Alcatel-Lucent

Strength in numbers

We know that by pooling the rich complementary capabilities of a broad range of players, the collective expertise and experience benefits everyone.

The 1st task is to achieve a working alliance. Then, a path is open to develop field-proven, standards-compliant, widely available products and services. This paves the way for quicker industry and market acceptance. And it means end users—who pay our wages—are better served. They have access to many competitive solutions with the latest technology.

In short, partnerships create a synergy to rapidly bring new accepted products and services to market, delivering expanded business opportunities to all involved players.

For Hewlett-Packard, partnerships are a case of enlightened self-interest. We can satisfy new customer demands and expand our business without the need to invest in areas outside our chosen competitive arena.

Partnerships are now a fixed part of our corporate culture—standard operating procedure for us. Our list of partnerships, alliances and ecosystems across all industry sectors is long and distinguished.

Specific benefits from specific partnerships

Hewlett-Packard partnerships continue to bear fruit. We invest our time and resources because they deliver concrete expanded business benefits. The ng Connect ecosystem recently initiated by Alcatel-Lucent is a good case in point. It was an easy decision for us to become a member; it simply made good business sense.

ng Connect brings together companies from many industries with the true intent to partner. The fruit of ng Connect’s labors is a market for next-generation Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 4G wireless products and services that will extend beyond today’s opportunities. The ecosystem members know that the industry is moving to an all-IP environment. This means a technology transition and a shift from an entrenched business model toward something that is essentially new.

These changes are very challenging to all the players in our industry. In an ecosystem, however, everyone can contribute to expanding the potential market in their own areas of expertise. This allows for much greater wins to be had than would be gained by acting alone. Hewlett-Packard, for example, hopes to provide input in many areas, across all service layers from access to back-office services. In terms of technology, our media platform is contributing to proof-of-concept activities that are still being refined as I write.

As with all such partnerships, we expect not only to expand our existing business, but also to spin off into new business areas in the medium term. We are always looking for new opportunities, and partnerships are one of the best ways of generating them.

Industry ecosystems: Profit, partnerships or both?

At Hewlett-Packard, we believe the answer is “both.” My message is simple. When you come to the partnership table with an open mind and willingness to cooperate, you will create an expanding industry with plenty of opportunities for everyone.

Today, end users are in the driver’s seat. They are steeped in the culture of the Internet, and know exactly what level of service they want. With opportunities presenting themselves more quickly than ever before, it is time for all industry players to seek partners or allies to strengthen their offers.

Although it is still possible to drive a wedge into the market and carve out a niche, working cooperatively—especially within industry-wide ecosystems like ng Connect–broadens the market as a whole for the benefit of end users, operators and vendors.

Investing in success

Hewlett-Packard has a long history of partnering to achieve business expansion. Over the last few years, we have learned some key lessons about keeping up with the rate of innovation and change in the telecom industry. Today, fixed broadband is everywhere. All-IP networks and new generations of wireless broadband are on the rise. Our industry is expanding almost too quickly for companies to keep up with developments.

To succeed, companies need more expertise and often more assets and resources than they can provide on their own. For us, it was logical to look to partnerships and ecosystems to continue expanding our business.

A commitment to partnering starts at the corporate level. Our success is the result of our commitment. For Hewlett-Packard, the time and resources dedicated to partnering activities is second only to our investment in primary research through HP Labs.

To contact the author or request additional information, please send email to enrich.editor@alcatel-lucent.com.