Technology partner
tek-NOL-uh-jee PART-ner
A company whose product integrates with yours, creating mutual value through a shared technical connection.
A technology partner is another company whose product connects with yours through an integration. Stripe integrates with Shopify. Datadog integrates with AWS. Slack integrates with hundreds of products. Each of these is a technology partnership.
The value is bidirectional. Your product becomes more useful because it works with tools your customers already use. The partner's product becomes more useful because it connects to yours. Both benefit from each other's customer base.
Technology partnerships are the foundation of modern software ecosystems. No product exists in isolation. Customers expect tools to work together. A developer tool that does not integrate with GitHub, Slack, and their cloud provider will lose to one that does. Co-marketing the integration amplifies the reach for both sides.
Examples
Two companies build a native integration.
A monitoring tool and a deployment platform build a two-way integration. Deployments trigger monitoring checks. Monitoring alerts link back to the deployment that caused them. Both teams promote the integration to their customers.
A company joins a partner's integration directory.
After building the integration, the company submits a listing to the partner's integration directory. The listing includes a description, setup guide, and screenshot. Customers browsing the directory discover the integration and adopt both products.
Technology partners co-market the integration.
Both companies write a joint blog post and host a webinar demonstrating the integration. Each promotes to their email list. The webinar attracts 800 registrants, roughly half from each company's audience.
Frequently asked questions
How do you choose technology partners?
Start with your customers' existing stack. What tools do they already use alongside yours? The highest-value integrations connect products that your customers use together daily. Ask your customers what integrations they want most.
Who should build the integration?
The smaller company usually builds it because they benefit more from the distribution. But both companies should invest in maintaining and promoting the integration. A one-sided partnership eventually breaks down.
Related terms
A go-to-market strategy where partnerships with other companies drive customer acquisition and revenue through co-selling and integrations.
A joint marketing effort between two companies to promote a shared initiative, integration, or event to both audiences.
A company that builds and sells software products, often as a partner that integrates with or extends a larger platform.
A plan for building and leveraging a network of partners, integrations, and developers that create compounding value around a platform.
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