We thought that the first week in September would pass without a press release announcing a partnership in any of the market sectors we follow. Typically, not a week goes by without somebody partnering with someone else, for “strategic reasons,” “driven by customer demand,” or “to fill a gap in our offering.” But one slipped in under the wire, just as we were shutting down our Mac on Friday. Nonetheless, we will talk about partnering without picking on the latest announcement. Sit back. Think about any press release about partnerships that you recently perused (if you got past the title).

It’s an old software industry tradition for companies to enter into a partnership that involves little more than a joint press release announcing their relationship. Beyond that, they show up on each other’s websites, may share a booth at a conference, appear in a partner catalog, and periodically issue vows of their undying “synergy,” “complementary offerings,” or “win-win for the customer.”

It’s no different with language service providers, translation automation suppliers, and mainstream content management companies. A joint customer or two often inspires a partnership announcement. It’s kind of like going steady, but often with several partners at once.

Unfortunately, very few of these relationships actually generate much business for either party. Why not? And should you, as a buyer, care? Let’s use a classic partnership scenario – that of an LSP and a software firm – as an example. For the most part, the language service provider comes in at a different point in the sales cycle than the software vendor, rarely at the beginning. A translation automation supplier may buddy up with a company pushing enterprise software. With little cross-training of marketing, sales, and support, there’s no strong incentive for either side to involve the other – even when translation becomes an issue.

Why do they keep doing it? In the software industry, we have called them “Barneys” for as long as that purple dinosaur has been around. Barney? Remember the song “I love you, you love me, we’re a happy family” (click here for the lyrics). The software company benefits from the perception that its ecosystem is global, if not harmonious. The newly-adopted LSP benefits from its association with a leading software vendor. A translation tool vendor gets to pal around with the big guys.

As a buyer, what should you look for in a relationship? At the very least:

1. Review their joint development efforts. Make sure that both companies invest in the relationship. Look for a high degree of technical integration, proper hand-offs from one company to the next, a single phone number to call for support, and customer references. Ask for a product presentation showing how well everything fits together. If they can’t show you how it works, then you’re looking at vaporware.
2. Ask to see their product integration roadmap. Probe for the partners’ documented plans about what happens next. If the two companies can’t tell you where they will take their partnership, you’re probably evaluating a tactical solution rather than a solution built to last.
3. Look for active joint marketing and sales. How they market the partnership doesn’t affect you directly, but you can tell a lot about their intentions. Think about how their sales forces call on you. Is there a unified message and joint sales call? Or are you bombarded by offers the individual sales teams? If it’s the latter, it’s definitely a Barney.