A recent editorial brainstorming session sparked an interesting discussion about the word partner. From a legal standpoint, partner has serious connotations and obligations. However, it's not uncommon to continue to see loosely-defined partnerships that often mean nothing more than a marketing campaign, a joint press release, or a simple label. The underlying question is whether today's partnerships are really any different from those of the past. A company that's outside your company is never going to have the same priorities and agenda as you. Is this just a different take on what's still -- under the surface -- a customer-vendor kind of relationship? Here's an example: It's a complicated endeavor to publish a monthly full-color magazine that reaches readers worldwide. We work with a printer, fulfillment house, and distributors to make this happen, but we don't call each other partners. We're independent businesses, each pursuing our own plans and goals, and we find it beneficial to work together at the moment. Another example: We rely on the phone company to give us reliable phone service 24x7 -- a major component of our business operations -- but we don't call PacBell our partner.

In our view, a valid use of the word "partner" is when both parties have the same risk/reward equation. Is this the case in most of the "partner" situations we hear about? Unless a relationship has both parties sharing the bottom line of a P&L, are today's "partnerships" just old business with different details?

What provoked this discussion is this month's articles on application service providers. Industry experts like Faisal Hoque (see the Advisor Interview in the January 2001 issue) believe that ASPs are an important piece in the e-business puzzle, but he advises that we think of the relationship more as "partnersourcing" than outsourcing. Louis Columbus, who wrote an article for this issue and is the author of the book, Realizing e-Business with Application Service Providers, talks about ASPs as "technology partners."

What's important to keep in mind is that you and your ASP -- or any other supplier -- have different needs and priorities.

For instance, you may want to pay a flat fee for an online CRM solution you can use anytime, anywhere. But the ASP, faced with fixed revenue from you, must look elsewhere to improve its margin. One way might be to accommodate as many customers as possible via existing servers, connections, and support staff, possibly reducing the quality of service you receive. If you want more or better service, you'll have to pay more. Is that a partnership?

Some of this may just be semantics, but the message we're hearing in the market appears to be deeper -- more about changing our mindset about how we work together. For example, the term "business webs" is gaining popularity. Ultimately, the goal with any partnership should be to carefully design in your requirements, leaving nothing to chance. In the case of ASPs, Columbus advises companies not to merely accept standard service level agreements, but to make sure you customize them to your specific needs.

The skeptical enthusiast position (the one we take in all e-Business Advisor articles) will serve you well as you evaluate ASPs. Keep in mind that the jury's still out on the risks and rewards of hosted solutions. While "rentable" applications likely will gain popularity, you have to carefully consider whether you want to host core business functions. Ravi Kalakota, author of e-Business 2.0 (Addison-Wesley, 2000), told Advisor that he's skeptical about the integration challenges related to hosted solutions, and believes ASPs are best suited to standalone applications. But Columbus and others espouse the benefits of ASPs for those who need a packaged, convenient, "someone-else-figured-it-out" solution. For those that prefer custom development, watch for a new trend: Web-based application development available in ASP fashion. Are you relying on an ASP as your "technology partner"? Do partners play a larger role in your business than they did in the past? Are they really on your team? Write to us at E-Business@Advisor.com.