Every alliance goes through a natural life cycle. The Alliance Life Cycle:
Phase 1: Evaluate | |
Define alliance strategy | |
Analyze portfolio | |
Evaluate ecosystem | |
Evaluate partner | |
Build business case | |
Phase 2: Form | |
Create partnering value proposition | |
Secure sponsors | |
Conduct negotiations and forge agreements | |
Protect intellectual property | |
Announce alliance | |
Phase 3: Incubate | |
Structure alliance governance | |
Build operational model | |
Plan communications | |
Create partner-engagement model | |
Launch new alliance marketing | |
Phase 4: Operate | |
Build executive committees and boards | |
Conduct business planning | |
Draft alliance solutions and initiatives | |
Create field engagement and marketing | |
Define metrics and performance reporting | |
Phase 5: Transition | |
Review strategy and value proposition | |
Review value curves and trends | |
Update strategic goals | |
Confirm joint commitment | |
Determine future investment | |
Phase 6: Retire | |
Conduct management discussions | |
Determine exit strategy | |
Build exit plans | |
Define activities and timeline | |
Create messaging | |
What has been YOUR experience while in a strategic alliance with Cisco?