Inside Partnering

Chip Rodgers
  • 5.0 (1)
  • TECHNOLOGY

Strategies behind today’s most successful partner ecosystems. Join host Chip Rodgers for candid conversations with the leaders shaping the future of ecosystems, co-selling, and go-to-market strategy. insidepartnering.substack.com

  1. Jen Dawson: Clarity, Momentum, and the Path to Scale with AWS

    23H AGO

    Jen Dawson: Clarity, Momentum, and the Path to Scale with AWS

    Partner-led growth often looks simple from the outside. List on marketplace. Enable co-sell. Build a better together story. But in practice, many ISVs stall long before they see predictable results. In this episode of Inside Partnering, Jen Dawson, Founder and CEO of SaaSNova, explains why. After years working inside AWS and supporting nearly a hundred ISVs, she has seen the same pattern repeat itself. Strong products. Serious ambition. But no clear path to predictable GTM. “What I kept seeing across founders is they had strong products, but they didn’t have a very clear path to predictable GTM.” That realization is what led Jen to start SaaSNova - not as a strategy consultancy, but as an execution-focused operating model for AWS Marketplace and co-sell. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. AWS Is an Amplification Engine, Not a Safety Net One of the most important reframes Jen offers is how founders should think about AWS itself. Many assume AWS will generate demand if they simply onboard correctly. In reality, the relationship works very differently. “AWS is not the lead gen engine. It’s an amplification engine.” AWS sellers lean in when ISVs show momentum. Clear ICP. Clear value. Active deals. Without those signals, even well-built offerings struggle to gain field attention. This is especially true given the scale of AWS. “AWS is massive. Thousands of sellers. Lots of moving parts.” For ISVs, that scale means simplicity and clarity matter far more than depth or volume. Why the Better Together Story Comes First Jen repeatedly comes back to the importance of joint messaging - not as a marketing exercise, but as the foundation of execution. “The better together messaging becomes the foundation of all GTM programs.” She breaks this into layers: * First, the ISV’s own product story * Second, how that story maps to AWS priorities * Third, how channel or services partners fit into the motion Each layer builds on the previous one. Without that structure, campaigns, pitches, and field enablement break down. The key question every version of the message must answer is the same: Who is this for, and why does it matter right now? Marketplace Is the Route Sellers Prefer From the field’s perspective, AWS Marketplace simplifies everything. Procurement. Alignment. Incentives. “AWS sellers love marketplace because it removes procurement friction for their customers.” Jen emphasizes starting small. Early private offers create momentum and internal proof. Over time, those deals expand into broader CPPO and co-sell motions. Marketplace also plays a critical role for cross-border ISVs trying to establish credibility in the US market. “Making sure you have a marketplace-ready offer so the AWS teams can really lean in.” What Actually Gets Field Attention AWS sellers are not persuaded by long decks or generic positioning. They respond to clarity and quantified impact. “AWS teams are very data driven.” ISVs that can articulate outcomes in concrete terms - time saved, cost reduced, migration accelerated - are far easier for sellers to champion. Jen also points out that products which drive AWS consumption or workload stickiness naturally rise in priority. “If the ISV really increases compute, storage, or keeps workloads on AWS, they become strategically important.” Channel Partners as a Force Multiplier For ISVs focused on scale, channel partners are not optional. “The channel partner adds the acceleration. They add the scale.” Resellers and consulting partners bring reach, relationships, and field capacity that ISVs rarely have on their own. When aligned correctly with AWS motions like CPPO, they significantly extend an ISV’s effective footprint. The Metrics That Signal Seriousness Jen outlines four categories of KPIs that matter most when building credibility with AWS: “Marketplace KPIs. Co-sell KPIs. Adoption and consumption KPIs. Partner program KPIs.” These metrics show not just activity, but execution readiness. They tell AWS that the ISV is aligned, disciplined, and capable of scaling. The Reality of Strategic Collaboration Agreements SCAs are often viewed as the end goal. Jen offers a grounded perspective. “The SCA only works when both sides agree on revenue targets, pipeline targets, and execution.” SCAs require real commitment, executive alignment, and the ability to execute against a joint business plan. They are rare for a reason. “When the ISV shows up with clarity and readiness, that’s when AWS shows up with scale.” Closing Thought This conversation reinforces a simple truth: partner-led growth does not fail because of partnerships. It fails because execution lags intent. “Make it easy for AWS to help you.” For experienced partner leaders, that advice is not simplistic - it is operational. 🎙️ 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 Check out all 130+ episodes at InsidePartnering.com 🔗 Follow Chip on LinkedIn for daily partnership content and guest clips Know someone Chip should interview? Send a quick email. 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

