Strategic Account Partnerships

Too many strategic alliances with Global System Integrators (GSIs) fail to deliver promised revenue. The #1 reason? They skip the basics — and then scale chaos. 👇 Here’s how to do it right. If you’re partnering with GSIs like Accenture, Capgemini, TCS, or Infosys, you already know they’re powerful growth channels — but only if your alliance is strategically designed, operationally aligned, and commercially activated. At Alliance Best Practice, we’ve studied over 800 high-tech alliances and found that commercial success with GSIs isn’t magic — it’s method. The most successful partnerships follow a repeatable pattern across three critical stages: 🔹 Initiation: Get the Foundation Right Secure real executive sponsorship (not lip service). Co-create a joint value proposition that solves real customer problems. Build a 12–24 month joint business plan with targets, priorities, and a shared “why now.” 🔹 Activation: Make It Real Launch field enablement with role-based playbooks, demos, and deal support. Identify 10–50 strategic accounts for joint pursuit. Share pipeline, assign pursuit leads, and celebrate early wins publicly. 🔹 Acceleration: Scale What Works Invest in repeatable, co-branded solution offerings. Launch joint marketing campaigns and track sourced/influenced revenue. Embed governance, metrics, and incentives that make the alliance sustainable. 💬 As one alliance leader told us: "If you can’t describe how the GSI makes money with you, they won’t put you in front of a client.” If you're building or rebooting a GSI alliance and want a proven roadmap — ✅ Read our latest article: Best Practices in GSI Alliances 📍 Now live on the Alliance Best Practice site: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eJaHMXE #alliances #partnerships #GSI #channelstrategy #cosell #strategicalliances #growth #b2bpartnerships #alliancemanagement #hightech

Partnerships (like the recently announced $7Bn one with Blackstone) enable data center giant Digital Realty to grow faster. The global data center industry is seeing an explosion in customer demand and by extension, capital looking to invest in the asset class. I found this interview with CEO Andrew (Andy) P. Power illuminating on multiple strategic topics: 1. AI is a real driver of demand AI is not a fad and will be a wind in the sails of the sector a long time. In the long term, he envisages a world where new workloads go 50/50 between GPUs and CPUs. 2. Partnerships will increase “runway of growth.” Digital Realty has announced a range of partnerships around the world with "passive, capital partners" including: - Blackstone for sites in Europe and the US - 500 MW of IT load across Frankfurt, Paris and Northern Virginia - GI Partners in Chicago - TPG in Virginia These allow Digital Realty to recycle capital and do more with its balance sheet, earn fees for its expertise from these partnerships with deep pools of capital and leverage its land bank. “We can buy larger land banks, have longer inventory runways, and really future-proof our customers’ growth.” How does he think about "strategic" partners? "We have a view that we're very good at delivering for our customers the design, build operations of data center, and connectivity infrastructure. But we also are very sure that this is a very localized business. And there are certain parts of the world where we just feel we're better partnering with different capital sources or strategic partners.” That’s not a new idea, he says: “It’s our heritage. When we went to Japan we initially went alone, and then we ultimately entered into a partnership with Mitsubishi called MC Digital Realty that we own 50/50.” “The Indian market is tremendously large and we really wanted someone with boots on the ground and a deep enterprise outreach in the Indian market,” he says - referring to the partnership with Indian giant Reliance Industries Limited and Brookfield. He describes these as “strategic partnerships,” where Digital brings the data center expertise, and “our partners are not only bringing capital and ownership, but they're bringing extensions of our salesforce and supply chain, and local know-how. 3. Choosing *where* to play - wholesale colo or the cloud Both. Catering to the full spectrum, he thinks there are benefits of colocation close to the cloud. 4. The road to net zero Bringing new renewable energy to the grid is a priority. 5. Diversity and skills “we've tapped into numerous employee resource groups, be it veterans groups, diversity groups, to bring more talent into the pool.” He reckons he can learn from being with different kinds of people: “When I somewhat reconstituted the leadership team here, it included a mix of internal promotions, and outside talent, with a diversity of backgrounds, international and domestic. Different folks bring more to the table.”

