Ecosystem Aces

Going from idea to app in just eight weeks sounds crazy, right? This seemingly insane timeframe is what Appian — an app development company — has built so many prolific partnerships on. Appian found what they do well and they can do it fast. Ultimately, their business model has produced numerous win/win/win situations for them, their partners, and the end customers. In this episode of Ecosystem Ac...

Alliance & partner managers: What if we managed our partnerships the way Amazon does? What if we created a buying, delivery, packaging, and customer success experience that was just as seamless as theirs? Perhaps easier said than done, but Justin Silvia is here to tell us his tips on building seamless customer experiences while managing complex partnerships. Justin Silvia is the Executive Director...

On this episode, David Herring joins us to share his 3 “Es” of success within alliances. David Herring is the Senior Channel Manager of Partner Programs at Spectrum Enterprise. What we talked about: Engage Enable Educate Connect with the strategic initiatives of the executive team You don’t have to always be a perfect fit To contact the host, Chip Rodgers, with topic ideas, suggest a guest, or joi...

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Andrew Mackenzie, Global SI and Channel Program Leader at Pivotal.   He came on the Ecosystem Aces show to talk about Pivotal, their partners, and how they’re dedicated to “partnering differently.”   What we discuss:   A consumption-first go-to-market strategy A 3-week training program partners want to explore How Pivotal’s unique go-to-market strate...

Microsoft has built a lot of great alliances, but they’re not stopping there.   They’re constantly coming up with innovative ways to increase their engagement with them, their partners, and all products within the Microsoft ecosystem.   On this episode of the Ecosystem Aces podcast, Jeff Fritz, Senior Program Manager on the Microsoft .NET team, joined us to tell us all about it.   What we talked a...

If you’re considering a reseller/channel partner program, this is the episode for you. Marc Palombo joins host Chip Rodgers to discuss channel partnerships. Marc has worked with channels for over 25 years. Now, he’s the Reseller Program Manager at AvidXchange, a payment solution that's now working with over 540,000 B2B suppliers, which, according to Marc, makes it the largest B2B supplier network....

It used to be all about vendors, but not anymore. Now it’s about collaboration between vendors and partners, with partners taking on new roles every day. On this episode, I got to interview Gina Batali-Brooks, president of Is Inspired. What we talked about: New channel technology promoting process orchestration 2 ways Gina measures success Why simpfliciation is a competitive advantage Gina’s 3 bes...

When you’re delivering value together, you need to keep things focused on the customer. But before you can do that, you have to build alliance trust. On this episode, I interview Todd Dalton, Strategic Cloud Alliance Manager at Equinix, at Microsoft Inspire in Las Vegas. What we talked about: The eighth layer of the seven-layer OSI model — politics 3 ways to manage the complexities of alliance Pro...

It’s not a one-stop shop anymore. If you’re not leveraging your whole ecosystem, you’re not fulfilling your potential. On this episode of Alliance Aces, I interview Carrie White, Director of Enterprise Partner Sales at Xactly Corporation, about leveraging alliances. What we talked about: The Power of Three (her three-pronged approach to working with vendors) Being industry agnostic and industry sp...

Marketing is built on alliances — internally with every single part of the company and externally, both upstream and downstream.  The great thing about marketing is being in charge of what happens at the very beginning of that funnel and that engagement, but at the same time being a partner with every single subset of the business.  On this podcast episode (recorded live at Microsoft Inspire in La...

Alliances are key to our success. Most people think of partners as external, but the partnership between strategic alliances and sales is essential. My two guests on this episode about internal and external partnerships are Sanjeev Mittal, General Manager and Business Head of Data Analytics and AI, and Rajat Sinha, Senior Director of Strategic Alliances and Partnerships for Data Analytics and AI —...

Last month at Microsoft Inspire we had the chance to chat with Bailey Cahill. She leads Global Cloud Alliances at Ensono, “the largest Microsoft partner you’ve probably never heard of.”  She came on this episode of the Alliance Aces podcast to talk about what it’s like to work with Microsoft and to share her tips for successfully managing that alliance. Here’s what we talked about: Staying organiz...

