Inside Partnering

Nancy Sperry: Scaling Through Co-Sell, AI, and Industry Expertise

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit insidepartnering.substack.com [https://insidepartnering.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] At Sage FUTURE in San Francisco, Nancy Sperry [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancysperry/], Vice President of North American Partner Sales at Sage, shared a practical view into how Sage approaches partnerships, co-selling, and AI enablement. The conversation focused on operational execution - how to help partners scale faster, create industry-specific customer outcomes, and build durable businesses together. One theme came through consistently: Sage is designing its ecosystem strategy around partner growth, not just partner participation. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Building a Partner Business Sperry framed Sage’s approach around a simple idea: if partners grow, Sage grows alongside them. “How do we remove the barriers to growth for the partner? That’s an incredible kind of focus.” Rather than viewing partnerships strictly through pipeline contribution or resale metrics, Sage appears to be thinking more holistically about partner economics and operational scalability. Sperry described investments in tooling, acquisitions, AI capabilities, and co-sell motions as intentionally designed to help partners execute faster. “All of it is designed to be executed through the lens of partner.” That philosophy extends into how Sage structures its go-to-market organization. According to Sperry, Sage’s North American partner organization works closely alongside partner sales teams in the field, helping partners add sales capacity, industry expertise, and execution support. Co-Sell as Staff Augmentation One of the more interesting operational models discussed was Sage’s approach to co-selling. Sperry explained that Sage account executives can effectively operate as an extension of partner sales teams. “What that does is it actually gives partners some additional sales capacity.” For smaller or growing partners, this becomes a meaningful scaling mechanism. Instead of waiting until they can independently fund new headcount, partners can leverage Sage resources to accelerate pipeline development and industry expansion. Sperry described this as a practical way to help partners grow faster while reducing operational friction. “If they want to go into a particular industry, we can add a little bit of industry knowledge.” That support can include: * Additional sales coverage * Industry specialization * Mentorship for new partner reps * Joint customer engagement * Pipeline acceleration Importantly, she framed this as a shared investment model. “We’re investing together.” That alignment matters because many partners are balancing hiring decisions, utilization targets, and services capacity while simultaneously trying to grow recurring revenue practices. The Power of Micro-Vertical Expertise Another major theme was Sage’s focus on industry depth. Sperry explained that while Sage serves many broad industries, partners often go even deeper into highly specialized micro-verticals. “We have over 50 micro verticals that we can kind of talk about.” This is where the ecosystem becomes a force multiplier. Partners combine: * Sage technology * Industry expertise * Specialized services * ISV integrations * Workflow customization The result is highly tailored customer experiences that are difficult for generalized providers to replicate. Sperry also highlighted how partners frequently overlap across multiple ecosystem motions simultaneously. A reseller may also build proprietary technology. An outsourcing partner may also operate as an ISV. That flexibility creates broader customer coverage and more specialized outcomes. “One partner may not solve that challenge exactly the same way.” For partner leaders, that observation matters. Ecosystems increasingly win through combinations of expertise rather than through single-vendor standardization. Trusted AI Requires Trusted Partners AI was a central topic throughout Sage FUTURE, particularly around trusted AI for finance and accounting workflows. Sperry emphasized that Sage’s long history in accounting gives the company a strong foundation for responsible AI adoption. “We get to build on the foundation of not just strong strength in accounting, but also bringing forward that trusted AI.” She also made an important point about the role partners play in AI adoption. For many customers, the partner is the first trusted advisor they turn to when evaluating how AI should be applied to their business. That’s why Sage is involving partners directly in AI development initiatives, including its agentic AI developer program. “They’re building AI with us.” Sperry referenced partners already building agents and AI-driven solutions on top of Sage capabilities. This reflects a broader ecosystem trend: hyperscalers and platform companies increasingly need partners not just to sell AI, but to operationalize it within specific workflows and industries.

