The rise of AI, cloud marketplaces, and consumption-based partnering models represent massive opportunities in the ecosystem. AI isn’t a new layer in the partner stack- it’s a new value web. Integrated domain expertise, AI capabilities, applications, and technical infrastructure all have to share a deep context to serve unique customer needs- there are no AI solutions without partnership. Cloud marketplaces have passed a critical adoption point and can amplify the value of direct cloud partnerships and indirect partner networks. Seemingly small investments in shared partner revenue flows have transformed incentive structures and realigned partners to grow faster together in the era of AI and ecosystems.
But for all the opportunity the ecosystem presents, aligning a business to pursue them is hard.
It takes concerted effort to overcome both internal and external inertia around the well-worn paths in the partnering function and existing partnerships. Managing changes at a business relationship, function & systems, and enablement / individual contributor level all take time. Getting it wrong is expensive work.
The difference between the partner programs that grow to define a company’s success in the market and those that stall out is whether their leaders return to first principles thinking and refine their strategy as markets evolve.
What follows is a framework for building partner strategy from first principles - developed through work with partnership leaders who are defining the future of business collaboration at companies like MongoDB, Cisco, EY, SAP and dozens of others.
The Four Components of First Principles Partner Strategy
1. Market Opportunity
MongoDB's approach to the AI opportunity shows how to identify strategic opportunities through first principles. When generative AI emerged, MongoDB recognized that the technology stack was becoming deeper, with new layers from infrastructure through AI models to applications. Rather than treating AI as just another feature, they created the MongoDB AI Applications Program (MAAP)- a dedicated partner network aligned to how AI solutions would be developed, deployed, and consumed. Their position in the data layer made them uniquely valuable to AI-powered applications, but they could only spot this opportunity by examining market changes from first principles.
We’re at a moment in the ecosystem where AI, cloud marketplaces, and the practice and systems that deliver partner operational excellence and predictable revenue are all potential catalysts to reimagine partnerships.
Tectonic shifts in technology or the market should trigger a return to first-principles partner strategy.
2. Customer Thesis
Insight into the future customer reveals partnership opportunities others miss entirely.
Microsoft and OpenAI's partnership is a great illustration- while many focused on the technology aspects, their partnership was built on a shared thesis about enterprise AI adoption: that businesses would need both cutting-edge AI capabilities and enterprise-grade security, compliance, and integration. This customer-centric insight led to deep product integration that went far beyond a typical technology partnership.
Many of the best partner programs and companies operate this way today. AWS is famous for working from the customer backwards. Vinod Devan, Global Head of Partner Ecosystem at Cohere says: "Solve for the customer, build an ecosystem that solves for the customer. We go back to first principles, starting with what we know to be true, then solve for the unknowns along the way."
To develop your customer thesis, examine how needs and buying behaviors are evolving, what unstated frictions customers accept today, and which problems require capabilities no single company can deliver.
3. Partner Thesis
With clear market opportunity and customer insight, you can develop your partner thesis - a vision for future ecosystem dynamics and which partners will be critical to your success. The most innovative partnerships emerge when companies deeply understand each other's strategic imperatives.
Consider AWS and VMware's groundbreaking 2016 partnership. VMware deeply understood AWS's strategic need to accelerate enterprise adoption, while AWS recognized VMware's imperative to remain relevant in a cloud-first world. Rather than continuing as competitors, they created the hybrid cloud category together - a partnership that seemed counterintuitive at first but proved transformative for both companies and their customers.
Your partner thesis should examine which partners align to your customer thesis, what unique capabilities make certain partners strategically valuable, and how potential partners' strategic imperatives might align with yours in non-obvious ways. As Jessica Kosmowski, Global Ecosystem Leader at Deloitte, notes: "The ecosystem is huge and getting bigger. What's important is making sure we're keeping track of not just who's in it today, but how players are reinventing themselves and where new entrants are coming from."
4. Execution Opportunity
While new partnerships often capture headlines, veteran partnership leaders know that significant value can be unlocked by examining how your business works with partners today. Looking at your execution opportunity means examining three key areas:
Partner Incentive Alignment:
- Evolution from transaction-based to lifecycle-based compensation models
- Rewards tied to customer adoption and usage milestones
- Integration of previously siloed incentive programs
- Clear measures of partner impact on customer success
Field Engagement Models:
- Continuous joint account planning rather than periodic reviews
- Shared visibility into solution deployment and adoption
- Coordinated customer success approaches
- Unified customer enablement programs
Operational Excellence:
- Building a partner operations center of excellence to tie execution to revenue
- Clear success metrics and accountability frameworks
- Scalable partner enablement programs
- Efficient processes for joint solution delivery
Cisco's 2024 partner program transformation exemplifies this internal examination. Their new Lifecycle Incentives 2.0 framework allows partners to earn up to three times more by engaging across the full customer lifecycle. By consolidating previously separate incentive programs into an integrated model, they're explicitly aligning partner compensation with customer success and ongoing solution utilization. Sometimes the highest-leverage opportunities aren't found in new partnerships, but in better enabling and incentivizing the partners you already have.
From Strategy to Action
Codifying a First Principles Partner Strategy isn't enough - you need to recruit and convert finance, the c-suite, and GTM leadership to share your vision of the role partners will play in your company's future.
The most successful partner leaders use this framework to:
- Build consensus around long-term direction
- Guide investment decisions and resource allocation
- Align cross-functional teams on partnership priorities
- Create consistent partnership execution models
As partnerships become increasingly central to how businesses compete and grow, having a clear first principles strategy is no longer optional - it's essential for success.
WorkSpan loves talking partnerships.
If you’re navigating how to pursue opportunities in the AI, cloud, or quickening consumption-aligned partnership space we’d welcome the opportunity to help.
Amit is passionate about driving ecosystem growth through co-selling programs. He co-founded WorkSpan after experiencing firsthand the success of SAP HANA's ecosystem approach, which led to it becoming the fastest-growing SAP product to reach $1B in sales. He now oversees all Sales, Marketing, Services, Partnering, Customer Success, and Support teams at WorkSpan.