Some companies are trying to figure out who can help them. When what they should be doing is trying to figure out how they can help others. I was excited to talk to Jay Vigeland, the Global Microsoft Alliance Lead for Sprinklr, live at Microsoft Inspire in Las Vegas, where we got to discuss empathy. What we talked about: Learning about others takes empathy Being human-to-human means showing up Per...

Where can you take your startup from 18 employees to over 150 in just three years? (Not to mention nine offices in seven countries.) The startup nation: Israel, of course. On today’s episode of Alliance Aces, I’m joined by Shirley Ashkenazi, Director of Strategic Alliances and Business Development at Kryon, an innovative RPA (robotic process automation) company. We talked about how strategic allia...

No one goes to market alone. It takes partners to deliver results.  Finding the right partner can be a challenge. However, when this is intentionally built into your business model it allows your company to work collaboratively and make the most of your resources. Jan Twombly is the President of the Rhythm of Business. She works in partnering with organizations as a strategic alliance consultant,...

Citrix isn’t your grandpa's Citrix anymore. They’ve made a lot of transitions over the past several years and have made a major pivot toward employee engagement.  What they’re delivering today is all partner based solutions. Obviously, that means alliances are key to enabling the success of these pivots and strategic efforts.  On this episode of the Alliance Aces podcast, we had the chance to talk...

Successful relationships are founded on give and take. You may be thinking that partnering with a non-profit organization is all give and no take.  Think again. GitLab’s Director of Technical Evangelist, Priyanka Sharma, fills us in on the benefits of partnering with a nonprofit in your industry. In this episode, we also cover open-source ecosystems, measuring alliance success, telling a meaningfu...

In this episode of the Alliance Aces podcast we look at the exciting career of an industry icon, Mike Thomas.  Mike is the GM of Ecosystem Practice at ActiveWorld, a company that has transformed the ecosystem and alliance processes for tech companies. On this exciting episode we hear from an industry veteran who has worked with companies such as IBM, MIcrosoft, Cisco, and many other tech giants. ...

Are your strategic alliances turning stale? Oftentimes, we end up putting in more work to obtain strategic partnerships than we do to maintain them. It can be difficult to find the value we saw in them at first. Luckily, Airship’s Senior Director of Global Alliances, Forest Yule, recently discussed some key methods to cultivating more value from your partnerships. Listen here.

The IoT world expands exponentially almost daily. Companies are rapidly innovating and combining their technologies together to deliver on increasing customer expectations. So, how can IoT companies optimize their entire ecosystem to deliver joint solutions? We asked Bill Johnson this very question at IoT World 2019 on our #AllianceAces podcast. Bill is the Marketing Director at Teledyne LeCroy, a...

Alliance opportunities abound. Finding them can be tricky.  On this episode of the #AllianceAces podcast, Gary Bernier joined us to share several ways to find and succeed with alliance opportunities. In this episode, we discuss: Where to find alliance opportunities The necessary ingredients for alliance success How to use coopetition to your advantage

If you’re fortunate enough to be with a company that values alliances, the next task is to expand your ecosystem. It can be challenging to find the right partners, onboard them, and ensure the quality of the product and support is maintained across the delivery chain. Andrew Lezon met that challenge (and succeeded). He’s the Senior Director of Channel Sales & Partner Programs at LivePerson. He cam...

Why should you trust WorkSpan with your partnerships and alliances? That’s a great question. We don’t have 1 reason for you. We have 5. For this episode of the #AllianceAces podcast, Chip and Guarav did a special Facebook Live interview from SAPPHIRE in Orlando, Florida. They talked about transparency, the success of the entire ecosystem, how value differs from company to company, driving results,...

Any business wants to have good solid partnerships. Nobody gets successful all on their own, and establishing a good partner program is crucial to the success of any company, particularly in the software and technology field. But how do you go about building a partner program? How do you bring the right people along, provide the right levels of support, and structure your program in a way that’s b...

If you’re wanting fast insights into the future of alliances, this is the #Alliance Aces episode for you. We interviewed Chris Webber, a true Alliance Ace. He’s the current Director of Strategic Alliances at IDC. PReviously, he worked with Cisco and Nortel to manage global business plans and alliances. On this episode, he discussing the emerging trends of alliances, including the growing necessity...