January 08, 2025

How to Master Hyperscaler Co-opetition with Alan Chhabra

52 minutes

With over $300 billion in customer commitments to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, the hyperscaler marketplace should play a strategic role in every IT vendor’s go-to-market strategy. But how do you partner successfully with these hyperscalers when you’re also competing with them? That co-opetition is something many people in your C-Suite fear and it can drive a wedge in what could be a very successful partnership.

Today’s guest, Alan Chhabra, EVP of Worldwide Partners at MongoDB, mastered hyperscaler co-opetition with a customer-centric business strategy. Alan shares the critical success factors for MongoDB and how they navigated successful partnerships with Microsoft and other hypercalers despite the direct competition they initially faced.

Key Takeaways

Here are the top 10 lessons I learned about mastering hyperscaler co-opetition from Alan:

Customer-Centricity: MongoDB’s decision to deepen its partnership with Microsoft, despite the competition, was driven by a strong commitment to customer needs. This customer-centric approach helped create a seamless and efficient experience for users, reinforcing the importance of prioritizing customer satisfaction in strategic decisions.

Strategic Use of Marketplaces: Alan highlighted the significant benefits of leveraging cloud marketplaces. By integrating MongoDB products into these marketplaces, they were able to provide customers incentives to use their products while also benefiting from the hyperscalers’ marketplace programs, leading to mutual growth.

Stickiness and Integration: Ensuring that MongoDB’s Atlas was well-integrated with other Azure products was key to making their solution preferable over Microsoft’s native solutions. This integration included features like Power BI and Visual Studio, which enhanced customer experience and encouraged adoption.

Sales Collaboration and Incentives: Building a compelling value proposition for the sales teams of hyperscalers was crucial. Alan emphasized creating clear financial incentives for Azure, AWS, and Google sales reps to promote MongoDB’s Atlas, ensuring they benefited substantially from each sale.

Understanding the Partner Ecosystem: Alan stressed the importance of comprehending the detailed workings of the hyperscaler ecosystems. Success in these environments requires knowing how to collaborate effectively and understanding the hyperscalers’ products and sales strategies thoroughly.

Program Participation: Being part of critical programs that allow the retirement of customer commitments was essential for MongoDB. These programs provided additional motivation for customers to choose MongoDB’s solutions through the hyperscaler marketplaces, aligning incentives across all parties.

Hiring for Pipeline Generation: Successful collaboration with partners and customers requires team members who are adept at generating pipelines. Alan stressed hiring partner managers who can identify business opportunities and translate them into sales, which is vital for growth in a competitive market.

Building a Resilient Partner Organization: MongoDB’s partner organization structure, with roles designed to address various aspects of partnership (including hyperscaler specialists and partner program managers), ensures a balanced and focused approach to scaling their business through partnerships.

Adaptive Leadership: Alan discussed the importance of having adaptive leadership—a trait seen in MongoDB’s capacity to address different challenges, whether they are partnership-focused or direct sales-oriented. This versatility helps in navigating complex sales ecosystems effectively.

Maintaining Competitive Edge: Despite strong partnerships with hyperscalers, MongoDB continuously focuses on maintaining its competitive edge through innovation and differentiating its products. The company’s commitment to keeping its technology ahead of the curve is a decisive factor in its success.

LINKS & RESOURCES

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn

Learn about the Impact of Hyperscalers on the Partner Ecosystem

Hear How to Win on the AWS Marketplace

The post How to Master Hyperscaler Co-opetition with Alan Chhabra first appeared on Channel Journeys.

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