Technology Alliances? You’re Doing Them Wrong. How, you ask? Let Me Count the Ways...
Technology alliances are often hailed as catalysts for growth and innovation. As they should be! Yet, many (actually, make that most) companies clumsily stumble in their execution, leading to missed opportunities and strained partnerships. Before I step foot into any given organization, I’ve got a very good chance of correctly guessing that they’re committing one or more common mistakes.
Which mistakes, you ask? In no particular order, here’s a rapid-fire list:
Starting without an overall strategy
Misunderstanding or overestimating one’s role in the ecosystem
Neglecting internal alignment
Failing to appreciate the importance of aligned interests with prospective partners
Failing to adopt and outside-in perspective
Neglecting the oh-so-important human element in alliances
Ignoring the long game (i.e., being too short-sighted)
Overlooking the criticality of Marketing in alliances
Lacking a structured NPI-like approach for alliances
Failing to have success metrics in place
And that’s just a sampling! Want a little more detail? Let’s explore some of these pitfalls here…
1. Starting Without a Strategy
This is an easy one to start with because it’s so jaw-droopingly common. Jumping into alliances without a clear strategy is a recipe for failure. “Well, sure. No kidding,” you say. Fair enough. But, yet, somehow it’s the norm. Leaders get excited and skip ahead to the Press Release.
Ostensibly, your company has an overarching business outcome it desires, which then leads to a strategy, which leads to organizational decisions and tactics. Your alliances plan is born there.
Each partnership should have defined objectives, whether it's entering new markets, enhancing product offerings, or driving revenue growth. In other words, it serves corporate goals. Without this clarity, alliances become aimless endeavors.
2. Misunderstanding Your Role in the Ecosystem
It's crucial to recognize where your solution fits within the customer's broader ecosystem. As highlighted in Know…and Accept…Your Place in the Ecosystem! - Nobody Buys a Farm Just Because They Have a Tractor (January 27, 2025), your product is likely a potential component of a larger solution. Understanding this dynamic ensures you position your offering appropriately with prospective alliance partners.
Leaders far too often are blind to where they actually fit in a given pecking order of multi-faceted solutions. In fact, leaders are susceptible to delusions of grandeur as it relates to their perceived “Alpha status” in an ecosystem. This leads to misalignment out in the real world. Playing…and, thus, exploiting…your actual position is the likeliest path to success.
3. Neglecting Internal Alignment
Successful alliances require buy-in from all relevant departments. This is especially true with the Product team. As discussed in If the Product Team isn’t On Board, Your Alliance is Doomed to Fail (December 9, 2024), without their support, execution becomes challenging, and the partnership may falter.
Actually, scratch that. It becomes impossible and the alliance WILL falter. I’ve never seen an alliance reach its potential if the Product team was not in support (or, at a minimum, not against it). This is the case even if there is no actual integration with the alliance partner’s solution (i.e., even if it’s “merely” an interoperability play). Product group support is compulsory.
4. Overlooking the Importance of Aligned Interests
For an alliance to thrive, both parties must have aligned interests and see mutual benefits. The blog Unlocking Success: The Essential Role of Aligned Interests in Technology Alliances (March 27, 2024) emphasizes the importance of shared vision and mutual goals.
If you’re interests aren’t aligned, how can you effectively collaborate? Seems like a simple question, yet a lack of aligned interests between two “alliance partners” occurs rather often. “It takes two to tango” is a cliche for a reason.
This is not a profound notion, of course. Yet I’ve been frequently surprised by how seldomly a leader will demonstrate deep curiosity about the other side’s motivation. It doesn’t necessarily create a blind spot, but it absolutely leads to suboptimal collaboration.
5. Failing to Adopt an Outside-In Perspective
Related, companies often become insular, focusing solely on their own products and strategies (related to number 2 above). Adopting an outside-in perspective, as highlighted in The Outside-In Perspective - Insights and Reflections from Our Recent Tech Alliances Consulting Engagement (September 24, 2024), involves “zooming out” to get a refreshed perspective and, likely, shaking up corporate inertia.
More specifically, the point is this: Ask yourself, “If not for the fact that we’ve been doing it this way for a while now, knowing what we know now, is THIS how we would do it?” If you’re honest with yourself, the answer is almost always, “Well, since you ask, no. It isn’t. We’d change (these things).”
