When I was a kid growing up in Copenhagen, I would spend my early Sunday mornings working in my neighbour's Garden. She was an elderly lady who had hired me to help her manage and care for her garden. She taught me, first-hand, how to cultivate a garden and a small ecosystem. You might wonder what this has to do with a Technology Partner Program, but the process is, in many ways, very similar.
In today’s interconnected technology landscape, a strong partner ecosystem is not just a competitive edge; it is essential to the business. Yet, building a successful technology partner program is not a quick win. It is a long-term endeavour rooted in trust, mutual value, and strategic alignment. But how do you create something that scales, thrives, and bears fruit over time?
At Ultimo, we are currently walking this path ourselves. As we set about restructuring our technology partner program, I would like to share the lessons we have learned along the way, whilst breaking down the process into its essential parts and showing how, in practice, it mirrors the art of cultivating a thriving garden.
Preparing the soil - Laying the foundation for growth
As we began rebuilding the Technology Partner Program, our priority was to establish the right foundation for long-term success. Just like a garden cannot flourish without fertile soil, a technology partner program needs a strong foundation before any growth can take place. For Ultimo, this has meant focusing on several practical elements.
One of the most important elements is ensuring that the right technology partners are in place to deliver maximum end-customer value and foster innovation. This begins with clearly defining the value proposition and articulating exactly what partners will gain from joining, how we will support them, and what mutual benefits we aim to achieve. Without this clarity, it is difficult to attract and retain the right partners.
Equally essential is creating an infrastructure that allows partners to thrive. This includes a structured onboarding process that helps them get up to speed quickly, a partner portal to give them easy access to tools and resources, a solid legal framework to support collaboration, and a strong network of support resources to guide them throughout the journey. When these foundational elements are in place, partners have the confidence and capability to grow, and the entire ecosystem benefits as a result.
At the end of the day, without good soil, nothing grows well. Not even the best of seeds. This is true for your prospective partners as well.
Choosing the Right Seed - Selecting the Right Partner
With any garden, when picking the right plant or flower, you would consider how it would fit in the surrounding environment. You would want to make sure that what you plant will thrive in your garden. The same principle applies to partner selection. Considering the following criteria will help you focus on the right fit.
Strategic fit: Does the partner complement the product or address an adjacent customer need? Does it fill a gap to make you more competitive in the market?
Cultural fit: Are we aligned in terms of values, communication, and innovation mindset? If not, how can we work towards an alignment?
Timing & Growth Mindset: Does the partner have the bandwidth and interest to co-invest in the relationship?
Above all, the partner selection must start with the customer firmly at the centre of the ecosystem, especially when it comes to technology partners. Every decision should be guided by one critical question: Will this partnership deliver meaningful, measurable value to our customers? If the answer is no, then it’s not the right seed to plant, no matter how attractive the opportunity may seem on paper.
In practice, this means seeking partners whose solutions, capabilities, and mindset align directly with enhancing customer outcomes. When customers feel the benefits of a partnership in tangible ways, they not only remain loyal but often become advocates. For a technology partner program, a customer-first focus is not just a nice-to-have; it is the foundation for sustainable growth. Over time, this commitment naturally translates into increased adoption, stronger relationships, and ultimately creates more value and business for all parties involved.
In other words, when you put the customer first, the garden thrives, and so does the business. As with any garden, not every plant is the right fit for your garden, and the principle is the same with a potential partner. Not every company is the right fit for your partner program. Choose the partners like you would choose your seeds: intentionally and with the goal to grow.
Watering and Sunlight - Enablement and Support
As you may know, seeds require consistent watering, sunlight, and care to be able to grow. Partners are no different. For your partners to thrive in your ecosystem and to enable growth, your actions must facilitate this.
Focusing on enablement becomes key. Provide certification processes, product and sales training, as well as technical enablement. Give them the right tools for them to be able to be successful within the ecosystem.
Supporting the partner is equally important. Assign them a partner account manager to help with their journey, offer deal support, and create an open line of communication with them. Finally, make sure they feel empowered: Let them self-serve where possible and provide the right tools for them to go to market with confidence in the collaboration with your company.
At the end of the day, a neglected partner will not bloom. Without the right care and attention, the partnership will fizzle out and die like a flower without care. The right support is the sunlight and water of the ecosystem.
Weeding and Pollination - Managing performance & Encouraging Ecosystem Collaboration
As with everything in life, not everything in the garden will grow perfectly. Some plants won't grow at all, some will need some extra care and attention, some will thrive, and some may even bring in pests. With creating and managing a living and moving ecosystem, monitoring performance is key to the health of the ecosystem. Tracking engagements, certifications, and other relevant KPIs can help determine what type of focus you need to give each partner to continue to move them forward.
With any great garden, the array of flowers will attract bees, butterflies, and birds. All are agents of cross-pollination. Once cross-pollinations begin, something magical transpires. Co-sell and co-build opportunities arise, partner-to-partner collaboration begins, and moments of community transpire; webinars, events, shared success stories, innovations, and new collaborations. This is where the ecosystem becomes more than the sum of its parts and collaboration becomes intentional.
Enjoying Your Garden - Reaping the Rewards of Your Ecosystem
Building a technology partner program is not a transactional activity but rather a living system. Like a garden, it requires patience, planning, and care, but the results are lasting and often exponential. As I mentioned earlier, building such an ecosystem is not a quick win. After seasons of care, attention, and growth, the entire ecosystem will be able to enjoy the harvest. Innovations, more sales, better customer solutions, access to new markets - the list is long. Not to mention, the brand amplification that can come from a healthy ecosystem can be significant. Happy partners and customers become advocates - and the most valuable leads are those through word-of-mouth.
Whether you’re just beginning your ecosystem journey or evolving a mature program, this mindset shift of moving from pipeline to planting can be transformative. At Ultimo, we are working on our garden and looking forward to watching the ecosystem bloom.
And just like in a real garden, the joy is not only in seeing the flowers blossom, but in knowing why you planted them in the first place. For me, the “why” is simple: everything we grow is for our customers. The healthiest partnerships are those that deliver real, sustained value to the customer.
As I think back to those early Sunday mornings in Copenhagen, carefully tending my neighbour’s garden, I realize that the lesson she gave me still guides me today: Choose wisely what you plant, nurture it with consistency, and give it space and support to grow. In business, as in gardening, there is joy, not only in the harvest, but in the care, patience, and dedication that make it possible. Plant with intention. Nurture often. Cut the stems when needed. A well-tended partner garden will bear fruit for everyone involved. Just like that little garden in Copenhagen, it can be something beautiful that lasts for years to come.
Showing the garden
I am proud of the garden that we have planted recently. In the upcoming months, we will therefore highlight some of our best-growing technology partners.
