Event Review: Technology Partnering: Surviving to 2010
By Richard Manzano, Ariadne Capital

Tuesday 30th July 7.00p.m. - 9.00p.m.

Venue: The Media Centre
131-151 Great Titchfield Street
London W1W 5BB

On Tuesday, July 30th, the Global Communications Society (GCS) held “Technology Partnering: Surviving to 2010, “ an intimate technology gathering and discussion that focused on issues facing technology companies today and in the future. Organised by GCS’s Nicole Richardson, the event is one of many sponsored during the year by the group.

The event was hosted by silicon.com’s Tony Hallett, who introduced the panelists and kept the discussion lively. The speakers included Kit Gould from IDG Ventures Europe, David Docherty, Managing Director of Telewest, and Julian Harris, CEO of Smart421. This esteemed panel discussed how their companies have been coping with the reality of the economic downturn.

An underlying theme for the evening was the importance of being selective when partnering with another company. During the Internet boom, most companies were willing to get into bed with one another, but most companies did not want to do any work to make the partnership meaningful. The panelists all concurred that large technology companies tended to manipulate their smaller counterparts - somewhat akin to the unpopular kid in school doing the popular kids’ homework just for the privilege of sitting with the “in-crowd” at lunchtime.

Now that most small technology companies have realized that many of their partnerships to be imbalanced, why do most of them still clamor to get the attention of the Microsofts and Ciscos of the tech world?
When posed with this question by an audience member, Julian Harris of Smart 421 immediately responded, “Credibility.”

The mood of the evening was upbeat considering the state of the economy. The panelists seem to have accepted the fact that their companies cannot do much in the way of turning the economic tide. However, they all seemed to agree that the management of their companies is very much in their control.

According to the panelists, technology companies cannot survive by trying to be everything to everyone. Mr. Harris remarked, “Companies today cannot dabble in everything and expect to succeed. Specialization is vital.”