    26 min
  2. Grant de Leeuw: Building Global GTM from Day One with AWS Marketplace

    6D AGO

    Grant de Leeuw: Building Global GTM from Day One with AWS Marketplace

    This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit insidepartnering.substack.com From the earliest days of DataMasque, Grant de Leeuw made a deliberate choice - this would not be a lightweight SaaS tool chasing fast adoption. The company was built to serve large, regulated enterprises where data privacy, security, and usability collide. Grant framed the problem clearly. Enterprises need to use real customer data internally for development, testing, analytics, and increasingly AI. But regulation and security controls make that data difficult to use safely. “Organizations need to leverage their customer data for their own internal purposes… but because of the regulation and security privacy around some of their most important data, they actually really struggle to leverage it internally.” DataMasque was created to solve that tension by enabling what Grant calls high-fidelity synthetic data - data that is de-identified, but still behaves exactly like production data across systems. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Why Usability Matters More Than Perfect Security A recurring theme in the conversation was that many existing solutions over-index on security at the expense of usefulness. According to Grant, that tradeoff creates downstream problems. “While they will remove the sensitivity of the data, they’re actually effectively trashing the usability.” Engineering and product teams need messy, imperfect data to test real-world edge cases. When lower environments are populated with overly clean or unrealistic data, systems often pass through test and QA, but fail in production. “The messiness of production has to be replicated into these lower environments… otherwise you roll it into production and everything breaks.” DataMasque’s approach focuses on masking at the field level while preserving relationships across systems, ensuring consistency even in complex, multi-application environments. The Hidden Risk of Non-Production Environments Grant highlighted a risk that many organizations underestimate - the size and exposure of non-production data. “Seventy to eighty percent of an organization’s data footprint can be non-production.” These environments often have weaker governance and broader access, making them a frequent source of breaches. For DataMasque, this reinforced the need to secure data where it is most widely used, not just where it originates. Choosing AWS Marketplace as a Core GTM Strategy Based in New Zealand, DataMasque faced a structural challenge. Their ideal customers were global enterprises, but building a traditional overseas sales presence was cost-prohibitive. AWS Marketplace became the answer - initially almost by accident. “I came out of the meeting going, I assume this is what everyone’s buying off Marketplace.” The early days were slow, but momentum built through a combination of co-build, co-marketing, and co-selling motions. A customer case study and an AWS-authored blog post marked the inflection point. “Suddenly it was like we had the co-build, then the co-marketing started to happen… and the flywheel started to turn.” Marketplace enabled DataMasque to transact globally without a US entity or local bank accounts, dramatically lowering the cost of international expansion. “We could actually do this all from here and done it in an extremely cost effective manner.”

    17 min
  3. Charlie Pagliazzo: Building a $500M+ Channel Engine at Granite Telecommunications

    JAN 16

    Charlie Pagliazzo: Building a $500M+ Channel Engine at Granite Telecommunications