True Partnerships Need More Than Contracts. They Need Fair Value. I’ve often thought about what it would be like to be on the other side of the table, as a client hiring an agency. I’ve spent enough years observing what makes these partnerships work… or fail. One thing I’ve learned: every partner, whether strategic or execution-focused, deserves fair compensation and dignity. Where things often go wrong is in expectations. To have an agency as a strategic partner, I must treat them as one, not just in words but also in how I pay them and respect their team. A rule of thumb I’ve found useful: if I’m paying a consulting partner less than I’d pay a senior leader in-house for the same function (say, a chief communications officer), I shouldn’t expect them to deliver at that level. If I’m only willing to pay for execution, that’s fair too, but then I must own the strategic direction myself. Some reflections on building a true win-win partnership: -Value over cost: Negotiation should focus on outcomes and expertise, not just the lowest price. -No rearview pricing: What a previous agency charged shouldn’t set the benchmark for a new partnership. -Mutual respect: Fair pay includes fair treatment. If I nickel-and-dime or demean the agency’s team, I can’t expect their best work. -Partnership mindset: When agencies are treated like vendors, they respond in kind. Treat them as stakeholders, and they’ll be invested in long-term success. For me, the essence of partnership is simple: clarity in expectations, fairness in compensation, and mutual respect in the relationship. If I want strategy plus execution, I have to invest in it. If I need just execution, that’s perfectly valid, but the strategic weight remains with me. Partnerships flourish when value is exchanged fairly on both sides. That’s when trust grows, creativity thrives, and both the client and the agency win together. And I must say we are fortunate to have clients who are in partnership mode. Gratitude! We have proactively distanced ourselves from the others. Amrit Ahuja Kiran Ray Chaudhury

Most people only see sales from the front. The pitch The persuasion The pipeline. But behind the scenes, especially in Southeast Asia, sales live inside partnerships. No matter how good a seller is, you can’t win alone. Not in tech. Not in enterprise. Not in SEA. There are always three groups moving together: 🧩 The principal partner (product, brand, enablement) 🧩 The delivery partner (execution, workflows, customer support) 🧩 The humans (personalities, motivations, culture) When these three align, outcomes look easy. When they don’t, deals feel “stuck” even when interest is high. And if I’m honest, dynamics are never perfect. Different priorities. Different timelines. Different definitions of urgency. But the thing that makes partnerships actually work is much simpler: → Respect (for each role) → Openness (to share the real situation) → Accountability (to deliver when it’s your turn) Without these, a partnership becomes a logo exchange. With these, it becomes a real growth engine. --- 👉🏻 I’ve been lucky to experience this close-up. Chloe Teo on the HubSpot side - patient, sharp, and supportive. Surindren Manickam on our side at VLAN Asia - relentless in keeping us visible, credible and on track with "Making Things Right". Vinoth Sekaran a big part of keeping this engine running. And now Daryl Loh stepping in - you can already feel the gears turning again. 👉🏻 Then there’s the cultural layer. Partnerships in the US are contract-first: “Scope, SLA, roles, done.” In Southeast Asia, it’s relationship-first: “Do I trust you? Will you show up when things get messy?” The first is transactional. The second is relational. Both can work but in SEA, relational trust often decides who gets the phone call, who gets looped into deals, and who gets invited into strategy. 👉🏻 Visibility plays a role too. It’s not just about being technically capable - the partner needs to know you exist and trust you enough to put you in front of their customers. Surin has been carrying that torch for years - keeping VLAN visible with principal brands like HubSpot and earning the right to be considered. That’s how deals get distributed. That’s how collaborations scale. 👉🏻 And finally: Clarity. When principals and partners aren’t clear about: → who drives what → how the customer buys → where the friction actually is the customer experiences confusion, not confidence. When there’s clarity, deals move. When there’s no clarity, they “remain in consideration” forever. --- People romanticize sales as a lone ranger job. The truth? A lone ranger can close some deals. But partnerships close markets. 2026 will reward the companies who partner well, not just pitch well. Thank you Hubspot partner team for an exciting 2025 ♥️ ✌🏻

