Page 117 - Transforming an Idea Into a Business with Design Thinking

96 ◾ Transforming an Idea Into a Business with Design Thinking

◾◾ Can you leverage some process expertise from a partner to expedite
your solution creation? Examples of this kind of partnership may include
manufacturing and quality assurance processes for a partner in Asia.

◾◾ What could the partner get in return for expending these processes?
◾◾ Can you use technologies from a partner to help you shorten time to

market? Examples include Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure –
these are cloud-based platforms which have become de facto standards
for all new start-ups to build their software applications on. Most tech
start-ups use APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) from several
providers to build their solutions. Some of the most commonly used ones
include Google Map API, weather APIs, traffic APIs. In enterprise space,
SAP Cloud Platform allows teams to build business solutions as well.
◾◾ What would it cost you to use these technology capabilities?
◾◾ Can you leverage resources, process or technology from a partner to
deliver your product or service to your customer segment? Online retail
platforms like Amazon and eBay allow start-ups to make their products
and services available to consumers.
◾◾ Can the partner help you in gaining visibility in front of the customers
who may be their customers as well? Advertising platforms from Google
and Facebook are indispensable for reaching the right customer seg-
ments for start-ups. In enterprise space, SAP opens access to its 400,000
global customers for start-ups which build solutions on SAP Cloud
Platform.
◾◾ Can you partner with a player to gain access to a key channel for
exposing your solution to customers? For enterprise-focused solutions,
there are specialized distributors who help in positioning the solution in
front of the right customer groups for a share of the revenue generated
through this channel.
◾◾ Can you leverage existing relationships between a partner and cus-
tomers to position your solution? This is most commonly seen in
industries where an implementation services provider already has
deep relationships with customers and could be leveraged for your
solution as well where they could become exclusive implementor of
the solution.
◾◾ Can you partner with a financial institution to extend credit services for
making it easier for value capturing?

Partnerships are all about finding mutual value. As you explore partner-
ships, think about the value this partnership will bring to the partner.