    Granite Telecommunications is a nearly $2B business serving multi-location enterprises and government customers across the U.S. and Canada. But if you listen closely to Charlie Pagliazzo, Vice President of Channels, the story of Granite’s growth does not start with revenue. It starts with partners. Charlie has been at Granite for more than two decades, including building the channel organization from scratch. What began as a one-person effort has grown into an 80+ person channels team supporting more than 800 active selling partners delivering over $500M of that total ARR number. That scale did not happen by accident. “We look at our partners as our customers. Without their success, we don’t have any success.” That philosophy shows up in how Granite structures its teams, invests in enablement, and evaluates ROI across the entire partner lifecycle. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Scaling a channel without losing focus One of the most striking aspects of the conversation is how deliberate Charlie is about scale. Granite’s channel organization is large, but it is not generic. Roles are segmented by partner type, solution expertise, and regional coverage. “Partnerships are about ROI - but not just dollars spent. It’s human resource spend as well. How are our people spending their time, and who are they spending it with?” ROI, in Charlie’s view, is not just a finance exercise. It is a discipline that forces focus. Which partners are aligned. Where Granite can truly add value. And where deep expertise - not just broad coverage - makes the difference. This is especially important in a channel ecosystem that includes individual agents, large VARs, MSPs, distributors, and mobility-focused specialists. Each partner operates differently, and Granite adapts its engagement model accordingly. The evolution of the network business Granite’s roots were in simplifying telecom complexity - aggregating disparate copper-based services into a single billing and service platform. That model fueled early growth, but the industry has changed dramatically. Copper is being retired. Networks are converging. UCaaS, CCaaS, SD-WAN, 5G, fiber, and edge computing are now table stakes. And AI is putting unprecedented pressure on bandwidth, latency, and security. “AI is impacting every facet of the business. The need for throughput and bandwidth is putting real pressure on end users.” Charlie makes it clear that these changes are not abstract trends. They directly affect how partners sell, how customers buy, and how Granite builds solutions. The company has responded by developing proprietary offerings, including patented POTS replacement solutions, while also aggregating best-of-breed providers across mobility, networking, and security. Collaboration as a competitive advantage A recurring theme throughout the discussion is collaboration. Granite does not position itself as the single answer to every problem. Instead, it acts as an orchestrator - combining its own network and platforms with a broad ecosystem of underlying providers. “The whole ecosystem requires partnership. We want to make sure partners see all the different things available to take to market.” This approach gives partners flexibility while still benefiting from Granite’s scale. Volume matters. Granite’s purchasing power and critical mass translate into leverage with underlying carriers and technology providers - leverage that partners can bring to their customers. Measuring partner performance beyond revenue Revenue matters, but it is not the only metric that counts. Charlie describes a performance framework that looks at engagement, responsiveness, and mutual investment. “If we’re providing training, marketing, and expertise, what’s coming back? It has to be a win-win that leads to an end-user purchase.” Granite aligns partner-facing roles around relationship management, solution expertise, and specialized vertical or solution focus. That structure allows the team to stay close to partner needs while still maintaining accountability. M&A, private equity, and channel disruption The channel landscape is changing fast. Private equity and venture capital are reshaping partner organizations, driving consolidation and new competitive dynamics. Charlie views this influx of capital as both an opportunity and a risk. “Capital allows for growth and innovation. But we can’t lose sight of why this industry grew in the first place - taking care of the customer.” Some partners are building at scale through acquisition. Others are choosing to remain independent and differentiate through expertise and service. Granite works with both, but the underlying principle stays the same - customer outcomes come first. Why AI makes the channel more relevant, not less Rather than disintermediating partners, AI is increasing their importance. As customer environments become more complex, the need for consultative guidance grows. “AI and bandwidth-driven demands create a myriad of opportunities for partners to have better conversations with end users.” From real-time analytics to customer experience optimization, the network is now a strategic asset. Partners who understand that shift are well positioned. Granite’s role is to give them the tools, infrastructure, and support to deliver. Looking ahead Granite is privately held, which gives it freedom to play the long game. Charlie is optimistic about the future, but grounded in execution. “We’re not beholden to anyone but our customers and ourselves. What do they need, and how can we get it for them?” For partner leaders navigating rapid change, this conversation is a reminder that fundamentals still matter - trust, ROI discipline, and relentless focus on customer value. 🎙️ 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 Check out all 130+ episodes at InsidePartnering.com 🔗 Follow Chip on LinkedIn for daily partnership content and guest clips Know someone Chip should interview? Send a quick email. 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