Working in partnerships teaches you that strategy looks very different depending on where you’re standing. At American Express, partnerships were all about being selective and strategic. With Amex’s brand reputation, we attracted a steady stream of potential partners. But every opportunity was rigorously evaluated to ensure it aligned with our brand’s high standards and operational scale. Partnerships with major retailers and airlines was about keeping pace and elevating the brand’s value across multiple customer segments. Now contrast that with my time at SumAll, a scrappy startup trying to make a name for itself. The challenge wasn’t filtering through partner interest, it was generating it. I vividly remember the hustle it took to position ourselves as an indispensable partner to industry leaders like Square. Success wasn’t about being a household name, it was about aligning OUR solution to THEIR customers’ needs, like helping small businesses measure the impact of social media on their sales. In both cases, the foundation of partnerships is the same: Deeply understanding your partner’s needs and finding ways to create mutual value. Whether you’re at a global giant or a nimble startup, building partnerships requires adaptability, creativity, and a relentless focus on solving problems for your partner. Start by creating a simple “Partner Value Map.” List your potential partner’s goals and pain points, then align your strengths to how you can help them succeed. This clarity will make your outreach and partnership conversations more compelling and strategic.

A partnership without internal champions becomes everyone’s side project and nobody’s priority. That is one of the biggest reasons partnerships lose momentum. Externally, the partner might be excited. The agreement might be signed. The opportunity might be real. But internally? Sales is focused on this quarter’s number. Marketing is focused on campaign performance. Customer success is focused on retention. Product is focused on the roadmap. Finance is focused on ROI. Leadership is focused on growth. So if partnerships are only owned by the partnership team, they will always be fighting for attention. That is why internal champions matter. You need someone in sales who understands when to bring a partner into a deal. Someone in marketing who sees how partners can expand reach and create better demand. Someone in customer success who understands how partners can improve adoption and retention. Someone in RevOps who can make sure partner activity is actually tracked. Someone in leadership who can connect partnerships to the business goals that matter. Because saying “partnerships are strategic” is not enough. Strategic to which part of the business? The CFO cares about efficient growth. The CRO cares about pipeline, close rates and revenue. The CMO cares about reach, quality demand and market credibility. Customer success cares about retention and better customer outcomes. Product cares about adoption, integrations and customer value. If your partner metrics do not connect to those priorities, they will look like activity. Not strategy. That is where many partnership programs struggle. They report on partner meetings, partner signings and partner conversations. But they do not show how those activities support the goals leadership already cares about. The shift is simple. Stop asking the business to care about partnerships in isolation. Start showing each function how partnerships help them hit their goals. That is when partnerships move from being “the partner team’s work” to part of the company’s growth engine. Because partnerships do not get funded by belief. They get funded by alignment, ownership and measurable business impact. Where do partnerships lose momentum most often in your business: sales, marketing, RevOps, customer success or leadership?

Do you believe what’s best for the customer is what’s best for the business? No really, do you? Let’s be honest. If you’re a Customer Success or Account Management leader, you’ve probably said: 💡 “Let’s just focus on what’s best for the customer.” That’s a great instinct. It’s the right instinct. But here’s where we need to level up 👇 What’s best for the customer is also what fuels revenue and enables our companies to grow. Not short-term appeasement. Not saying yes to every ask out of fear of churn. Not over-servicing until we burn out our teams. What customers really need? ✅ Partners who are strong, healthy, and still here tomorrow. ✅ Capabilities that help them grow and not just support them today. ✅ A company that is investing forward, not just fixing backward. And that only happens when we grow, too. 🔁 So here's a mindset pivot: From Support to Strategic Driver This isn’t about being more “salesy.” It’s about being more strategic (yes, we've all heard and said this before). Your CSMs have the closest view of: 🙏 What customers really need next 🛑 What blockers are in the way of growth 💰 What outcomes matter in each segment They see the signals. They hold the trust. And they can be the voice that rallies the org to create future value and not just react to current pain. But only if we lead the mindset shift. 🧠 ✅ Here are 3 Steps to Make the Shift 1️⃣ Connect Customer Health to Company Health Revenue metrics like NRR and GRR aren’t just business outcomes. They are signals of value delivered. Use them to reinforce that we only win when our customers do. 2️⃣ Push for Strategic Conversations Move beyond “how are things going” into “where are you trying to go.” 3️⃣ Rally the Org Around What’s Next Customer Success should not be the team that gets looped in after the problem. It should be the team shaping roadmaps, offers, and partnerships based on customer needs 6 to 12 months out. 🔚 A Final Word Customer-first does not mean company-last. It means ensuring we are strong enough to serve — now and in the future. Let’s stop treating CS like the team that prevents churn. Let’s lead it like the team that builds growth. The future isn’t handed to us. We create it. With our customers. Together. #CreateTheFuture #CustomerSuccess #AccountManagement #PostSalesLeadership #NextSalesLeadership #CustomerGrowth #StrategicLeadership #NRRMatters #LeadTheChange

