In the new knowledge economy, the principles of business strategy are being transformed. Instead of
a focus on physical assets and economies of scale, the drivers of success reside in connectivity and intangibles.  Businesses increasingly need to develop and manage complex ecologies or organizations around themselves so as to succeed. 

The selection of strategic partners with whom to collaborate is now becoming a life or death issue for
most firms.  Barriers between companies, which used to be solid and absolute, are now permeable. "Iconoclasm and creativity are now the keys to success", writes Mark Stevens.  "For generations companies built moats between themselves and their competitors. Today the most successful
companies build bridges. And that's only the beginning". Increasingly corporate leaders must adopt, practice, and orchestrate what appears to be conflicting policies, such as joint-venturing with competitors.

In today's new world, the competitive pressure has been intensifying, it is becoming harder to achieve leadership and stay on top, and, thus, competitor in one market may establish alliances in another. Acquisitions of and mergers with competitors have also become a common practice. "More and more, those who can examine the code, challenge it, and rewrite it for success in their companies, fields, and industries will be the leaders and role models."


By sharing technical data and other resources with its partners, Microsoft ensures that third-party products are developed easily and quickly, and meet their authors’ goals. Because of our relationship with Microsoft, we receive early releases of Microsoft OSs and applications, preferred access to Microsoft technical resources such as SDKs, and Microsoft templates (such as solution accelerators) that outline the software, services, and configurations partners should use to achieve positive results predictably and economically.

Microsoft partners have access to Microsoft communities, Microsoft-sponsored Web sites or newsgroups that permit Microsoft partners to communicate with each other.  Such communities encourage partners to share problems and solutions, and can sometimes resolve problems faster than official Microsoft channels.
 

By partnering with Business Objects – the business intelligence (BI) market leader, Next Velocity   gains access to an established brand and award-winning products, including Crystal Reports, Crystal Xcelsius, and BusinessObjects XI.