Ecosystem Aces

The business environment is changing rapidly — how can companies not only survive but thrive through this epic shift?


An expert in strategic alliances and data-driven marketing, Jack Norris is a Senior Vice President at Alteryx and this episode’s fascinating guest. Norris strongly advocates embracing a digital transformation and building lucrative partnerships through data science.


In this episode, Norris introduces these illuminating concepts:
- How Alteryx leverages its platform to help partners develop IP
- How Alteryx works with partners to deliver an optimal and holistic experience for digital transformations
- How Alteryx benefits from having partners that are also customers


To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about alliances, he can be reached by:
- Email: [email protected]
- Twitter: @chiprodgers
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers

How do you take a near non-existent partner program and grow it to driving over 45% of total revenue for the company?


Today’s guest Wayne Monk, Senior Vice President, Global Alliances and Channel Sales at ASG, managed to do just that by staying focused on adding value to the business and the partner capabilities that differentiate them.


In this episode, we discuss:
- How to make your partner program a value-add to your business
- Why partner differentiation is the key to growing your ecosystem
- How to identify the innovation that can transform your ecosystem


To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about alliances, he can be reached by:
- Email: [email protected]
- Twitter: @chiprodgers
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers

When it comes to managing alliances, there’s no easy button. Instead, it takes discipline on the execution…


And skin in the game for both sides.


So says my guest, Nicole Napiltonia, VP of Alliances and OEM Sales at Barracuda, who joins me in today’s episode to discuss how Barracuda are managing partners across the Big Three cloud providers: AWS, Google and Microsoft Azure.


We discuss:

- How Barracuda is leveraging their early entry into the cloud

- The increasing complexity of managing partners

- Barracuda’s emphasis on Cosell

To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about alliances, he can be reached by:

- Email: [email protected]

- Twitter: @chiprodgers

- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers

We often talk about putting the customer at the center of everything we do — it’s an ironclad rule if you want success.


And it’s just as important to your alliance ecosystem.


Just ask Lara Caimi who, as Chief Customer and Partner Officer at ServiceNow, is thriving in a career at the intersection of customer and partner experiences.


In today’s episode, we discuss:

- How customer, employee and partner experiences interact

- The importance of co-selling and co-delivering

- Why diversity and inclusion matter for your alliance ecosystem


To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about alliances, he can be reached by:

- Email: [email protected]

- Twitter: @chiprodgers

- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers


Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Ecosystem Aces in your favorite podcast player.

If you want to successfully manage strategic partnerships, you need to become an expert in every role needed to bring a joint solution to market that your partners can actually sell.


In this episode, I sit down with Erik Heinrich to learn how he brings his wealth of experience across different roles in his career to his current position as Director Business Development, RUCKUS Networks at CommScope, where he manages strategic partnerships with Facebook, Intel, and other global partners.


What we talked about:

- Why solving your customers’ problems is the key to any alliance

- Why managing partnerships requires you to wear many hats

- Partnering means bringing joint solutions to market that will sell


To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about alliances, he can be reached by:

- Email: [email protected]

- Twitter: @chiprodgers

- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers


Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Ecosystem Aces in your favorite podcast player.

Most people trust that the food they buy from stores and restaurants will be safe. Yet, foodborne illnesses occur more often than you might think.


Advancements in technology can drastically reduce contamination risks.


But only when supported by a robust ecosystem.


In this episode, I’m joined by two guests who are building that ecosystem: Susan Flake, Director of RFID Business Development, and Colin Goodwin, ISV Business Development Manager at Zebra Technologies, a company working to support frontline workers across multiple industries.


We discuss:

- Zebra’s mission and how they tackle food safety challenges

- Why partners are necessary to solve these issues

- How Zebra has built out its partner


To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about alliances, he can be reached by:

- Email: [email protected]

- Twitter: @chiprodgers

- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers


Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Ecosystem Aces in your favorite podcast player.

Being at the forefront of new technologies and driving digital transformation often requires an ecosystem to fill in the gaps in your capabilities in order to give your customers the very best solutions for their needs.


That’s how Ray Octaviano, Vice President and Head of Business Development for North American Mobile Operators at IDEMIA, is tackling the company’s push to seamlessly digitally transform the SIM cards and identification in your pocket right now.


What we talked about:
The digital transformation underway with SIM cards and identification
How IDEMIA is building an ecosystem based on customer success and partner capabilities
Why rapidly advancing technology requires agility and nimbleness




To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about alliances, he can be reached by:
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @chiprodgers
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers




Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Ecosystem Aces in your favorite podcast player.

The pandemic has changed so much about our daily lives, so it should be no surprise that partnerships have been impacted, too.

There are many challenges to overcome, but there are also opportunities for alliances.

In this episode, I’m joined by Glenton Davis, Global Senior Business Development & Strategy Manager, Business Applications at Microsoft, to learn more about what those opportunities are.
We discuss:

- The opportunities and challenges for partnerships presented by COVID

- Why “bottom up” thinking is increasingly important

- Why scenarios are as important as understanding your vertical
To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about alliances, he can be reached by:

- Email: [email protected]

- Twitter: @chiprodgers

- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers

As the tools and framework for managing alliances grow more sophisticated, more companies are realizing the power of partnerships — and they expect more from the relationship.

It’s a welcome trend for Manoj Bhatia, Director Partner Business Development at Verizon, where he is seeing increased willingness to form alliances — along with larger and stronger ecosystems.

He joined me on today’s show to discuss:

- Why organizations expect more from their alliances (and larger ecosystems)

- Why “coopetition” is growing in acceptance

- The value of agility and CoSell
To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about alliances, he can be reached by:

- Email: [email protected]

- Twitter: @chiprodgers

- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers

Many cloud providers have funds available for their partners to drive migrations.

And one of the best ways to maximize these funds?

Making sure they build relationships with your customers.

That’s how Sarita Janjani, Worldwide Strategic Alliances Portfolio at Brillio, is making the most of the funds she’s received through her AWS relationship.
In this episode, Sarita joins me to discuss:

- The work she’s doing with partners at Brillio

- Why she’s so focused on competencies

- Why cost, ROI, and applicability are the 3 most important elements in any strategy or go-to-market solutioning
To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or join the conversation about alliances, he can be reached by:

- Email: [email protected]

- Twitter: @chiprodgers

- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers