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Inside Partnering

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by Chip Rodgers

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Strategies behind today’s most successful partner ecosystems. Join host Chip Rodgers for candid conversations with the leaders shaping the future of ecosystems, co-selling, and go-to-market strategy. <a href="https://insidepartnering.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">insidepartnering.substack.com</a>

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Recent Episodes

May 26, 2026

Dan Miller: How Sage's EVP of Product thinks about partners to drive trust in AI solutions

At Sage FUTURE in San Francisco, I sat down with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielgmiller/">Dan Miller</a>, EVP of Financials and ERP at Sage, to talk about how Sage is thinking about AI, ecosystem partnerships, and the future of ERP platforms.One of the clearest themes from the conversation was this: finance leaders are not resisting AI. They simply want transparency, accountability, and confidence in the outputs.For partner leaders, ISVs, and ecosystem builders, that creates a very different opportunity than the generic “AI transformation” messaging dominating the market right now.Dan framed it around trust.“What finance and operations professionals really want is confidence in the tools that they’re deploying are doing exactly what they are expected to do.”That requirement shapes how Sage is building both its AI capabilities and its broader partner ecosystem.Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.AI Adoption in Finance Requires TransparencyDan pushed back on the idea that finance organizations are inherently resistant to innovation.Instead, he described a customer base that is willing to experiment with AI - as long as the systems remain explainable.“It’s not that they don’t want to experiment. It’s that they want to know when they experiment, there’s going to be a good result.”That distinction matters.Sage is positioning its AI capabilities around visibility into how outputs are generated, rather than treating AI as a black box. Dan described how Sage customers can inspect the reasoning behind cash flow predictions, financial close recommendations, and other AI-generated outputs.“It’s not a black box. It’s actually transparent. You can see into how the steps were determined.”That transparency extends into Sage’s Copilot capabilities, where users can interrogate how the system arrived at a recommendation or prediction.For CFOs and finance teams, that creates auditability and confidence. For partners, it creates an environment where AI adoption becomes easier to operationalize with customers.The Partner Opportunity Around AI EnablementOne of the more interesting parts of the conversation was how Sage views AI through the lens of partner enablement, not just customer productivity.Dan talked about how Sage is helping partners accelerate implementations and reduce deployment friction.“One of the most important things for a partner is to have a pipeline of new business being delivered.”He connected that directly to Sage’s recent acquisition focused on accelerating Intacct migrations from systems like QuickBooks.The idea is straightforward: if Sage and its partners can reduce migration complexity and implementation timelines, partners can onboard more recurring revenue customers faster.That’s an important point for ecosystem leaders.AI is not only being positioned as a feature set for end customers. It is increasingly becoming an operational multiplier for partners themselves.Why Open Ecosystems Still MatterDan was also very clear that Sage does not believe a single company can build every workflow or every vertical solution customers need.That philosophy continues to shape Sage’s ISV strategy.“We believe at our very core that we need to be open. We know there’s no possible way that we could invent every piece of technology that solves for every vertical, every micro vertical, every workflow.”Instead, Sage is leaning heavily into ecosystem extensibility.The company works with a broad range of ISVs integrating into Sage platforms, while also creating tighter strategic relationships in priority verticals like nonprofit, healthcare, manufacturing, distribution, and financial services.In some cases, that means co-development. In others, it means packaging and selling integrated solutions together.The more interesting extension of this strategy is how Sage is now applying the same thinking to AI agents.AI Agents Become the Next Ecosystem LayerDan described Sage’s new AI developer program and marketplace as the next evolution of the platform ecosystem.The goal is to allow developers and partners to build highly specialized agent workflows directly into the Sage experience.That includes micro-vertical use cases where partners may have unique expertise, proprietary workflows, or integrations that only exist within a narrow industry segment.“Agents are going to be a new mode of delivery of capability.”Rather than treating AI agents as external tools, Sage is embedding them directly into the ERP workflow and user experience.Partners can build agents that appear inside the same Copilot interface Sage users already interact with.Just as importantly, those agents inherit Sage’s authentication and security framework.“Those agent capabilities are protected by the same kind of authentication capabilities and controls that we do for our users.”That creates a potentially important differentiator for enterprise AI adoption.Instead of customers stitching together disconnected AI tools with inconsistent governance, Sage is positioning AI agents inside an existing operational and security framework.The Bigger Ecosystem SignalOne of the broader signals from this conversation is how platform companies are evolving their ecosystem strategies in the AI era.Historically, ERP ecosystems were largely built around integrations and workflow extensions.Now, they are increasingly becoming marketplaces for intelligent workflows, embedded agents, and verticalized AI expertise.That creates new opportunities for ISVs, SIs, and developers that deeply understand a particular industry process or operational workflow.The winners may not simply be the companies with the largest models or most generic AI capabilities.They may be the ecosystem partners that can combine trusted data access, workflow expertise, and operational context into highly specific business outcomes.And as Dan emphasized throughout the conversation, trust remains central to that equation.“We provide those controls, those guardrails, those are in place, which provides real value for customers because they know that they’re protected by that same set of standards that we hold ourselves accountable to.”🎙️ Inside Partnering is a podcast for ecosystem builders, alliance leaders, and the people shaping the future of partnerships.Let’s build the future of partnering - together.📌 If you found this post helpful, would you please consider restacking it and sharing it with your audience? This spreads the word and keeps me interviewing and sharing content that will help you grow your partnership business and career.Thanks for reading Inside Partnering! This post is public so feel free to share it.🎧 Want more conversations like this?💌 Subscribe to get new episodes and behind-the-scenes insights: <a target="_blank" href="http://insidepartnering.substack.com">insidepartnering.substack.com</a>Check out all 130+ episodes at <a target="_blank" href="http://InsidePartnering.com">InsidePartnering.com</a>🔗 Follow Chip on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers">LinkedIn</a> for daily partnership content and guest clipsKnow someone Chip should interview? <a target="_blank" href="mailto:chip@insidepartnering.com">Send a quick email</a>. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://insidepartnering.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">insidepartnering.substack.com/subscribe</a>

May 14, 2026

Nancy Sperry: Scaling Through Co-Sell, AI, and Industry Expertise

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://insidepartnering.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7">insidepartnering.substack.com</a> At Sage FUTURE in San Francisco, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancysperry/">Nancy Sperry</a>, Vice President of North American Partner Sales at Sage, shared a practical view into how Sage approaches partnerships, co-selling, and AI enablement.The conversation focused on operational execution - how to help partners scale faster, create industry-specific customer outcomes, and build durable businesses together.One theme came through consistently: Sage is designing its ecosystem strategy around partner growth, not just partner participation.Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Building a Partner BusinessSperry framed Sage’s approach around a simple idea: if partners grow, Sage grows alongside them.“How do we remove the barriers to growth for the partner? That’s an incredible kind of focus.”Rather than viewing partnerships strictly through pipeline contribution or resale metrics, Sage appears to be thinking more holistically about partner economics and operational scalability.Sperry described investments in tooling, acquisitions, AI capabilities, and co-sell motions as intentionally designed to help partners execute faster.“All of it is designed to be executed through the lens of partner.”That philosophy extends into how Sage structures its go-to-market organization. According to Sperry, Sage’s North American partner organization works closely alongside partner sales teams in the field, helping partners add sales capacity, industry expertise, and execution support.Co-Sell as Staff AugmentationOne of the more interesting operational models discussed was Sage’s approach to co-selling.Sperry explained that Sage account executives can effectively operate as an extension of partner sales teams.“What that does is it actually gives partners some additional sales capacity.”For smaller or growing partners, this becomes a meaningful scaling mechanism. Instead of waiting until they can independently fund new headcount, partners can leverage Sage resources to accelerate pipeline development and industry expansion.Sperry described this as a practical way to help partners grow faster while reducing operational friction.“If they want to go into a particular industry, we can add a little bit of industry knowledge.”That support can include:* Additional sales coverage* Industry specialization* Mentorship for new partner reps* Joint customer engagement* Pipeline accelerationImportantly, she framed this as a shared investment model.“We’re investing together.”That alignment matters because many partners are balancing hiring decisions, utilization targets, and services capacity while simultaneously trying to grow recurring revenue practices.The Power of Micro-Vertical ExpertiseAnother major theme was Sage’s focus on industry depth.Sperry explained that while Sage serves many broad industries, partners often go even deeper into highly specialized micro-verticals.“We have over 50 micro verticals that we can kind of talk about.”This is where the ecosystem becomes a force multiplier.Partners combine:* Sage technology* Industry expertise* Specialized services* ISV integrations* Workflow customizationThe result is highly tailored customer experiences that are difficult for generalized providers to replicate.Sperry also highlighted how partners frequently overlap across multiple ecosystem motions simultaneously. A reseller may also build proprietary technology. An outsourcing partner may also operate as an ISV.That flexibility creates broader customer coverage and more specialized outcomes.“One partner may not solve that challenge exactly the same way.”For partner leaders, that observation matters. Ecosystems increasingly win through combinations of expertise rather than through single-vendor standardization.Trusted AI Requires Trusted PartnersAI was a central topic throughout Sage FUTURE, particularly around trusted AI for finance and accounting workflows.Sperry emphasized that Sage’s long history in accounting gives the company a strong foundation for responsible AI adoption.“We get to build on the foundation of not just strong strength in accounting, but also bringing forward that trusted AI.”She also made an important point about the role partners play in AI adoption.For many customers, the partner is the first trusted advisor they turn to when evaluating how AI should be applied to their business.That’s why Sage is involving partners directly in AI development initiatives, including its agentic AI developer program.“They’re building AI with us.”Sperry referenced partners already building agents and AI-driven solutions on top of Sage capabilities.This reflects a broader ecosystem trend: hyperscalers and platform companies increasingly need partners not just to sell AI, but to operationalize it within specific workflows and industries.

