Technology Council of Southern California

Software Business SIG

Strategic Alliances

July 27, 2006

Strategic Alliances are increasingly important to deliver integrated customer solutions and to drive growth. Most alliances however, are opportunity driven. In the short run this may be fine. In the long run, the opportunistic alliance approach creates unnecessary and avoidable management headaches.

Companies need to create a long-term vision and strategic plan for managing alliances, different targets need to be set, alliance best practices need to be applied and alliance strategy needs to be translated into measurable performance indicators. Research shows that companies that have approached alliances in a strategic manner are more profitable...so they are a good thing as a whole....but, as anyone who has ever tried to create one knows, there are issues.

The purpose of this event is to help you understand the risks/rewards of strategic alliances. Learn how to identify potential partners and develop the right alliance program for your company. Become aware of the most common mistakes.

Whether you are a technology company or a service provider, this is a must attend event for you to understand the paradigm shift that is currently happening. Please join us for a panel discussion on a topical and compelling topic, and don't be left behind.

PANELIST:

SPEAKER BIO'S:

Trish Collins, IBM

Trish Collins joined IBM in 1977 and has held positions as a Systems Engineer and Sales Specialist. In January 2001 Trish joined IBM's Developer Relations group after IBM made the decision to partner, rather than compete, with application software firms. She has been involved with IBM's Strategic Alliance Program. As IBM has expanded their focus from the top ISVs to a broader ecosystem of partnerships she has been involved in other partnering programs including Partner World for Industry Networks.
Trish received a Master of International Management from Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management.

Tom Kuhr is the Vice President of Field Marketing for Telelogic, a leading provider of advanced software solutions and services that enable global 1000 companies to automate, optimize and align their product and software development lifecycles. Tom manages Telelogic's direct and channel marketing efforts worldwide, and is responsible for the promotion of Telelogic's visionary products to IT departments and engineering organizations in over 40 countries.

Tom has more than 15 years experience managing the international marketing of leading software products and services for fast-growth companies. He has proven experience providing exceptional sales support to direct and indirect sales organizations. Tom has lectured at universities on marketing best practices, as well as spoken about optimized business solutions at international conferences, tradeshows, and software industry forums.

Tom's software experience includes senior marketing management and strategy positions at Preventsys, NewWorldIQ, Day Software AG, and Stamps.com. He is on the board of directors at Qualitive Corporation, and he received his BA from the University of California at Santa Barbara.