Gretchen O’Hara: The New Partner Playbook for AI, Ecosystems, and SMB Growth

At Sage FUTURES in San Francisco, Gretchen O’Hara [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gretchen-ohara/] delivered a clear message to partners: the market is shifting fast - and the opportunity is massive. But despite the noise around AI, one thing hasn’t changed. Partners are still at the center of how businesses win. “The channel is one of the most important things because our partners are the ones that have the deepest industry expertise and are closest to customers that can really solve their unique, unique business challenges.” AI may accelerate execution, but it doesn’t replace the need for domain expertise, customer proximity, and trusted advisory. In fact, it amplifies it. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Cutting Through AI Noise with Real Value One of the biggest challenges partners face today is separating signal from noise. There’s hype everywhere - startups, tools, promises of automation. But Sage is pushing partners toward something more grounded: delivering real, measurable value to customers. “There’s a lot of hype on AI, there’s a lot of startups, there’s a lot of noise in the market. And so how do we help our partners sort of cut through that noise? Delivering real value with AI to our customers.” For SMB customers in particular, the bar is high. These are financial systems. Accuracy and trust are non-negotiable. “AI has to be right a hundred percent of the time in this space and SMBs shouldn’t expect anything less.” That requirement fundamentally shapes how partners need to approach AI - not as experimentation, but as production-grade capability tied directly to business outcomes. The AWS + Sage Strategy: Enabling the Ecosystem A major announcement at the event was Sage’s strategic collaboration with AWS. But this wasn’t framed as just a technology partnership - it’s an ecosystem play. The goal is to enable partners to build, extend, and monetize solutions on top of Sage’s platform using modern AI infrastructure. Three priorities stand out: * Enable ISVs and builders to create extensions via an agentic marketplace * Remove friction from customer migration to modern cloud environments * Deepen co-sell collaboration across Sage, AWS, and partners The intent is clear: reduce barriers, accelerate adoption, and create new revenue opportunities for partners. “We want to remove the complexity. We want to remove the financial risk… and help our partners make that move with our customers faster.” This is less about incremental improvement and more about unlocking a new phase of ecosystem-driven growth. A Defining Moment for Partners O’Hara was explicit about timing. This is not a “wait and see” moment. “The time is now. The time is to really focus on making sure that you’re bringing the best delivery, the best service, the best advisory to your customers.” The partners who commit early - especially in areas like agentic AI and modern finance workflows - will have a structural advantage. At the same time, Sage is signaling that it intends to bring the entire ecosystem along, not just a subset of leading partners. PwC and the Shift in the SI Business Model One of the most important signals came from Sage’s announcement with PwC. The core idea: use AI to dramatically reduce implementation timelines - from months down to a fraction of that - and shift value toward higher-level services. “Reduce implementation time… and shift the value of the dollars that customers are spending, not on the time it takes for the implementation, but the value we’re going to get on these integrated workflows.” This represents a fundamental shift in how system integrators operate. Historically, revenue was tied heavily to implementation effort. But in an AI-driven world, that model starts to break down. “Why am I paying these billable hours for something that should be easy to run and go and help me?” Instead, partners move up the stack: * Advisory services * Solution design * AI-driven innovation * Ongoing optimization “My billable hours aren’t going to go away… but the value I’m bringing to customers is so much higher.” For partners willing to evolve, this is not a threat - it’s an expansion of opportunity. From Implementation to Lifetime Value Another key shift is how partners think about customer relationships. In a cloud and AI-driven world, success isn’t defined by implementation - it’s defined by ongoing adoption, usage, and impact. “You are now a strategic advisor in that business… you’re going to stay, you’re going to retain, you’re going to grow that customer.” This changes the economic model: * Less focus on one-time projects * More focus on lifetime customer value * Greater emphasis on retention and expansion Partners who lean into this transition can build more durable, scalable businesses. The Unique Strength of the Sage Ecosystem After six months in the role, O’Hara highlighted something she sees as distinctive about Sage. “Partners are our strategy. It’s not afterthought, it’s not an add on, it is the ecosystem of how we’re going to make this future win together.” That level of commitment shapes everything - from product direction to GTM strategy. It also creates a foundation for long-term trust and collaboration, including multi-generational partner relationships. But even within that strong foundation, partners are asking for clarity. How do we win in this next phase? How do we monetize AI? How do we evolve our business models? Those are the questions Sage is now focused on helping answer. Final Thought The biggest takeaway from this conversation is not about AI itself. It’s about the role of partners in an AI-driven market. AI will change how solutions are built, delivered, and monetized. But the partners who understand customer needs, bring industry expertise, and deliver real outcomes will only become more important. 