    28 min
  4. Masooma Naqvi: Co-Building the Future of Enterprise IT with AWS

    JAN 13

    Masooma Naqvi: Co-Building the Future of Enterprise IT with AWS

    At AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas, I had the chance to catch up with Masooma Naqvi, Vice President of Digital Services at HP, to talk about one of the most pressing challenges facing enterprises today - managing increasingly complex IT environments while still delivering exceptional employee experiences. The shift from office-first to remote, hybrid, and now partial return-to-office has permanently raised expectations. Employees expect technology to work seamlessly wherever they are, while IT leaders are under constant pressure to control costs and reduce downtime. “The only thing that’s consistent besides change is that employee expectations keep getting higher and higher on the tools they need to get work done.” Masooma’s role sits right at the intersection of those pressures. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Inside HP’s Workforce Experience Platform At the center of HP’s digital services portfolio is its Workforce Experience Platform (WXP). The platform spans device telemetry, collaboration tools, network data, and application insights to help IT teams understand what is happening across their entire estate. “It is really geared toward fleet management of the IT estate - PCs, printers, collaboration equipment, the network - and how we can proactively identify issues and remediate them.” The goal is not visibility for visibility’s sake. It is about proactive action - identifying issues before they impact productivity and resolving them automatically where possible. AI as Interface and Intelligence Engine Masooma described two distinct ways HP applies AI inside WXP. First, AI acts as the conversational interface. CIOs and help desk teams can ask natural-language questions about cost drivers, recurring incidents, and optimization opportunities. “We use AI as the conversational interface of the platform so CIOs and help desk agents can quickly understand where the biggest issues and costs are.” Second, AI works behind the scenes, analyzing massive volumes of telemetry data across devices to predict and prevent failures. “That’s where AI becomes really powerful - using machine learning and inference to proactively solve issues before they happen.” Predictive Self-Healing at Scale One of the most compelling outcomes of this approach is predictive self-healing. By working with Amazon Web Services and Amazon Bedrock, HP can anticipate recurring issues and deploy fixes automatically. “We can not only identify that an issue might reemerge, but tell you what the appropriate fix is - and in some cases deploy that fix on your behalf.” The impact is measurable - less downtime, lower help desk costs, and better employee experiences across distributed environments. A Platform Built for Partners A recurring theme in the conversation was HP’s partner-first mindset. WXP is designed not just for direct enterprise customers, but also for MSPs and GSIs who wrap their own services and tooling around the platform. “For our partners, we give them these tools so they can wrap services or incremental value around it and better serve their customers.” This approach allows HP to scale across enterprise, mid-market, and SMB segments without relying on heavy customization. What Customers Are Asking for at re:Invent Like nearly every conversation at re:Invent, AI dominated customer discussions - but with a more practical tone than in previous years. “It’s not just a technology anymore. Customers are asking what AI is actually doing for them in terms of optimization and understanding.” Masooma noted a visible shift from proof-of-concepts to real, production-ready solutions across the expo floor, reflecting faster development cycles and maturing AI platforms. Co-Building With Amazon HP’s partnership with AWS spans co-build, co-market, and co-innovation. Beyond using Amazon tools to accelerate development, HP actively feeds enterprise-scale requirements back into Amazon product teams. “Many of the requirements we have around predictive analytics have come from us into the Bedrock team to say we have to be able to solve these problems.” The collaboration also extends into sovereign data initiatives, particularly for European customers with strict data residency requirements. Product Leadership at Ecosystem Scale As a product leader, Masooma plays a critical role in translating customer and partner needs into platform-level capabilities that can scale globally. “We want to build for scale. We don’t want to do a lot of custom work.” That philosophy mirrors AWS’s own approach and helps explain why the partnership continues to deepen. Final Takeaway This conversation is a clear reminder that successful AI strategies are no longer about experimentation alone. They are about operationalizing intelligence, embedding it into platforms, and enabling partners to deliver measurable outcomes at scale. 🎙️ 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 Check out all 130+ episodes at InsidePartnering.com 🔗 Follow Chip on LinkedIn for daily partnership content and guest clips Know someone Chip should interview? Send a quick email. 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

