Note an essential point that is often overlooked: Governance does not occur in a vacuum. There is a cadence of
joint interactions to enable business development, planning, and evaluation that follow the mantra of "discuss,
debate, decide." One party doesn't govern the other(s); together they govern the joint activity.

ers in between.

STRATEGIC ALLIANCE MAGAZINE | Q1 * 2017

Assumes orchestration responsibility for
major strategic alliances that cross business

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