May 4, 2026

Gretchen O’Hara: The New Partner Playbook for AI, Ecosystems, and SMB Growth

At Sage FUTURES in San Francisco, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gretchen-ohara/">Gretchen O’Hara</a> delivered a clear message to partners: the market is shifting fast - and the opportunity is massive. But despite the noise around AI, one thing hasn’t changed.Partners are still at the center of how businesses win.“The channel is one of the most important things because our partners are the ones that have the deepest industry expertise and are closest to customers that can really solve their unique, unique business challenges.”AI may accelerate execution, but it doesn’t replace the need for domain expertise, customer proximity, and trusted advisory. In fact, it amplifies it.Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Cutting Through AI Noise with Real ValueOne of the biggest challenges partners face today is separating signal from noise.There’s hype everywhere - startups, tools, promises of automation. But Sage is pushing partners toward something more grounded: delivering real, measurable value to customers.“There’s a lot of hype on AI, there’s a lot of startups, there’s a lot of noise in the market. And so how do we help our partners sort of cut through that noise? Delivering real value with AI to our customers.”For SMB customers in particular, the bar is high. These are financial systems. Accuracy and trust are non-negotiable.“AI has to be right a hundred percent of the time in this space and SMBs shouldn’t expect anything less.”That requirement fundamentally shapes how partners need to approach AI - not as experimentation, but as production-grade capability tied directly to business outcomes.The AWS + Sage Strategy: Enabling the EcosystemA major announcement at the event was Sage’s strategic collaboration with AWS. But this wasn’t framed as just a technology partnership - it’s an ecosystem play.The goal is to enable partners to build, extend, and monetize solutions on top of Sage’s platform using modern AI infrastructure.Three priorities stand out:* Enable ISVs and builders to create extensions via an agentic marketplace* Remove friction from customer migration to modern cloud environments* Deepen co-sell collaboration across Sage, AWS, and partnersThe intent is clear: reduce barriers, accelerate adoption, and create new revenue opportunities for partners.“We want to remove the complexity. We want to remove the financial risk… and help our partners make that move with our customers faster.”This is less about incremental improvement and more about unlocking a new phase of ecosystem-driven growth.A Defining Moment for PartnersO’Hara was explicit about timing. This is not a “wait and see” moment.“The time is now. The time is to really focus on making sure that you’re bringing the best delivery, the best service, the best advisory to your customers.”The partners who commit early - especially in areas like agentic AI and modern finance workflows - will have a structural advantage.At the same time, Sage is signaling that it intends to bring the entire ecosystem along, not just a subset of leading partners.PwC and the Shift in the SI Business ModelOne of the most important signals came from Sage’s announcement with PwC.The core idea: use AI to dramatically reduce implementation timelines - from months down to a fraction of that - and shift value toward higher-level services.“Reduce implementation time… and shift the value of the dollars that customers are spending, not on the time it takes for the implementation, but the value we’re going to get on these integrated workflows.”This represents a fundamental shift in how system integrators operate.Historically, revenue was tied heavily to implementation effort. But in an AI-driven world, that model starts to break down.