🎙️ Inside Partnering is a podcast for ecosystem builders, alliance leaders, and the people shaping the future of partnerships. Let’s build the future of partnering - together. 📌 If you found this post helpful, would you please consider restacking it and sharing it with your audience? This spreads the word and keeps me interviewing and sharing content that will help you grow your partnership business and career. Thanks for reading Inside Partnering! This post is public so feel free to share it. 🎧 Want more conversations like this? 💌 Subscribe to get new episodes and behind-the-scenes insights: insidepartnering.substack.com [http://insidepartnering.substack.com] Check out all 130+ episodes at InsidePartnering.com [http://InsidePartnering.com] 🔗 Follow Chip on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers] for daily partnership content and guest clips Know someone Chip should interview? Send a quick email [chip@insidepartnering.com]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit insidepartnering.substack.com/subscribe [https://insidepartnering.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Rajiv Batra: From Industry Insight to Scalable Partner Solutions

For years, partnerships with global systems integrators were often viewed through a narrow lens - implementation, services, and support. Rajiv Batra challenges that assumption directly. “A lot of times when we work with GSIs… there is a notion that it’s more focused on process consulting… I will say that’s not fully true.” Instead, GSIs are increasingly central to building differentiated, industry-specific solutions. The real value is not just delivery - it is co-creation. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Start with Industry, Not Technology One of the most important shifts Rajiv describes is where solution building begins. Not with products. Not with features. But with industry patterns. “Pick an industry… focus on what exactly are the common patterns which we are seeing… the challenges our customers are facing.” GSIs bring decades of domain expertise across healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and beyond. That knowledge becomes the foundation for building solutions that actually resonate. Google Cloud and ISV partners brings the platform and technology. GSI Partners bring the context. Together, they build something neither could deliver alone. The Blurring of ISV and SI Roles One of the most interesting dynamics in the conversation is how traditional categories are breaking down. “The lines are blurred now.” GSIs are no longer just implementers. They are building IP, assembling multi-vendor solutions, and packaging repeatable offerings. At the same time, platforms like Google Cloud are leaning heavily into ecosystem orchestration. The result is a more connected, interdependent model where: * ISVs contribute product innovation * GSIs contribute industry solutions * Platforms enable scale and distribution The differentiation comes from how well these pieces are integrated. AI Is Changing How Partnerships Operate Rajiv makes a clear distinction when talking about AI. The real transformation is not about automation. It is about moving from data to insight to value. “The real power… is not about the capture of data… that’s the starting of the journey.” This shows up in two critical areas. 1. Internal Productivity and Decision Making Rajiv describes using AI as a “chief of staff” to prioritize work, summarize information, and guide daily execution. “Gone are the days where I start my day with a cluttered inbox… today, I start my day talking to my AI chief of staff.” This is not just efficiency - it is focus. 2. Transforming Core GTM Motions More importantly, AI is reshaping how partners plan and execute together. Traditional joint business planning relied heavily on: * Account mapping * Territory alignment * Historical relationships That model is being replaced. “We have moved away from spending time on data gathering to alignment on scalable and joint solutions.” Instead of asking “where do we sell?”, the question becomes: “What solutions can we scale together?” From Pitch Decks to Live Demos Another major shift is how partners engage customers. The old model centered on presentations. The new model is experiential. “No more are the days where I’m basically getting into a meeting… nowadays, it’s not PPT… we run through the demo.” This is a meaningful change. Rather than describing value, teams are showing it in real time. And increasingly, those demos are generated dynamically using AI - tailored to specific industries, use cases, and customer challenges. Co-Sell Is Not a Standard Playbook One of the most important takeaways is how Rajiv frames co-sell with GSIs. “CoSell with GSI partners… is a very unique, tailored motion.” Why? Because GSIs are not operating at the transactional level. They are embedded with customer leadership, helping shape long-term transformation. That changes everything