CROs and CDMOs are finally figuring out what biotechs have been trying to tell them for years: we don't want vendors, we want partners. The shift is unmistakable. Emerging biotechs are looking for strategic allies who can navigate regulatory complexity, co-create adaptive trial designs, and share the risk of bringing breakthrough therapies to market. Here's what's driving this: Small biotech teams are stretched thin. They need partners who don't just follow protocols but help write them. Who don't just manage sites but anticipate roadblocks. Who don't just deliver data but provide strategic guidance on what it means. The partners winning these engagements aren't competing on price or capacity. They're proving they can be an extension of the sponsor's team. Co-authored whitepapers. Shared IP development. Executive alignment at the C-suite level. When a CRO or CDMO can point to genuine strategic partnerships - not just satisfied clients - it signals operational maturity that emerging biotechs desperately need. The transactional model is dead. Strategic partnership is the new competitive advantage.

Ad agencies over-index on account management and digital firms (that’s 40% of our client base) under-index on that function. Every firm, regardless of type, though, needs dedicated strategists and planners, too, which leaves AMs wondering where they fit in the big picture on the subject of delivering strategy. So here’s some thinking on how strategic AMs need to be, and how exactly they pull that off, in five parts: 1/No client interaction should occur without including the account manager. In those settings, sometimes an account person is leading the discussion and sometimes they step back after introducing the SME, but they are always in the loop. 2/Never shield other employees from the client. So when we argue for the client manager's role, we're arguing for what they are responsible for, not for who interfaces with the client. It's frequently critical to have a researcher, writer, designer, UX person, media planner, or creative director meet with the client in person. But they are never primarily responsible for that relationship. 3/An account manager knows what questions to ask. This is a very valuable skill that very few other employees possess. A skilled account person knows what to ask and how to ask it, and they speak the language of strategy even if they aren't the primary strategist. (So, while an account person knows what questions to ask, the strategist knows how to answer them...or how to correct the client's answers.) 4/Great account managers are too accessible to be viewed strategically. This is definitely not a statement about the degree to which account people are smart—it's only a statement about how clients prefer to manage their own perceptions. In developed cultures, experts are not accessible, and so a strategist who bounces in and out of the relationship (never without the account person) is listened to more carefully. If you look out from the window seat on an airplane because you're trying to figure out why the flight is late pushing back from the gate, you don't want to see the pilot, in uniform, helping load the final bags. 5/The best account people can present recommendations better than anyone else. That's just a skill that's right smack in their wheelhouse. They understand a particular client and they could talk for an hour about the nuances of the politics within that organization. They have excellent presentation skills. They speak the language of strategy, as noted above. They can read a room without getting lost in the actual presenting. They can "sell" ideas. And so on. Yes, someone else can be in the room and even have an active role in presenting, but the spotlight is on the account person. I’ll end this by just noting a very important point that most firms seem to forget: clients notice deficiencies in the quality of the account management and project management long before they’ll notice deficiencies in the quality of the work itself.

This Omdia poll tells a story every partner leader should sit with for a moment. Partners aren’t asking for more swag. They’re asking for access, relevance, and proximity to decisions. When 40% say the most valuable non-monetary incentive is exclusive access to resources and enablement, that’s not a training problem — that’s a time-to-value problem. Partners want to be better, faster, and more credible in front of customers. --> Enablement is currency. The next tier is even more revealing. Relationship-building events, recognition, and strategy sessions with leadership all cluster tightly together. Translation: partners want to be seen, heard, and trusted. Not managed. Not processed. Included. What ranks lowest? Personalized merchandise. Swag doesn’t move pipelines. Access does. This mirrors what we see across partner ecosystems more broadly. As buying journeys fragment and deals surround themselves with more influencers, partners are optimizing for signal over stuff. They want insight before it’s public, alignment before the deal is registered, and a seat at the table before the customer decides. In fact, recognition beyond the point-of-sale is the #1 thing they are asking for. If incentives can follow, even better. The takeaway is simple: the best partner programs don’t lead with money or merch. They lead with information, influence, and intimacy. In the next era of partnerships, incentives won’t be transactional. They’ll be strategic.