Frequent Flyer Miles for Technology…hmmm!?!

By Kameron Hadavi

Technology partnerships tend to be in the Rodney Dangerfield classification at many companies. They just “Don’t get no respect!”   And why should they!  Technology partnerships deliver smaller, niche benefits to a larger, more important solution-set.  They are the little brother that tags along, the Egret (bird) on the back of the Rhino.   But guess what?  Today, technology partnerships are absolutely critical for the growth and prosperity of software companies, and this is especially true for Best-of-Breed (B-o-B) providers, such as Adexa, which operate in technology markets that are driven by urgent customer demands.  More than ever before, today’s customers are demanding that their software solutions further leverage their current assets, resources and existing technologies—they want to do more with less.  As a result, today’s software solutions must address a wider-range of issues, at lower cost of ownership, with a higher degree of fit to specific businesses processes and specific industries (vertical markets).  This is why technology partnerships are critical.  They enable B-o-B providers to meet specific customer requirements more rapidly than they could on their own.

B-o-B, by definition, means that you are the best at what you do—not everything else.  It’s a lot like the airline industry in that no carrier flies to all destinations, but by partnering; they can go anywhere and provide the best value and service for their customers.   Aligned carriers can provide direct flights to destinations their customers want to go to, using one ticket for all their connections, while providing the same or better service levels.  Similarly, aligned technology partners can provide end-to-end solutions that can take companies from their many suppliers to their customers faster and more cost effectively.  Furthermore, technology partners can provide fully integrated solutions where customers switch from one technology to another with total transparency and no disconnects—whether internally or externally oriented to their enterprise.  And customers can work with the same technology provider (even the same individual) that has worked with them before, knows their environment and is a trusted ally.

As Adexa further expands its technology from its core competency of planning into collaboration and real-time visibility for manufacturers, suppliers and customers, we find ourselves working more closely with partner companies that have traditionally provided buyer-side and seller-side niche solutions.  We realize that we can not be the Jack-of-all-trades, but we CAN find the best partners for delivering what our much valued customers are asking for.  It’s not always an easy task because Adexa’s technology has always been grown organically (i.e. in-house).   Step one in the process is to make sure we have a thorough understanding of what our customers are looking for, and the latest and sustaining trends in related technology markets and industries.  Step two is due diligence, to preserve the integrity and quality of our solutions our partners must be B-o-B in their own specialty areas.  Naturally, this limits the number of partner companies that we can align with, but it makes our partner strategy extremely effective for creating true value for our customers.  There is an old saying, “If you have partnerships with everybody, then you are partners with nobody,” and we are firm believers of that.  In this way, Adexa makes sure that our customers are ahead of the curve through consistent delivery of the top solutions for their industries.  We don’t give away any Frequent Flyer miles, but it’s something I could look into…what is your favorite airline?  

Kameron Hadavi is Adexa’s Vice President, Strategic Alliances

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