about how co-sell works. The motion starts with: * Deep industry segmentation * Specific problem definition * Pre-built or demo-ready solutions From there, execution becomes a three-way alignment: * Partner * Platform seller * Partner ecosystem team “There is nothing called… partner source, Google source… it’s truly about co selling to the end customer together.” Measuring What Actually Matters Measurement is another area where Rajiv pushes beyond conventional thinking. Yes, traditional metrics still matter: * Influenced revenue * Bookings * Certifications But they are not enough. “Looking at either of these in silos is actually… a wrong approach.” Instead, Google evaluates partners holistically across two dimensions: 1. Current Performance Revenue impact, pipeline, and capability 2. Future Potential Executive alignment, joint planning, and co-build initiatives The combination of both determines true partner value. The Role of Leadership in Scaling Partnerships Finally, Rajiv shares a simple but powerful philosophy for leading partner teams. “You run your business… partnership as your core business.” His focus is: * Providing data and insights * Acting as an unblocker * Helping prioritize what matters In a fast-moving environment - where partners, products, and customers are all evolving simultaneously - clarity becomes a competitive advantage. 🎙️ Inside Partnering is a podcast for ecosystem builders, alliance leaders, and the people shaping the future of partnerships. Let’s build the future of partnering - together. 📌 If you found this post helpful, would you please consider restacking it and sharing it with your audience? This spreads the word and keeps me interviewing and sharing content that will help you grow your partnership business and career. Thanks for reading Inside Partnering! This post is public so feel free to share it. 🎧 Want more conversations like this? 💌 Subscribe to get new episodes and behind-the-scenes insights: insidepartnering.substack.com [http://insidepartnering.substack.com] Check out all 130+ episodes at InsidePartnering.com [http://InsidePartnering.com] 🔗 Follow Chip on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers] for daily partnership content and guest clips Know someone Chip should interview? Send a quick email [chip@insidepartnering.com]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit insidepartnering.substack.com/subscribe [https://insidepartnering.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Abhisheikh Lahoti & Jessica Rudy: Bringing Agentic AI into the Flow of Partner GTM

At AWS Global Partner Summit last week, a clear theme emerged: the next evolution of partnerships isn’t just better programs or more incentives. It’s intelligence embedded directly into partner teams’ workflows. In this episode of Inside Partnering, I spoke with Abhisheikh Lahoti [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lahotia/], Director, AWS Marketplace and Partner Services and Jessica Rudy [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicarudy/], Partner Experience Leader at AWS. Jessica and Lahoti help unpack what AWS is building with Partner Central Agents - and why it has the potential to fundamentally change how partners operate, sell, and scale. The Core Problem: Fragmentation Slows Everything Down For years, partners have faced a familiar challenge: * Fragmented data across systems * Siloed expertise across teams * Manual coordination across organizations As Lahoti puts it: “If you’re working across organization boundaries… fragmented data, siloed expertise, just the manual coordination… slows things down.” The result? Slower deals. Missed opportunities. And a heavy reliance on a small group of “AWS experts” inside partner organizations. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. From Bottlenecks to “Expertise on Demand” The shift AWS is making is simple in concept, but powerful in execution: Move intelligence from centralized teams into the hands of every seller. “Partners get guidance when they need… imagine you’re getting recommendations on when AWS will give you incentives.” Instead of relying on: * Deal desks * Partner ops teams * Internal experts Sales reps can now access: * Funding recommendations * Sales plays * Next-step guidance Directly inside their workflow. Whole Org Activation - Not Just Alliance Teams One of the most important ideas in the conversation is what Jessica calls “whole org activation.” Historically, partnerships have been concentrated in a small group: * Alliance leaders * Partner managers * Specialists Everyone else? They rely on second-hand knowledge. “People need the information at the moment that they need it… expecting everybody to absorb all of this… is a little untenable.” This leads to a predictable pattern: * Create enablement programs * Build internal processes * Add operational layers But those layers become bottlenecks. Agentic workflows change that by pushing intelligence directly to: * Field sellers * Account teams * Customer-facing roles Deal Velocity Becomes the North Star At the center of all of this is one metric: Deal velocity. AWS is using agents to compress what used to take weeks into minutes. “You’re actually showing up in front of customers in a much better prepared fashion… now this is possible in minutes.” That preparation includes: * Customer context and industry insights * Objection handling * Co-sell strategy * Validation criteria And it doesn’t