partnering in the cloud
TRANSCRIPT
PARTNERING IN THE CLOUDTwo partners tell you how and why they work together
San Francisco, CA | October 22, 2015 – 4:30pm to 9:30pm
Jerod Powell CEO
INFINIT CONSULTING [email protected]
@jerodpowell
Sean Patrick TarioCEO
OPEN SPECTRUM [email protected]
@seanptario
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NEW DATA CENTER SERVICE PROCUREMENT
CONTRACT RENEGOTIATION
AUDITS OF EXISTING ENVIRONMENT
TRAINING
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Cloud Solution Provider & Tier 1 Cloud Champion
Public, Private, and Hybrid Hosting
Over 700 organizations and 180,000 end users transitioned to Microsoft Cloud Services
Application Development – Cloud, Mobile & BI Advanced Cloud Support for Business
Presentation OverviewSean and Jerod’s partnership.3rd Platform and Digital Transformation: Brief overview, impact and a look aheadWhat are the benefits of partnering?How do you find a prospective partner?How do you decide if this is the right partner for you?How do you present the partnership to the client?What are key things that need to be considered to make the engagement work?Do you need a single project manager?Should you expect reciprocal leads from the partner(s) you choose?Do you need a formal partnership agreement and if so what should be included?How do you agree a strategy when something goes wrong.How can you develop and enhance an existing partnership?
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Sean and Jerod’s Partnershipo Met over a datacenter deal Sean
sold to Jerodo Immediate Synergy (Synergy is key)o Both entrepreneurial and loved
technology and making customers happy
o 10 years later, 2 datacenters and today good friends and business partners.
o Overlap in services although slight was never an issue.
o Key attributes were synergy, customer focused, integrity, respect and driven
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3rd Platform & Digital Transformation Impacto 3rd Platform is Cloud Services, Mobile,
Social & Advanced Analytics and Big Datao Why the buzz? All 4 cornerstones of the
3rd Platform are highly disruptive, they change how business operates.
o Disruption combined with wild growth = mass opportunity for those who can capitalize.
o Partnerships previously not considered will be driven, channel partner with channel partner, Microsoft with Facebook, IBM with HP.
o Keep an open mind opportunity is there to work with like minded businesses
o Find a development partner if you aren’t a development company, you will need one.
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What are the benefits of Partnering?Reasons for Engaging a Partner o Industry expertise – specific
experience o Solution-specific expertise (Cloud, Big
Data, Social, Mobile Development)o Increase sales/marketing coverage in
current and new geographieso Customer-specific knowledge and
expertiseo Lack of resources
Benefits of Partneringo Increased market reputation and
market shareo Enables partners to better compete
and win deals (levels the playing field if done right)
o Increases overall profitability o Covers your gaps, both with
resources and solution gaps in offerings
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How do you find a prospective partner?o Finding a prospective partner will vary
slightly depending on the type of partner but below here are guidelines.
o Leverage software vendor resources is available, fill out profile on partner locator, attend conferences and network with like minded people…you will know when you find them.
o Online of course, LinkedIn groups, follow your vendors other partners as well as your vendor.
o Leverage groups and mention you are looking for a specific type of partner.
o Your distributor is a great potential resource (e.g., Ingram Micro, Tech Data, etc.)
o My last major partnership was landed this way
o Conferences can be a great place to find partners if you are diligent and put in time to do the networking.
o Advisory council’s are another great place to meet partners
o My favorite way…organically, keep your eyes open, let your existing contacts know, be patient opportunities will present.
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How do you decide if this is the right partner for you?
oFirst and foremost, don’t waste time with partners you don’t have synergy with, it won’t work. Your “degree of fit” between orgs is key to success!
oLeverage a joint planning session to explore business opportunity, keep it informal see if it makes sense to explorer a deeper relationship
o Identify needs/expectations
oFinally a key issue is to identify gaps in your offerings and where you can begin to compliment each others business.
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How do you present the partnership to the client?
oBe upfront and honest, never try and hide the fact you have a partner.
oPresent the partnership as a true value add to the customer
oExplain new capabilities that are advantages for the customer
oBe confident, if you feel you are doing something wrong so will the client.
oStart with customers you have the best relationship with to gain confidence.
oDiscuss success stories as a result of partnering.
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Key things to consider to make the engagement work?
oHave hard talks out of the way, it is go time.
oEnsure talks about money are resolved.
oWho is the point person/leader on the engagement?
oWhat is each partners commitment to the engagement.
oCommunications, a daily huddle of 5-10 minutes goes a long way, meeting for a minimum of 30 minutes one per week.
oLeave your ego at the door, it is about engagement success not you.
oEnjoy it!
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Should leads be reciprocal? oPartnerships are a two-way
street. Leads aren’t always necessary but needs must be met.
oEach partner’s NEEDS and EXPECTATIONS need to be addressed
oDeliver to the partner what was AGREED upon in your vision and planning session.
oBe GENEROUS, it will go a long way!
LEADSREVENUE
PARTNER EXPERTISE
PARTNER CONNECTIO
NS
PARTNER’SNEEDS
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Is a formal partnership agreement needed? What should it include?
o Formal agreements are needed, plenty of handshake agreements have gone fine but the ones that don’t are painful.
o An agreement typically contains pricing, compensation, response time to customers, training of personnel, investment in marketing, and ownership of intellectual property.
o The disgruntled partner that leaves a partnership isn’t the same partner as when they formed the partnership.
o To be safe it is best to document the relationship and expectations and/or deliverables in writing and agree to it.
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How do you agree on a strategy when something goes wrong? oLevel heads will prevail, at all costs control anger
and be calm. oBe proactive in working towards a resolution.oCommunicate, you must set aside time to talk about
the business.oDiscuss action’s you’re each willing to take.oCreate a plan for change.oHold each other accountable by setting a timeframe
for evaluation.oBe honest with yourselves, if it is a wrong fit
continuing will only complicate matters.
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How do you enhance an existing partnership?
o You move from what is considered a proactive to a dynamic partnership (deeper integration between companies)
o You might share a joint CRM system for managing leads generated by partnership efforts.
o Formal certification plans to meet goals and objectives.o No fault customer support, both partners handle it.o Perhaps co-development of intellectual property.o Continuous improvemento Be engaged and put in effort – no substitute for
engagement
