Technology Partnerships in the Age of Cloud and AI

We technologists pride ourselves on solving problems with our own toolbox. Reaching into someone else's can feel like admitting ours wasn't enough.

That tension shows up in every technical decision a partnership requires, from what gets built to what gets integrated. Underneath both sits a harder question: whether the result solves real problems or just adds complexity. The partnerships that get this right usually share a "better together" story, explaining why combining two technologies serves the customer better than either alone.

This field guide is for technologists working at the intersection of organisations.

Seasoned professionals appear to navigate this world through hard-won experience and established networks, but very little of it is written down. The book covers how to shape the story, rally the right people around it, and build the assets that bring it to life. It's equally about getting the work adopted by teams who weren't in the room when it was made, influencing people who don't report to you and never will, and tracking whether it's actually working. Throughout, it offers simple mental models and the common traps to watch for, all with the counterintuitive aim of making our roles unnecessary.

Drawn from over 20 years spent navigating technology partnerships, and thought through over many miles of trail running in the English countryside, it's for anyone finding their own way in this work.