10 IT Vendor Partnerships That Might Surprise You

NEWS ANALYSIS: The channel is no stranger to partnerships that look a little unusual at first. Since time immemorial, solution providers have been delivering products and technologies from vendors that ostensibly compete with one another. But, as of late, vendors have been engaging more aggressively in a form of "co-opetition" that frequently leaves many inside and outside the channel scratching their heads. In some cases, the executives at the two firms may have once been at loggerheads. In others, the partners may be hedging their bets by tackling competing technologies, or they are unsure with whom to shake hands as emerging markets sort themselves out. Here's a list of 10 strange IT vendor marriages that solution providers are likely to encounter. There is no shortage of examples of these unexpected combinations across the IT industry. But in terms of the ones that are likely to present solution providers with a complex scenario to puzzle over, these 10 have the potential to be particularly perplexing. That doesn't necessarily mean deals involving these vendors won't close. It just means that solution providers might want to allow a little extra time for those involved to get comfortable with the relationships.