Customer 360

CHAPTER 14Data Collaboration—A Rising Imperative

The term “co-opetition” was coined in the mid-1990s to describe the strategy of collaborating with your competitors. While examples were few at that time, the concept has gained traction, particularly in markets that are sizable and where a substantial growth opportunity could benefit both parties.

In 2008, UPS agreed to partner with rival DHL when DHL was struggling to enter the US market successfully. In part, UPS chose to partner because it had extra capacity along its routes that would make the partnership profitable. Likewise, the risk of DHL working with FedEx instead could have been debilitating to both UPS and DHL. Game theorists could draw an impressive graph to calculate the risks and rewards. They could also show that competitors sharing strengths can yield results greater than either would realize on their own. Despite potential risks, more and more businesses are using co-opetition as a formula for speed, differentiation, and market leadership.

With the data gold rush accelerating, it is apparent that product and go-to-market partnerships are proliferating among high tech rivals. Microsoft and Apple, Nvidia and Oracle, Snowflake and Nvidia, Microsoft and OpenAI, … Google and Apple are in discussions over using Google’s AI assistant, Gemini, on the next macOS. In fact, the fear of missing out (FOMO) is high if you are a big tech player not included among a hot handful of partnerships.

Competitors across industries ...