Choosing Strategic Partnerships Optimized for Joint Value & Managing Expectation Around ROI

In this episode of Between Product and Partnerships, Gary Ballabio, VP of Technology Partnerships at Cloudinary, shares insights into his role and the broader world of technology partnerships. The discussion covers a range of topics, including frameworks for selecting strategic partners, managing ROI expectations, and navigating the challenges of integrating technology partnerships into SaaS ecosystems.

Key Highlights:

Technology Partnerships Defined: 

• Gary explains how technology partnerships sit at the intersection of product, engineering, and sales. He emphasizes the importance of understanding both technical and business aspects to create integrated solutions that address unique customer needs.

Strategic Partner Selection Framework

• Start with assessing complementary technology fits.
• Identify integration points that solve customer pain points and drive demand.
• Consider business alignment, including shared target markets and buyer personas.
• Tailor approaches based on partner size (e.g., startups vs. tech giants).

Optimizing ROI for Partnerships

• Technology partnerships can accelerate sales cycles by reducing technical hurdles during B2B sales processes.
• Success metrics should align with the nature of the partnership—whether it’s driving new opportunities or solving product gaps.
• Gary advises diversifying partnership tracks (large providers, smaller companies) to show early results while pursuing long-term goals.

Building a Technology Partnership Program

• For first hires in technology partnerships, Gary recommends starting with internal assessments to identify complementary technologies and leveraging insights from sales teams and systems integrators.
• Establishing relationships in the market and navigating programs offered by large providers like AWS or Salesforce is crucial for scaling efforts.

Data Collection for Measuring Impact

• Gary highlights tools like Salesforce and services like Gong for tracking partnership impact on sales processes. He stresses the importance of creating robust systems for data collection and reporting to demonstrate value to executives.

Gary concludes by emphasizing the importance of continuous learning in the tech space and invites listeners to connect with him on LinkedIn for further discussions.

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This podcast is hosted by Pandium, the only embedded integration platform that facilitates faster code-first development of integrations, allowing B2B SaaS companies to launch integrations at scale without sacrificing customization and control.

Learn more about Pandium here: https://www.pandium.com/

To access more resources and content on technology partnerships, integrations, and APIs, check out our blog and resources page below.

Blog: https://www.pandium.com/blog

Resources on Technology Partnerships, Integrations, and APIs: https://www.pandium.com/ebooks