    11 min
  5. Pankaj Kumar: Inside Kyndryl’s Agentic AI Strategy with AWS

    JAN 9

    Pankaj Kumar: Inside Kyndryl’s Agentic AI Strategy with AWS

    AWS re:Invent has increasingly become a signal for where enterprise technology is actually headed, not just what’s being promised. In this conversation from the show floor in Las Vegas, Pankaj Kumar, Global VP of Strategic Alliances and Head of the AWS Business Group at Kyndryl, shared a grounded perspective on what it really takes to move agentic AI from pilot projects into real production environments. Rather than focusing on abstract AI potential, the discussion centered on execution, data gravity, and the operational realities faced by Global 2000 enterprises. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Why So Many AI Pilots Stall One of the core challenges Pankaj highlighted is something many partner leaders are seeing first-hand: an explosion of pilots with very little follow-through. “There’s a lot of money being poured into agentic AI that start with the pilot, but a very small percentage of those pilot projects actually see ROI in terms of real world executable projects.” The issue isn’t lack of tooling or ambition. It’s that most pilots don’t connect deeply enough to the systems that actually run the business. Without access to mission-critical environments and operational data, pilots remain isolated experiments. The Role of Mission-Critical Systems Kyndryl’s position in the market is unusual. The company manages complex, long-running systems for a majority of Fortune 100 enterprises, including a significant portion of the world’s managed mainframe environments. “We manage more than two to three decades of mission-critical systems for our customers. I think we have access to data which very few in the industry have.” That access becomes the foundation for making agentic AI useful. Instead of training agents on abstract datasets, Kyndryl works directly with the operational knowledge embedded in real systems, workflows, and infrastructure. The Enhanced Agentic AI Framework At re:Invent, Kyndryl highlighted its enhanced agentic AI framework, which combines several layers: * Deep operational knowledge from managed services * Proprietary platforms like Kyndryl Bridge with billions of data points * Agent builders developed by Kyndryl * Native integration with AWS services “That repository of knowledge that we have is the critical fuel that you require to make an agent AI project successful.” This approach is not positioned as a one-size-fits-all product. Instead, the framework is designed to be customized by region, industry, and customer maturity. From Assessment to Execution Another theme that surfaced repeatedly was execution discipline. Kyndryl works across the entire transformation lifecycle, from assessment and migration to modernization and operations. “We are able to translate those pilot projects into real world executable projects.” That translation is reflected in business outcomes. According to Pankaj, a meaningful portion of recent Kyndryl signings already include an agentic AI component, suggesting that customers are moving beyond experimentation. AWS as a Strategic GTM Partner The conversation also explored the depth of the AWS partnership. Kyndryl has aligned its go-to-market motion with how AWS now sells by industry rather than horizontal services. “Our sales motion and our collaboration with AWS is in tune with how AWS is going to the market, what solutions they are taking to the market.” This includes co-sell engagement across financial services, insurance, healthcare, automotive, and the public sector, where Kyndryl was a finalist for multiple AWS Partner of the Year awards. Industry-Specific Execution Matters One insight particularly relevant for partner leaders is the emphasis on regional and industry focus. “Something that works in Japan could not be the same thing that we take to continental Europe or Australia.” Rather than forcing global uniformity, Kyndryl and AWS customize plays based on local regulations, market maturity, and customer expectations, especially in regulated industries and sovereign cloud environments. Consulting as a Growth Engine Since spinning out as an independent company, Kyndryl has invested heavily in consulting capabilities to complement its managed services heritage. “Our consult business is more than $3 billion, growing at about 35 to 40% year on year.” That consulting layer allows Kyndryl to engage earlier in transformation conversations and stay involved through execution, which is essential for agentic AI initiatives that cut across infrastructure, data, and operations. A Grounded View of What Comes Next Rather than framing agentic AI as a sudden revolution, Pankaj described it as an evolution that depends on execution maturity. “This would be something where Kyndryl fills a gap in the market.” For partner leaders, the takeaway is clear: success in the agentic AI era will depend less on novelty and more on operational credibility, trusted data access, and tight collaboration with hyperscalers. 🎙️ 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 Check out all 130+ episodes at InsidePartnering.com 🔗 Follow Chip on LinkedIn for daily partnership content and guest clips Know someone Chip should interview? Send a quick email. 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

    13 min
  6. Kelley Lear: AI, Co-Innovation, and the Future of Supply Chain Platforms

