Show Notes
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit insidepartnering.substack.com
At Sage FUTURE in San Francisco, Nancy Sperry, Vice President of North American Partner Sales at Sage, shared a practical view into how Sage approaches partnerships, co-selling, and AI enablement. The conversation focused on operational execution - how to help partners scale faster, create industry-specific customer outcomes, and build durable businesses together. One theme came through consistently: Sage is designing its ecosystem strategy around partner growth, not just partner participation. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Building a Partner Business Sperry framed Sage’s approach around a simple idea: if partners grow, Sage grows alongside them. “How do we remove the barriers to growth for the partner? That’s an incredible kind of focus.” Rather than viewing partnerships strictly through pipeline contribution or resale metrics, Sage appears to be thinking more holistically about partner economics and operational scalability. Sperry described investments in tooling, acquisitions, AI capabilities, and co-sell motions as intentionally designed to help partners execute faster. “All of it is designed to be executed through the lens of partner.” That philosophy extends into how Sage structures its go-to-market organization. According to Sperry, Sage’s North American partner organization works closely alongside partner sales teams in the field, helping partners add sales capacity, industry expertise, and execution support. Co-Sell as Staff Augmentation One of the more interesting operational models discussed was Sage’s approach to co-selling. Sperry explained that Sage account executives can effectively operate as an extension of partner sales teams. “What that does is it actually gives partners some additional sales capacity.” For smaller or growing partners, this becomes a meaningful scaling mechanism. Instead of waiting until they can independently fund new headcount, partners can leverage Sage resources to accelerate pipeline development and industry expansion. Sperry described this as a practical way to help partners grow faster while reducing operational friction. “If they want to go into a particular industry, we can add a little bit of industry knowledge.” That support can include: * Additional sales coverage * Industry specialization * Mentorship for new partner reps * Joint customer engagement * Pipeline acceleration Importantly, she framed this as a shared investment model. “We’re investing together.” That alignment matters because many partners are balancing hiring decisions, utilization targets, and services capacity while simultaneously trying to grow recurring revenue practices. The Power of Micro-Vertical Expertise Another major theme was Sage’s focus on industry depth. Sperry explained that while Sage serves many broad industries, partners often go even deeper into highly specialized micro-verticals. “We have over 50 micro verticals that we can kind of talk about.” This is where the ecosystem becomes a force multiplier. Partners combine: * Sage technology * Industry expertise * Specialized services * ISV integrations * Workflow customization The result is highly tailored customer experiences that are difficult for generalized providers to replicate. Sperry also highlighted how partners frequently overlap across multiple ecosystem motions simultaneously. A reseller may also build proprietary technology. An outsourcing partner may also operate as an ISV. That flexibility creates broader customer coverage and more specialized outcomes. “One partner may not solve that challenge exactly the same way.” For partner leaders, that observation matters. Ecosystems increasingly win through combinations of expertise rather than through single-vendor standardization. Trusted AI Requires Trusted Partners AI was a central topic thr
More from Inside Partnering
Samrah Khan on partner specialization, faster customer outcomes, and Google Cloud’s evolving ecosystem strategy The system integrator business is undergoing a fundamental transformation. For years, the traditional model was relatively straightforward. Technology vendors sold platforms, customers selected implementation partners, and SIs delivered projects that could stretch across multiple years. AI is changing that equation. Customers want more than technology implementation. They’re looking for partners who can help define their AI strategies, identify business opportunities, develop specialized solutions, and deliver measurable results in months rather than years. In my latest Inside Partnering conversation, I welcomed back Samrah Khan, Director of Google Cloud SI/GSI Ecosystem North America, to explore how these changes are reshaping the partner ecosystem. Samrah leads Google’s SI/GSI partner relationships at a particularly interesting moment. Google Cloud’s business experienced an amazing 82% year-over-year growth in Q2! But the more interesting story isn’t the growth itself. It’s how the expectations of customers, technology providers, and partners are changing. Here are six insights from our conversation. 1. Customers Want a Unified AI Strategy, Not Another Technology Implementation One of Samrah’s clearest observations is that enterprise customers are approaching AI very differently from previous technology transitions. They’re no longer simply shopping for infrastructure or selecting a systems integrator after choosing a platform. Instead, they expect technology providers and partners to work together from the beginning, bringing a comprehensive perspective on business transformation. “Customers are looking at both the partners as well as the hyperscalers or technology providers to come in and look at the whole enterprise from A to Z.” Thanks for reading Inside Partnering! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
For partner leaders, one of the hardest questions isn’t identifying your best-performing partners. Most organizations already know who they are. The harder question is: Who should you invest in next? That question sits at the center of my conversation with Kenneth Fox, CTO and founder of ChannelScaler. Kenneth has spent his career in channels and partnerships, and his perspective combines the technology side of partner management with the practical realities of running partner programs. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
At Sage FUTURE in San Francisco, I sat down with Dan Miller, EVP of Financials and ERP at Sage, to talk about how Sage is thinking about AI, ecosystem partnerships, and the future of ERP platforms. One of the clearest themes from the conversation was this: finance leaders are not resisting AI. They simply want transparency, accountability, and confidence in the outputs. For partner leaders, ISVs, and ecosystem builders, that creates a very different opportunity than the generic “AI transformation” messaging dominating the market right now. Dan framed it around trust. “What finance and operations professionals really want is confidence in the tools that they’re deploying are doing exactly what they are expected to do.” That requirement shapes how Sage is building both its AI capabilities and its broader partner ecosystem. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
At Sage FUTURES in San Francisco, Gretchen O’Hara delivered a clear message to partners: the market is shifting fast - and the opportunity is massive. But despite the noise around AI, one thing hasn’t changed. Partners are still at the center of how businesses win. “The channel is one of the most important things because our partners are the ones that have the deepest industry expertise and are closest to customers that can really solve their unique, unique business challenges.” AI may accelerate execution, but it doesn’t replace the need for domain expertise, customer proximity, and trusted advisory. In fact, it amplifies it. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
For years, partnerships with global systems integrators were often viewed through a narrow lens - implementation, services, and support. Rajiv Batra challenges that assumption directly. “A lot of times when we work with GSIs… there is a notion that it’s more focused on process consulting… I will say that’s not fully true.” Instead, GSIs are increasingly central to building differentiated, industry-specific solutions. The real value is not just delivery - it is co-creation. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.