Partnerships – A New Approach

During the last quarter, we have reviewed the progress of our partnership program, taking an objective view of what has worked (and what hasn’t!) and examining our overall approach.

Interestingly, as we discussed this review and our plans for change with both existing and potential partners, a growing and fundamental shift in the alliance/partnership space became apparent. The more people we spoke to, the clearer it became that several vendors and service providers are undergoing similar exercises and reaching similar conclusions.

Put simply, it’s a shift away from partnerships for the sake of partnerships. It is a logical but fundamental change from a reactive to a proactive approach, focusing on positive and mutually beneficial business development relationships.

Just one example was at the NAB conference in Las Vegas earlier this year, where I had a conversation with a highly experienced global head of partners from a vendor we have an early-stage relationship with. During our discussions, we discovered that we were facing very similar challenges, albeit from different perspectives—one as a vendor and the other as a service provider.

It became clear that we shared the same thoughts about making changes to our overall approach. The global head of partners mentioned that their business was looking to refine their partnerships by shedding partners who simply “sit around waiting for deals to be passed to them.” Instead, they aim to engage with companies that offer mutual potential benefit and a willingness to proactively engage in business development.

As part of our refined partnership offering, we are looking to work with partners to identify and open mutually beneficial opportunities, enabling all parties to benefit and collectively reach new clients. We have examined how this approach works, and our partner engagement model brings significant benefits to the table, including:

• Shared knowledge
• Flexible engagement models
• Resource sharing
• Market expansion
• Risk mitigation
• Strengthened service offerings
• Focus on the highest quality client service

We are really excited to move forward with this approach and have already started engaging with several close partners who share our way of thinking. Together, we are exploring joint proof-of-concepts, combined exhibiting, proactive business development, and collaborative marketing.

Last month, our efforts received a significant boost with the appointment of Luke Boyle as Chief Growth Officer here at UIC. Luke and I have dedicated considerable time to ensuring that our revised partnership approach aligns with and serves our overall strategic growth objectives.

If you feel that you’re aligned with this approach and would like to talk further about proactive, mutually beneficial partnerships, please reach out to either Paul Clement or Luke Boyle – we’d love to talk with you!