If the technology industry just happened to rain thousand-dollar bills, there’d probably be enough to fill a few Olympic-sized swimming pools. Is it possible for any organization, including marketing services firms, to jump in and make a splash as a technology partner without losing some of those dollars?
Of course it’s possible, if that potential tech partner understands how to test the waters.
Superior customer experiences – and resulting revenue gains – don’t just happen in a splash. They result from realistic assessments of client needs and how to structurally meet them. Often, this reality does require bringing in a well-suited partner.
More than three-quarters of companies say partnerships play a critical role in their sales and marketing strategies, according to Forrester. More than half of companies said partnerships generate at least 20% of their revenue. And 77% of organizations partner with technology partners, reports HubSpot.
Let’s dive into what to expect from a services-company partnership versus a technology partnership. Ideally, these distinguishing factors will inform long-term, profitable partner choices.
5 Decision-Making Distinctions Between Tech and Services Partnerships
The following distinguishing factors can apply across industries, including retail, healthcare, pharma, manufacturing and entertainment/streaming. Regardless of the sector, your selected partner should meet a checklist specific to the task for which it is being brought on.
1st key difference: The collaborators with whom your organization can eventually work
Tech partnerships: Tech firms can easily broker alliances with hardware manufacturers, software vendors and/or cloud providers. This alignment makes sense if you strive to enhance product offerings via joint product development.
Service partnerships: A services consultant also tailors alliances with technology providers, software vendors and industry specialists, but the focus will be on comprehensive solutions. Partnership case in point: Accenture and Salesforce‘s long-standing strategic partnership tailors services so clients can integrate digital technologies throughout their businesses.
2nd key difference: The approach you’ll take toward the solution
Tech partnerships: Here, the focus will be trained on how the company’s technology can support growth through innovation, expanded product capabilities and new-market reach. Partnership case in point: Samsung and IBM combined their hardware and systems expertise to expand product capabilities for 5G clients, using edge computing and artificial intelligence.
Service partnerships: The approach here focuses on growth by identifying and meeting the “soft side” of client needs. Expect this partner to prioritize customer service, to ferret out opportunities to improve efficiency and to tailor informed solutions using advanced consumer insights.
3rd key difference: The fees and agreements that produce revenue
Tech partnerships: Generally, a tech collaborator derives revenue from licensing fees (to use its proprietary technology, patents and trade secrets), subscription models and/or revenue-sharing agreements from product sales. These fees generate revenue on their own, without marketing investments.
Service partnerships: If your product is better suited to generate revenue from referral fees, shared service agreements or joint contracts, a services partner is a good choice. Partnering companies can introduce each other to their networks and recommend them to clients, then collect percentages of the resulting sales.
4th key difference: The expert resources
Tech partnerships: Anticipate hands-on, science-based collaboration when you choose a tech partner. Tech companies could partner in concentrated joint research and development, co-innovation labs and team-based joint product development, as well as provide related resources.
Service partnerships: Service specialists will be adept at adopting new methodologies, integrating best practices or enhancing service delivery through technology. Partnership case in point: Capgemini and SAP, each an industry leader, have for decades benefited from each other’s best practices in enterprise resource planning and digital transformation services.
5th key difference: Your co-branding opportunities
Tech partnerships: Co-branding is common among tech companies, especially for joint product launches and technology platforms. Partnership case in point: Microsoft and Adobe joined forces to merge their cloud and applications services, accelerating the speed of their data analysis and improving security.
Service partnerships: A service partner can co-brand with you on joint marketing efforts or when offering combined service packages, as in bundling products. Partners also can cross-promote their services to the other’s respective client base, co-host webinars and other events, and benefit from each other’s reputations.
Always Test the Waters
Your best customer experiences are only as good as the key players in your talent pool, and that includes the partners you choose. Don’t just jump in. Whether the potential partner is a tech company or services expert, be aware of what each can bring.
Conduct a tailored review of various partner differences. It’s a sure way of a successful alignment.
Partnerships at Work: 4 Noteworthy Examples
Tech-to-Tech Partnerships
Microsoft and Adobe – These two software firms formed a strategic partnership to integrate their respective cloud services and applications platforms. Through this collaboration, the parties integrated Adobe’s Marketing Cloud, Creative Cloud and Document Cloud suite of services with Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform and Dynamics 365 suite of business applications. In addition to a 45% gain in customer loyalty, the companies reported more detailed customer data and improved security.
Samsung and IBM – The tech manufacturing giants formed a powerful partnership to develop next-era organizational products by combining IBM’s “edge computing” and artificial intelligence with Samsung’s private 5G networks (edge computing employs augmented reality and machine learning to analyze mass data). The partnership leverages Samsung’s hardware capabilities and IBM’s expertise in cloud, AI and software to integrate various company systems. In 2024, the two companies launched their first 5G industry 4.0 trial for manufacturing.
Tech-to-Services Company Partnerships:
Accenture and Salesforce – Accenture, a global professional services company, and Salesforce, a customer relationship management (CRM) leader, have a long-standing strategic partnership to offer services that enable clients to integrate their digital technologies across all areas of their businesses. The firms have since established an acceleration hub to provide the resources to organizations seeking to scale Salesforce’s generative AI platform for CRM (Einstein GPT). In 2024, they announced a personalized experiences feature that combines real-time data with AI-driven insights.
Capgemini and SAP – For 40 years, Capgemini, a leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services, has partnered with SAP, which provides enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and digital transformation services to nearly 40,000 companies in 120 countries. These services enable clients to integrate digital technologies throughout their organizations and establish digital cores – tech platforms and applications that empower them to meet the demands of the digital economy. Capgemini offers digital core products for automotive, grocery, utilities, insurance, life sciences and green industries.