stop there. From Static CRM Updates to Continuous Intelligence One of the more transformative capabilities discussed is how agents interact with live deal activity. “You just need to… upload that recording… it’ll automatically… add next steps… and you don’t need to go into the CRM again.” This represents a major shift: From manual CRM updates → to automated deal progression Instead of: * Logging notes * Updating stages * Coordinating internally The system: * Analyzes conversations * Identifies risks and blockers * Recommends next actions All in real time. Simplifying Complexity Without Losing Flexibility Funding programs are a great example of the tradeoff AWS is trying to solve: * Simplicity vs flexibility * Standardization vs innovation “We want it to be really simple, but… we don’t want to stop finding opportunities to fund a new strategic engagement.” Agents allow AWS to: * Maintain a complex, evolving system * While presenting a simple interface to partners That’s a critical unlock. The Bigger Vision: Expanding Beyond the Deal While much of the focus today is on pipeline and deal execution, the roadmap goes further: * Top-of-funnel campaign generation * Account planning * Personalized sales plays per lead * Partner upskilling and validation * Migration acceleration The goal? End-to-end lifecycle support. “We wanna move more upstream… account planning and driving top of funnel campaigns… at scale through agents.” Lowering the Barrier for New Partners One of the most overlooked implications is how this impacts early-stage partners. “We’re really trying to accelerate that time to activation… so that partners see value… right out of the gate.” Historically, success with AWS required: * Relationships * Experience * Institutional knowledge Now, much of that can be: * Guided * Accelerated * Embedded A Shift in How We Think About Partnerships Stepping back, this is about a shift in operating model and really transforming the partner engagement model when working with AWS. “Everything we’re trying to do is allow that convergence to happen… and make the most of that convergence.” Jessica describes this as convergence - bringing together: * Data * Teams * Systems * Workflows Without requiring rigid standardization. Final Thought For partner leaders, the takeaway is clear. AWS is delivering intelligence embedded in execution. And the organizations that adapt fastest to this model will have a significant advantage. 🎙️ Inside Partnering is a podcast for ecosystem builders, alliance leaders, and the people shaping the future of partnerships. Let’s build the future of partnering - together. 📌 If you found this post helpful, would you please consider restacking it and sharing it with your audience? This spreads the word and keeps me interviewing and sharing content that will help you grow your partnership business and career. Thanks for reading Inside Partnering! This post is public so feel free to share it. 🎧 Want more conversations like this? 💌 Subscribe to get new episodes and behind-the-scenes insights: insidepartnering.substack.com [http://insidepartnering.substack.com] Check out all 130+ episodes at InsidePartnering.com [http://InsidePartnering.com] 🔗 Follow Chip on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers] for daily partnership content and guest clips Know someone Chip should interview? Send a quick email [chip@insidepartnering.com]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit insidepartnering.substack.com/subscribe [https://insidepartnering.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Shobana Shankar: Inside Google Cloud’s Playbook for ISV Partnerships

Partnerships have always been important in enterprise technology. But according to Shobana Shankar [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shobana-shankar-b275265/], Head of ISV Sales for Data Analytics at Google Cloud, they are no longer optional. Partnerships are foundational to how modern cloud platforms deliver value to customers. In this episode of Inside Partnering, Shankar shares how Google Cloud approaches ISV partnerships - from joint business planning and co-sell execution to the role of marketplace and AI in shaping the next generation of ecosystems. Her message is clear. Partnerships are evolving from opportunistic relationships to deeply integrated go-to-market motions. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. From “Partners, Who?” to Embedded in Every Account Plan Shankar joined Google Cloud about eight years ago after spending a decade working in the Cisco ecosystem. At the time, cloud partnerships were still early. “I remember talking to sales teams and we were like, partners, who? It was so early at that time for cloud to be thinking about partners.” Today, the picture is very different. Partners are now embedded in Google Cloud’s sales and account planning processes. “Partners are absolutely ingrained in every single account plan and business plan that our direct sellers have.” That shift required more than enthusiasm for partnerships. It required structure. Partner programs, incentives, and enablement have become the mechanism that transforms the intent to partner into a repeatable system. The Three Pillars of a Successful ISV Partnership Shankar describes Google Cloud’s ISV partnerships through three core motions. * Co-build * Co-marketing * Co-sell Each ISV partnership includes a joint business plan that outlines how those three pillars