Ecosystem Aces

Global alliance management invites complexity. Multiple sales teams, cross-cultural concerns, value propositions, differing visions …. The list of challenges alliance managers and ecosystem manager can face is nearly endless. But there is a solution: Create a joint value proposition. On this episode of the #Alliance Aces podcast, we interviewed Aslam Jamal, Sr. Director for Strategic Alliances in the EMEA at ForgeRock. Aslam showed us 5 ways a joint value proposition increases the power of an alliance to deliver true joint solutions for end-users.

The modern era demands rapid development. But to create a timely solution that meets demands, companies need a network of long-standing partnerships they can rely on. So ... should an alliance manager invest in long-term relationships, or seize revenue opportunities and develop partnerships as needed? It’s a real question, and it deserves a thorough answer. We brought in Ard-Pieter de Man, Professor and Researcher at Vrije University in Amsterdam, on the #AllianceAces podcast  — hosted by Chip Rodgers, VP Marketing and Alliances at WorkSpan. Here’s what Ard told us about the tradeoffs in long-term alliance management and opportunistic alliance management:

The number of alliances needed for a solution has grown: Joint solutions that have traditionally required 1 partner, now may require 4 or 5. Managing an ecosystem that has all the available partnerships for each solution, can be quite a challenge. On this episode, Helen Morin joins our host, Chip Rodgers, to share 5 quick tactics you can use right now to manage your expanding alliance network. Helen Morin is the VP of Global Alliances & Channels at SAS, where she’s worked for 17 years in alliance management roles, as well as technical and consulting positions. Prior to SAS, she worked at the Canadian Department of National Defense, and she also holds the coveted CSAP credential (Certified Strategic Alliance Professional).

Jay McBain, a Principal Analyst for Channels, Partnerships & Alliances at Forrester, gave an incredible keynote at the ASAP Global Alliance Summit about the coming wave of new alliances. In short, traditional partnerships have evolved, because buyers have changed. This new wave of B2B buyers isn’t struggling with their superiors to deal with red tape and a slow approach. They’re going right around the CTO and straight to the sellers … after they’ve done all the research. Our Alliance Aces host, Chip Rodgers, caught up with Jay after his talk at ASAP, and got a deeper look at these new buyers, and how that impacts the future of alliances. Jay gave us 3 reasons buyers and buying behavior are rapidly evolving, then he shared the opportunity for alliances. Taken from a Facebook Live interview.

Mike Nevin understands the principles of success in alliances better than probably anyone. Back in the late 90s, he and a few colleagues went all-in on alliances. They predicted that considering the continued waves of technological innovation, alliances were the future. Like we said … he went all-in on alliances: He became Founding President of the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP) in Europe. He’s also the CEO & Founder of his own alliance consulting firm, and he’s the Managing Director of Alliance Best Practice, where he continually analyzes the best practices of the world's strongest alliances, and develops models we can all follow. We interviewed him live on Facebook for Alliance Aces, and you can catch the entire interview right here.

Your success isn’t only predicated on your ability to sell or commercialize your offerings. Your success is dependent on the success of your alliance, especially in any industry with tech at its core (read: every industry). We caught up with Marc Geall at SAP InnovationX in London. He's SVP of Global Platform & Technology Ecosystems at SAP. He came on the Alliance Aces podcast and told us this: There’s no success without partner success. You can catch the entire video interview here, or listen in for one stellar podcast.

Every alliance professional has had some form of this happen: Your boss asks for influenced revenue within a specific alliance or joint solution. The truth is: You don’t have an answer. The information is simply unavailable, because it’s buried in outdated spreadsheets, and hidden across you and your alliance’s businesses. Sound familiar? It’s not just you — every alliance professional has faced that situation. Matt Gale and Jason Boggs came on the Alliance Aces Podcast to share this and 2 other issues every alliance professional faces … and how they solved them. Matt Gale is the Director for Go to Market & Strategic Alliances, and Jason Boggs is the Senior Director for Cloud Ecosystem & Enablement. Both of them work at NTT DATA Services.

Validating and deploying a joint solution can often start to drag far past intended deadlines. The usual technical, marketing, and bureaucratic issues any deployment faces increase exponentially within alliances. But that doesn't have to be the case, says Joan Morales, Director of Partner & Technology Alliances at Nutanix. Consistently, his team has managed to validate joint solutions in a matter of weeks. How? He has an incredible methodology. On our Alliance Aces Podcast, Joan gave us his 4 keys to establishing a rapid joint-solution deployment model within every alliance.

Alliance management can be a somewhat lonely field. On one hand, you’re surrounded: You’re managing personnel from not only your own team, but you’re also working with team members from the other companies within the ecosystem. On the other hand, very few people understand your role — as an alliance manager, you’re in a high-level, critical thinking, strategic position between entities. It’s as if you were running your own mini-business between all the alliances. Chances are, you love the challenge, but it can be awkward at times. Norma Watenpaugh understands. She is the Founding Principal at PhoenixCG, which specializes in best practices for alliances and alliance managers. She came on the Alliance Aces podcast to discuss trends she’s seeing (and sometimes creating) in the alliances profession. (You can catch the full interview on our podcast. It was also streamed on Facebook Live at this link.)

Sometimes it’s good to sit down with a true pro, and ask the tough questions. On this episode of the Alliance Aces podcast, we sat down with Stuart Kalman, the Director of Global Alliances for Hitachi Vantara at Veritas. He has a long list of alliance experience credentials, including HP, as the director of their Microsoft enterprise alliances, and at Thomson Reuters as VP of Strategic Alliances. On this episode, he gave 3 questions every alliance professional must ask themselves before going to market with a joint product or solution.