    JAN 5

    Kelley Lear: AI, Co-Innovation, and the Future of Supply Chain Platforms

    Leading Through Supply Chain Transformation Kelley Lear stepped into her role as CVP and GM, Global Alliances for Blue Yonder just four months ago, and she arrived at Microsoft Ignite with major momentum behind her team’s work. Fresh off winning Microsoft’s Global ISV Partner of the Year award, Blue Yonder is doubling down on AI innovation, ecosystem collaboration, and a platform vision designed to transform supply chains end to end. “Ultimately we need to partner not just to partner so that we get an award. It’s really what is the value that we’re bringing to the customer.” From keynotes to side conversations with SIs and product leaders, Kelley emphasized that supply chain complexity demands deep partner expertise, global reach, and joint innovation. Blue Yonder now works with more than 300 partners - spanning tech vendors, hyperscalers, global SIs, and boutique regional firms. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Why Supply Chain Needs a Connected Ecosystem Kelley shared that Blue Yonder is the only platform with AI embedded across the full supply chain - from planning to execution to returns. That end-to-end view has become essential as supply chains face disruptions from geopolitics, tariffs, weather, social pressures, and demand volatility. “You need complete visibility to the supply chain and the ability to plan and pivot and incorporate all the data you need to make good decisions quickly.” The partner ecosystem is central to delivering this vision. Strategic systems integrators like Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, EY, and specialized regional partners provide decades of experience within specific verticals and customer environments. Their understanding of systems, workflows, and C-suite priorities allows Blue Yonder’s platform to land with higher adoption and faster value realization. Mapping the Right Partners to the Right Customers Given the scale and complexity of a 300-partner ecosystem, Kelley described the importance of careful alignment between field teams, industry specialists, and partners. Blue Yonder has an industry advisory team that matches the right partner - by region, vertical, subvertical, and product expertise - to each opportunity. The company is also launching a new agentic AI partner scorecard, which allows sales and alliance teams to ask natural-language questions about partner capabilities. “We’re looking at things like how many accredited personnel they have, in which regions, on which products, customer sat scores, and project expertise.” The goal is not to rank partners for competition but to help internal teams and customers find the best match for each scenario. Scaling the Long Tail with Modern Partner Marketing Kelley also highlighted the importance of supporting the “long tail” of smaller partners who may not have dedicated alliance managers. Blue Yonder is rolling out scalable partner programs including updated portal content, channel calls, toolkits, and campaigns-in-a-box. “We’re getting a little more sophisticated with really professional marketing toolkits instead of just saying - you could spin up a webinar and use our name.” As Blue Yonder expands its new Azure-based platform - with deep Snowflake integration and advanced AI - the company is also ramping up global enablement to help partners stay ahead of the rapid innovation curve. Co-Innovation with Microsoft and a Shared Future Vision Blue Yonder’s Global ISV Partner of the Year recognition reflects a rapidly strengthening relationship with Microsoft. Kelley noted that the two teams are deeply aligned across co-innovation, product development, co-marketing, and field co-sell motions. “We’re collaborating with Microsoft on incorporating our AI into our product mix, and also on how others can build agents onto our platform.” Beyond technology, the joint marketing and field alignment efforts are helping both teams articulate their “better together” story - including scalability, time to value, and end-to-end security. What Comes Next for Supply Chain Leaders Kelley closed with a reminder that global supply chains are under more pressure than ever - and that only an integrated ecosystem can help companies respond in real time. “We want to disrupt the market and really transform supply chain end to end.” With AI advancing rapidly, Microsoft partnership momentum building, and a global partner network evolving around industry expertise, Blue Yonder is positioning itself as a leader in the next era of intelligent, adaptive, resilient supply chains. 🎙️ 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 Check out all 90+ episodes at InsidePartnering.com 🔗 Follow Chip on LinkedIn for daily partnership content and guest clips Know someone Chip should interview? Send a quick email. 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

