Very few companies can be all things to all people. Even General Electric with its 30,000 or so employees can’t do everything. Strategic partnerships, where two companies possess assets that will help each other, but neither one wishes to develop internally, can have many advantages.

At the top of the advantages list is making each business more successful and hopefully, more profitable. In order for this to happen, a good partnership must be mutually beneficial and please your customers. In many cases, partnerships arise out of a need to supply a customer with a product or service that is in their industry, but not something they provide, or want to provide. However, there needs to be a consistent customer demand to justify a partnership, otherwise it will fade away quickly. Meaningful partnerships, just like any other good relationship, take time and work to be successful.

Some liken business relationships to a marriage, but unlike matrimony, a business can have many partners. The key is finding those businesses that compliment your own, that you can trust, and with whom you find a cultural fit.

In April, 2011, Toyota and Microsoft announced a strategic partnership in which Toyota has agreed to develop and deploy telematic services (fusing of telecommunications and information technologies in vehicles) on Microsoft's cloud-based Azure technology. The deal calls for the two companies to invest a total of $12 million in a subsidiary company that will provide digital information services to Toyota’s car customers. For Microsoft, it means a marquee customer for its Azure technology and allows them to offer applications as a Web-delivered service.

Toyota gets a new added-value technology for their car customers with minimal investment and Microsoft gets new customers for its cloud-based Azure service and positive recognition from the largest automaker in the world endorsing their company. If successful, it will add to the prestige of both companies, what is sometimes referred to as a “halo” effect. Obviously, Toyota and Microsoft are recognized around the world for their accomplishments — making it all the more important when choosing partnerships. If the company I work for entered into a partnership and it failed, it may receive a little publicity. But when companies the caliber of Microsoft and Toyota encounter missteps, a lot of people notice. Additionally, from the press release and news articles, it’s reasonable to guess that there is a defined compensation and investment plan in place here as well. Laying out the rules for who gets paid what and when, can help businesses avoid arguments later. There’s nothing that can ruin a relationship quicker than a dispute over money.

Finding good partners is not easy. As a former business owner, I always did whatever it took to get the job done and the CEO of Bit-Wizards, Vince Mayfield, is no different. But not everyone brings this work ethic to their business so it can be difficult to find partners that are a good fit without settling. At Bit-Wizards, we value our reputation and we only partner with companies that are passionate about what they do and put the customer first. A company with a bad reputation will eventually rub off on you.

Good partnerships work because the collaboration makes sound business sense. But it takes work to keep it afloat. Here at Bit-Wizards, we work with Microsoft and Kentico as a partner and are involved with many initiatives, sometimes with no direct benefit to our company other than maintaining the relationship. But these partnerships have been cultivated over many years, even building personal relationships with Microsoft and Kentico employees. We understand that no matter how good the fit, partnerships don’t run themselves. We have regular meetings with our contacts at Microsoft and Kentico and everyone on our team receives regular communications.

Partnering can be a great way to provide something to your customers that you don’t offer and can expose your business to more opportunities, but it should make sense and be supported by solid customer demand. But the biggest benefit of good and reliable strategic partners may mean never having to fight the competitive battles alone.