As competition continues to grow in technology-based industries, strategic relationships will become ever more important. Industry shakeouts are inevitable. Not all 500 computer companies and 10,000 software companies will survive. Small companies have to ask themselves whether they can go it alone without the resources and credibility offered by larger companies. For companies that start to slip, strategic relationships will be the only way to regain credibility, to build a new image. These slipping companies need a dramatic change. Osborne and Victor, two personal-computer companies that went bankrupt, both should have paid more attention to strategic alliances. They didn’t and they failed.

In some product categories, such as computer operating systems, one or two dominant standards will emerge in the next few years. For companies developing those products, strategic relationships are particularly important. Those companies must link up with others to help establish their products as standards.

Pauline Alker, one of the founders of Convergent Technologies, founded her second company, Counterpoint Computers in early 1984. Counterpoint is in the high performance, mini-computer business. But so are many other companies. The major difference that has made Alker’s company successful so early in its corporate life is her approach to strategic alliances. Pauline set out from the beginning by pursuing and attracting capital from three of the premier venture capital companies, Arthur Rock, Hambrecht & Quist, and Mayfield. While her products were in the development stage, Pauline set out to establish relationships that would ensure success. Counterpoint’s initial strategic alliances include technology exchanges and marketing, product development, manufacturing and equity relationships with three strategic partners: AT&T Informations Systems, Kyocera and British & Commonwealth. These companies have combined assets in excess of $150 billion.

To be continue at:
The important of Strategic Relationships -2

Tags: relat, strategic relationship

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