    16 min
  7. Marc Monday: Building the AI Partner Ecosystem of the Future

    12/17/2025

    Marc Monday: Building the AI Partner Ecosystem of the Future

    Introduction: A Moment of Acceleration The pace of change has become the defining characteristic of the AI era. As Marc Monday puts it, quoting Bill McDermott, “The pace of change has never been this fast and it’ll never be this slow again.” And inside ServiceNow’s rapidly expanding partner ecosystem, that accelerating change is creating unprecedented opportunity for partners. In this episode, I spoke with Marc Monday, GVP of Americas Partnerships & Channels at ServiceNow. Marc and I dive into how ServiceNow is approaching AI, why partners remain essential, and why orchestration - not infrastructure - is becoming the most critical layer in the enterprise tech stack. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. The Partner Role in an Agentic World ServiceNow’s AI strategy is focused on meeting customers where they are. That means working with the infrastructure, data, and applications they already have - not forcing costly rip-and-replace motions. Marc emphasizes that this is exactly where partners shine. “Partners bring a deep level of specialization in customer understanding, and partners know how to move fast and meet the market where it is.” ServiceNow has five partner routes to market - consulting and implementation, resellers, service providers, hyperscaler co-selling, and tech/build partners. Increasingly, partners combine multiple motions, creating IP, offering managed services, and developing apps. Marc’s view is simple: focus on outcomes, not taxonomy. “If we fall into that legacy taxonomy, sometimes it hamstrings what the partner is providing.” Workflow Orchestration as the New Control Tower One of the big ideas Marc shares is the rise of the orchestration layer - the system that coordinates agents across the enterprise. ServiceNow sits across the data layer, application layer, and now agentic workflows, giving it a unique ability to coordinate how work actually gets done. “At the end of the day, it’s about workflow orchestration and what that control tower is going to look like.” This orchestration layer determines which agent acts first, what data it accesses, and how steps flow across systems. It’s the enterprise equivalent of air traffic control. Real Value: Pragmatic AI, Not Whiz-Bang Demos Marc shares an important reminder - the most meaningful AI value often comes from eliminating the everyday “administrivia.” “If you talk to a user, they can tell you right away… This is the administrivia that just takes the air out of my day.” Partners play a crucial role in discovering these real-world use cases, mapping processes, and turning small but painful inefficiencies into major productivity improvements. Where the Opportunities Are Emerging ServiceNow is seeing strong opportunity across four primary areas: 1. Autonomous IT Hardware management, IT service delivery, systems improvement. 2. Security AI is increasing both complexity and opportunity across the security surface. 3. CRM and Customer Experience Extending ServiceNow’s strong CSM foundation. 4. Cross-Application Interoperability Where agents, workflows, and orchestration combine. Throughout all of these, partners act as the translators connecting enterprise reality with AI-enabled execution. Co-Sell: It Depends - Because It Must When I asked Marc about co-sell motions, his answer was delightfully honest: “It depends. It really does depend what is the customer’s expectation.” ServiceNow supports store listings, deal registration, partner-led opportunities, and multi-party co-sell with hyperscalers. Marc’s team brings together the right partner and the right opportunity at the right time. The Road Ahead Marc’s final insight was about trust and flexibility - two things customers need most right now. “Customers need flexibility. Customers need partners that can meet them where they are.” As AI accelerates, orchestration becomes more important, partners become more essential, and the opportunities multiply. 🎙️ 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 Check out all 90+ episodes at InsidePartnering.com 🔗 Follow Chip on LinkedIn for daily partnership content and guest clips Know someone Chip should interview? Send a quick email. 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

    17 min
  8. Gretchen O’Hara: Building the Next Generation Partner Ecosystem at Sage

