By Greg Chappell, Vice President Global Sales & Partner Success at ThinkOn
Most of the world’s great leaders will tell you that success comes from collaboration. Working with other experts adds resources, expertise, and ideas that no one person or organization could contribute on their own. So, if you want to expand opportunities and grow revenues, especially in a competitive, global world, the ability to build partnerships is a crucial tool for today’s business toolkit.
Technology partnerships for a global world
A partner ecosystem in the technology sector contributes to growth by helping organizations expand their business, manage the demands of global transactions, and secure data, all through increased access to innovation, support, and technology solutions.
Partners that work together to solve digital challenges and enhance customer offerings deliver better solutions, increased customer service, and stronger business outcomes. An extensive partner ecosystem also has the power to:
- Enhance branding
- Create connections
- Strengthen growth opportunities
ThinkOn’s partnerships are world-class and include VMware, Dell, Veeam, Commvault, Hitachi and other key providers in the cloud services market. We contribute to the well-being of all our partners by combining our own expertise in data storage and management with the capabilities of other global technology companies. That’s a winning opportunity for our partners, who always come first at ThinkOn.
Leveraging the power of a partner ecosystem
Partnerships grow stronger as more partners join the ecosystem. It’s a strength in numbers equation, and the exponential increase in resources, technology solutions, and expertise help an organization deliver more to their customers.
Technology partnership expert Alex Richards advocates for the benefits of combined resources in partnerships. “When an organization leverages the partner ecosystem they are part of, they are able to offer their customers heightened service and quality, while reaching new customers, through the compounding expertise within the ecosystem. It’s no wonder 84 percent of companies believe ecosystems to be an important aspect of their strategy.”[1]
A third of global sales are predicted to come from ecosystems by 2025, according to McKinsey & Company.[2] Companies that want to stay relevant and grow in a digital world, have a compelling reason to be part of a strong ecosystem.
Competing in a digital world
Partner ecosystems create the potential for exponential success. Without the resources of a strong partner ecosystem, an organization could fail to compete. As Richards points out in reference to the McKinsey study on global sales, “If you aren’t taking advantage of a partner ecosystem, you could be missing out on over 30 percent of future sales—precisely why establishing a strategic partner ecosystem now is so important.”[3]
It’s a digital world, and data is the prime currency. Growth in any sector relies on the digital capabilities of an organization and its ability to leverage data management to accelerate business. As computing becomes more complex, partner ecosystems provide the expanding levels of expertise an organization requires to thrive.
Gianvito Lanzolla and Constantinos C. Markides, in an article for Harvard Business Review, acknowledge the global growth opportunity presented by technology support from a partner ecosystem: “The digital context, and specifically digital connectivity, has provided companies the opportunity to engage with many more and much more diverse partners than before, and to develop elaborate digital ecosystems to help them enter and compete in the new markets.”[4]
Expanding your business: A world without borders
Expanding beyond your own borders is a compelling way to increase revenues, but sometimes compliance headaches can discourage or prevent organizations from entering new markets and managing the demands of global transactions.
Partners can eliminate those barriers by providing local knowledge and support, turning dreams of expansion into a practical and lucrative reality. As more governments put restrictions on cross-border data mobility, the advantages of a global ecosystem continue to grow.
“Data protection is one of the more pressing issues of our times,” says John Slater, Chief Security Officer at ThinkOn. “Compliance regulations continue to evolve at a rapid pace to adjust to rising security and sovereignty risks, making it harder for global organizations to keep up.”
ThinkOn’s cloud services ensure compliance with local data privacy and sovereignty laws and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data. These services are your best protection against compliance headaches and a secure way to access new markets and grow your business.
Safety in numbers: Partner ecosystems as a data security blanket
An extensive ecosystem is a powerful asset when it comes to expanding technology solutions, fueling innovation, and increasing revenue growth; it also offers protection.
As cyberattacks continue to rise and hackers become more resourceful, no organization can hope to fend off the inevitable attacks of hackers on their own. In the first quarter of 2023 alone, Check Point reported 1,248 cyberattacks per week on average, with 1 in 31 organizations worldwide experiencing a ransomware attack weekly.[5]
As part of ThinkOn’s ecosystem, our partners have access to the latest data management and security expertise and solutions to keep hackers out while preventing foreign governments and third-party resources from gaining control over your data.
In today’s digital world, where losses from a single cyberattack can amount to millions in losses, that’s a big advantage.
The ThinkOn opportunity
ThinkOn’s extensive partner ecosystem helps you grow your business and sharpen your brand through association with the top technology innovators and resources in the world.
ThinkOn’s cloud back-end is powered by VMware technology, and we have strategic vendor relationships with proven technology partners like VMware, Dell, Veeam, Commvault, Hitachi, Veritas, RedHat, Intel, and other key technology experts in the cloud services market.
Together, we make data thrive and help solve customer challenges with joint solutions and expert go-to-market strategies and assets. Simplicity and transparency are what we bring to our channel-only partnerships, so we can fully support our partners and provide the best custom solutions for a digital world.
Here’s how we can help you leverage the power of partnerships.
[1] Alex Richards. 2022. “Partner Ecosystems Are the Catalyst to Your Organization’s Future Success.” Linkedin. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/partner-ecosystems-catalyst-your-organizations-future-richards/
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Gianvito Lanzolla and Constantinos C. Markides. 2022. “How to Choose the Right Ecosystem Partners for Your Business.” Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/03/how-to-choose-the-right-ecosystem-partners-for-your-business
[5] Alessandro Mascellino. 2023. “Global Cyber Attacks Rise by 7% in Q1 2023.” Infosecurity Magazine. https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/global-cyber-attacks-rise-7-q1-2023/