“Why am I paying these billable hours for something that should be easy to run and go and help me?”Instead, partners move up the stack:* Advisory services* Solution design* AI-driven innovation* Ongoing optimization“My billable hours aren’t going to go away… but the value I’m bringing to customers is so much higher.”For partners willing to evolve, this is not a threat - it’s an expansion of opportunity.From Implementation to Lifetime ValueAnother key shift is how partners think about customer relationships.In a cloud and AI-driven world, success isn’t defined by implementation - it’s defined by ongoing adoption, usage, and impact.“You are now a strategic advisor in that business… you’re going to stay, you’re going to retain, you’re going to grow that customer.”This changes the economic model:* Less focus on one-time projects* More focus on lifetime customer value* Greater emphasis on retention and expansionPartners who lean into this transition can build more durable, scalable businesses.The Unique Strength of the Sage EcosystemAfter six months in the role, O’Hara highlighted something she sees as distinctive about Sage.“Partners are our strategy. It’s not afterthought, it’s not an add on, it is the ecosystem of how we’re going to make this future win together.”That level of commitment shapes everything - from product direction to GTM strategy.It also creates a foundation for long-term trust and collaboration, including multi-generational partner relationships.But even within that strong foundation, partners are asking for clarity.How do we win in this next phase?How do we monetize AI?How do we evolve our business models?Those are the questions Sage is now focused on helping answer.Final ThoughtThe biggest takeaway from this conversation is not about AI itself.It’s about the role of partners in an AI-driven market.AI will change how solutions are built, delivered, and monetized.But the partners who understand customer needs, bring industry expertise, and deliver real outcomes will only become more important.🎙️ Inside Partnering is a podcast for ecosystem builders, alliance leaders, and the people shaping the future of partnerships.Let’s build the future of partnering - together.📌 If you found this post helpful, would you please consider restacking it and sharing it with your audience? This spreads the word and keeps me interviewing and sharing content that will help you grow your partnership business and career.Thanks for reading Inside Partnering! This post is public so feel free to share it.🎧 Want more conversations like this?💌 Subscribe to get new episodes and behind-the-scenes insights: <a target="_blank" href="http://insidepartnering.substack.com">insidepartnering.substack.com</a>Check out all 130+ episodes at <a target="_blank" href="http://InsidePartnering.com">InsidePartnering.com</a>🔗 Follow Chip on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiprodgers">LinkedIn</a> for daily partnership content and guest clipsKnow someone Chip should interview? <a target="_blank" href="mailto:chip@insidepartnering.com">Send a quick email</a>. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://insidepartnering.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">insidepartnering.substack.com/subscribe</a>

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What is Inside Partnering?: Strategies behind today’s most successful partner ecosystems. Join host Chip Rodgers for candid conversations with the leaders shaping the future of ecosystems, co-selling, and go-to-market strategy. <a href="https://insidepartnering.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">insidepartnering.substack.com</a>
How often does this podcast release new episodes?: This podcast updates daily.
Where can I listen to this podcast?: This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
Does this podcast accept guests?: Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.

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