will work together. “There has to be the co build, there has to be the co marketing, and there has to be a co sell.” The goal is to create solutions that neither company could deliver alone. “We’re always with ISVs chasing that better together story. What is that 1 plus 1 equals 3?” When the partnership works, the combined solution solves a customer problem more effectively than either product independently. That outcome becomes the North Star for the partnership. Quality Over Quantity in the Partner Ecosystem One of the challenges of ecosystem strategy is deciding how broadly to expand the partner base. Shankar says Google Cloud has become more selective. “Our core focus is going deeper with a more select group of partners where we can have a material impact.” That does not mean ignoring innovation. In fast-moving areas like AI, new partners are constantly emerging. The strategy is to balance structure with agility. Google Cloud supports established partners while remaining ready to identify emerging companies that may become key ecosystem players. Marketplace as a Strategic Differentiator One of the most interesting shifts Shankar describes is how Google Cloud thinks about marketplace. Marketplace is no longer viewed simply as a transaction layer. “We don’t want marketplace to be a transaction vehicle anymore. We want it to be a strategic differentiator.” That shift changes how partnerships are structured. Joint business plans increasingly focus on how Google Cloud can help partners: * accelerate deals * increase deal size * source new opportunities Shankar’s team now has compensation tied to generating opportunities for ISV partners. “My team’s compensation has a component where they have a target to source opportunity for our ISVs.” In other words, the hyperscaler is expected to actively help drive partner revenue. The Evolution of the Partner Sales Role One of the biggest changes in Google Cloud’s ISV organization is how the partner sales team is built. Early on, the team hired primarily for alliance experience. That has evolved. “Our hiring has evolved significantly. Hire for folks with direct sales acumen and individuals who have that hunter mentality.” The reason is simple. Co-selling effectively requires understanding how sales leaders think. Shankar believes partner specialists should operate almost like embedded members of the ISV sales organization. “The CRO of the ISV should tap into the specialist on my team as someone who works for their company with a google.com domain.” That level of alignment requires people who understand pipeline generation, deal cycles, and revenue goals. Measuring Partner Success Revenue remains a critical metric, but Shankar emphasizes that partner success must be measured across the entire lifecycle. Google Cloud tracks both leading and lagging indicators. Examples include: * marketplace revenue * Google-sourced opportunities * pipeline generation * account mapping and engagement * marketing activity * joint demos and specializations Pipeline health is especially important. “We definitely think about having the 3x pipeline at a minimum for ISVs.” Quality matters just as much as quantity. Pipeline must reflect real opportunities where the joint value proposition resonates with customers. The Impact of AI on the Ecosystem AI is accelerating both innovation and partnership. In many cases, hyperscalers and ISVs may overlap in capabilities. But Shankar sees that dynamic as a natural part of modern ecosystems. “Sometimes we compete and sometimes we complement, but regardless… gone are the days for us to think about one solution from one company can solve all of customers.” The reality of AI is that no single vendor can solve every problem. Partnership becomes the mechanism for delivering integrated solutions. The Era of Deep Partnerships Shankar believes the industry has entered a new phase. Partnerships are no longer optional go-to-market experiments. They are central to how technology companies succeed. “We are in the era of deep, authentic partnerships. It’s not just a strategy anymore. It is a fundamental necessity for success.” For partner leaders building ecosystems today, that may be the most important takeaway. The future of technology innovation will not be built by single companies. It will be built by ecosystems. 🎙️ Inside Partnering is a podcast for ecosystem builders, alliance leaders, and the people shaping the future of partnerships. Let’s build the future of partnering - together. 📌 If you found this post helpful, would you please consider restacking it and sharing it with your audience? This spreads the word and keeps me interviewing and sharing content that will help you grow your partnership business and career. Thanks for reading Inside Partnering! This post is public so feel free to share it. 🎧 Want more conversations like this? 💌 Subscribe to get new episodes and behind-the-scenes insights: insidepartnering.substack.com [http://insidepartnering.substack.com] Check out all 130+ episodes at InsidePartnering.com [http://InsidePartnering.com] 🔗 Follow Chip on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers] for daily partnership content and guest clips Know someone Chip should interview? Send a quick email [chip@insidepartnering.com]. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit insidepartnering.substack.com/subscribe [https://insidepartnering.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]