This is particularly important in alliances given the dynamic nature of tech. “Knowing what we know now, does this alliance…executed in this way…make sense anymore? Is this how we should partner in this changed environment?” You need to frequently ask these questions. Yet, alas, this sort of introspection is far too rare.
6. Neglecting the Human Element
At their core, alliances are about people. Building strong personal relationships can be the difference between mediocrity and success, particularly when inevitable difficulties arise. As noted in People Make Alliances (January 6, 2025), the human connection is a critical component of effective partnerships.
It’s just a fact that people will work harder, give more, listen better, think more critically…etc…if they care about the person on the other side of the table. You need the right skills, which include so-called “soft skills,” on the team. Yet, leaders often overlook this by understaffing and/or incorrectly staffing alliance teams. The art of “making friends and influencing people” must be revered and nourished.
7. Ignoring the Long Game
Alliances are not quick fixes. They require long-term commitment and patience. The blog The Long Game: Lessons from Fitness for Technology Alliances (December 3, 2024) draws parallels between fitness journeys and alliances, emphasizing the importance of perseverance.
People tend to overestimate how quickly they’ll see results from a new exercise regimen. But, conversely, they underestimate the impact they’ll see from that regimen over the course of a year. This is true with alliances, as well.
Just as is the case with a product launch, an alliance initiative requires a bit of time to mature and have impact. Yet, many alliance initiatives are abandoned before they come to fruition. “We put out the Press Release announcing this alliance last quarter. Where are the POs?!,” can predictably be heard in the halls of executive row. In these moments, it would appear that patience is not a virtue. And that’s a shame because you miss out on reaping the benefit of what was deemed to be a great opportunity. All due to a lack of patience.
8. Overlooking the Power of Marketing in Alliances
While sales are often the focus, marketing can play a more crucial role in the success of alliances. In fact, without marketing, Sales is unlikely to see the benefit. The blog Beyond Sales: Unveiling the Marketing Power of Technology Alliances (February 15, 2024) explores how marketing can…and should…amplify the impact of partnerships.
In the realm of business strategy, technology alliances have long been recognized for their potential to drive Sales and revenue growth. However, what often goes unnoticed is their primary benefit and role: they are, more than anything, Marketing differentiators. Technology alliances should serve as powerful marketing instruments that can significantly enhance a company's brand visibility, credibility, and market positioning.
If an alliance represents enough of a go-to-market opportunity that you put in the effort to form the alliance, treat it as such and let Marketing play a leading role.
9. Skipping a Structured Approach
Building alliances without a defined process is like setting out on a cross-country road trip without a plan and GPS. You have an NPI process for new product introduction. Why would you not apply the same rigor to a strategic alliance?
The IPE&R process—Initiate, Plan, Execute, and Review—is a structured framework that ensures every alliance is set up for success. As detailed in “Ensuring Success: The IPE&R Process for Technology Alliances” (January 19, 2025), this process enforces rigor at every stage, from defining objectives to executing plans and reviewing outcomes.
When companies skip this step (or should I say “these steps”), alliances often flounder due to misalignment, lack of accountability, or poor execution. A structured approach is not optional—it's fundamental.
10. Ignoring the Importance of Success Metrics
Related to IPE&R, how do you know if an alliance is working if you don’t have a way to measure success? Too often, companies leap into partnerships with vague goals and no clear metrics for evaluating progress. As outlined in “Unlocking Success: The Importance ofSuccess Metrics in Technology Alliances” (January 20, 2025), alliances must be evaluated against specific, measurable metrics. These might include revenue growth, marketing-qualified leads (MQLs), or even broader goals like brand recognition or competitive positioning.
Without these metrics—and the leading indicators that track progress in the early stages of an alliance—it’s impossible to course-correct or determine whether the alliance is delivering value. Measuring success is not just about keeping score; it’s about driving accountability and continuous improvement.
In Closing…
OK, that took awhile. Thanks for hanging in there to the end. There are more miscues I could list here. MANY more. But I’ve likely stretched your attention span a bit far at this point. I think this list is comprehensive enough for me to make my point, though.
By recognizing and addressing these common pitfalls, technology companies can forge stronger, more effective alliances that drive innovation and growth. Wish to collaborate? You can contact me here: https://www.cascadialeadershipadvisors.com/contact