    12/15/2025

    Gretchen O’Hara: Building the Next Generation Partner Ecosystem at Sage

    Few leaders in the industry understand ecosystem transformation like Gretchen O’Hara, the longtime Microsoft executive, former Splunk channel leader, and now Executive Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & Business Development at Sage. In this episode, Gretchen shares her early impressions of Sage, why she joined, and how she sees AI reshaping partner opportunity across the world. This conversation offers an inside look at the major announcements coming out of Sage Future for Partners in Barcelona - including Sage’s new Finance Intelligence Agent, next generation Sage X3 Cloud, and Sage AI Developer Solutions built with AWS Bedrock. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Why Gretchen Joined Sage Gretchen has spent her career building partner ecosystems at massive scale. Yet she says Sage had something unique - a deep, community-driven network of partners rooted in finance, accounting, and operational systems. One quote from the transcript captured her motivation perfectly: “I always had an eye on Sage… I was really envious of what Sage had in terms of that deep partner commitment and this inherent community that has rallied around Sage.” She also saw something else: the finance function as one of the first places where AI will deliver real, practical value. “I knew that AI is gonna have very practical impact… and I think this is where you’re gonna see a lot of this in full production first.” Sage’s 40 years of financial data, combined with its cloud first and AI first ambitions, made the move compelling. A Complex and Growing Ecosystem Sage works with a uniquely diverse partner mix: global SIs, accounting firms, MSPs, ISVs, VARs, and developers. “There’s not one type of partner that Sage works with… we have SIs, advisors, accounting consultants, ISVs, VARs, MSPs - all building capabilities in this new cloud and AI world.” For Gretchen, the opportunity is to unify and accelerate this ecosystem - not just through programs and incentives, but through AI driven capabilities that help partners differentiate and grow. Inside Sage Future for Partners: AI Takes Center Stage Just a few weeks into the job, Gretchen was dropped straight into Sage’s global partner event in Barcelona. And Sage delivered several major announcements that will shape partner strategy for years to come. 1. Sage AI Developer Solutions (built with AWS Bedrock) This initiative lets partners build and deploy certified AI agents and workflows directly within Sage Copilot. “We announced the Sage AI for Developers program… leveraging AWS Agentic AI Marketplace to speed partners’ ability to build AI agents embedded right into Sage.” For partners, this means new revenue streams, faster innovation, and a clear place to bet in the agentic AI era. 2. Finance Intelligence Agent Sage also revealed its flagship AI Agent for CFOs and finance teams - prebuilt, trusted, and immediately usable. “We announced one of our own agents, the Finance Intelligence Agent… so partners can provide instant value without having to build anything themselves.” This agent connects Sage’s Close, AP, Assurance, and Time agents, creating a unified intelligence layer for finance operations. 3. Sage X3 Cloud A next generation cloud deployment of Sage’s manufacturing and operations platform. “We recommitted to our partner ecosystem that X3 is a big bet for Sage… partners were extremely excited about the deeper industry strategy.” Across these announcements, a consistent theme emerged: industry depth + AI agents + partner led innovation. Partner Profitability, Enablement, and Co Innovation Gretchen emphasized that partner success is not just about revenue - it is about making sure Sage partners are able to build and manage profitable, sustainable business models when working with Sage. “If you can’t have a profitable practice, then you start looking somewhere else… and I want all my partners to stay with Sage.” Sage’s strategy includes: * Helping partners build recurring ARR based businesses * Reducing implementation time with cloud and AI * Supporting partners as they expand into adjacent practices * Deepening technical and business enablement And importantly, Gretchen sees co innovation as central. “We want to co innovate with our partners… bring more value together to our mutual customers.” Measuring Success: Shared Outcomes When asked how Sage measures partner success, Gretchen cited: * Growth and co sell wins * Marketplace innovation * Partner IP * Expansion into new markets * Customer success metrics * Capacity and delivery strength But measurement itself is evolving, especially as influence, indirect impact, and AI driven services become more important. The Road Ahead Gretchen closed with a call for partners to prepare for the AI empowered future, balancing today’s opportunities with tomorrow’s shifts. “Have one step in the future so that as the market shifts, you’re there with us to support that long term.” This episode is essential listening for partners, ISVs, SIs, accountants, and anyone watching how AI is reshaping the finance and ERP ecosystem. 🎙️ 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 Check out all 90+ episodes at InsidePartnering.com 🔗 Follow Chip on LinkedIn for daily partnership content and guest clips Know someone Chip should interview? Send a quick email. 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

    28 min
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About

Strategies behind today’s most successful partner ecosystems. Join host Chip Rodgers for candid conversations with the leaders shaping the future of ecosystems, co-selling, and go-to-market strategy. insidepartnering.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Chip Rodgers
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    52
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Chip Rodgers
  • Show Website
    Inside Partnering