Partner Management

Steer partners instead of outsourcing responsibility

In modern IT landscapes, no company is an island. Success depends significantly on the quality and steering of external partners: agencies, software houses, and cloud providers. Professional partner management transforms pure supplier relationships into strategic partnerships.

The goal is to reduce dependency, ensure the quality of deliveries, and set common incentives for long-term success.

Anti-Patterns: Problems with External Partners

• The Black Box Agency: Results arrive but the path to get there remains opaque. Knowledge stays exclusively with the partner.
• Agency Lock-in: The code or infrastructure is so specifically tailored to the partner that switching is impossible or extremely expensive.
• Incongruent Goals: The partner earns by hours (time), the company needs results (value). This leads to inefficiency.
• Lack of Onboarding: External teams don't know the internal standards and strategic direction and develop past the target.

Strategic Partnership

1. Clear Standards and Guidelines: External partners must adhere to internal architecture and code standards (see Tech Radar).
2. Transparent Processes: Integration of external teams into internal communication channels (e.g. Slack/Teams) and task management tools.
3. Shared Success Models: Using contract models that reward quality and goal achievement instead of just billing time.
4. Regular Health Checks: Structured reviews of the collaboration at a strategic level, beyond day-to-day project business.
5. Knowledge Transfer: Ensuring that critical knowledge about the system is also built up and documented internally.

The Focus: Partners as a Complement, not a Replacement

External expertise is brought in specifically to scale internal capacity or contribute specialist knowledge. Strategic ownership and architectural knowledge remain within the company.

FAQ

Should we not outsource our IT completely so we can focus on our core business?

No. The strategic steering of the organisation's technology is today part of the core business. The implementation can be outsourced, but never the responsibility for the architecture and direction.

How do we deal with agencies that want to enforce their own standards?

Through clear requirements in the tender and in the contract. Partners must use the organisation's Paved Roads so that the system remains maintainable internally.

References

• Kate Vitasek et al. Vested Outsourcing. A model for performance-based, value-oriented partnerships instead of pure time billing. (2010). vestedway.com
• Axelos ITIL Service Level Management. Best practices for defining service quality and managing SLAs. (2019). www.axelos.com/certifications/itil-service-management
• Mark Darby The Art of Partnering. Guide for strategic alliances and the management of external partners. (1995). www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Art+of+Partnering%3A+The+Emerging+Forces+Transforming+Partnerships-p-9780471190448