ALE Transforms Partner Collaboration with Qollabi

About ALE

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise (ALE), a global provider of communication, network and cloud solutions, sought a real-time collaboration tool to improve joint goal setting, planning, and execution with its partners as part of its broader company digitalization. Operating with an indirect business model, ALE depends on a network of 3,400 business partners to serve over one million customers globally. Headquartered in Paris, ALE has a long history of working with partners to execute strategy and adapt to industry transformations, such as the growing importance of cloud solutions

Challenge

ALE’s transition to cloud and as-a-service offerings required both the company and its partner ecosystem to adopt new ways of selling and collaborating. The main challenges included:

1. Outdated planning tools: ALE relied on static templates and partner plans in spreadsheets and PowerPoint, limiting real-time collaboration and updates.
2. Limited real-time collaboration: It was difficult to coordinate joint efforts across all stakeholders, hindering strategic alignment and execution.
3. Lack of visibility: Sales leaders managing up to 200 partners struggled to maintain an accurate view of partner activities, investments and progress.
4. Inconsistent processes: With plans scattered across different formats, it was challenging to ensure consistency, gather insights and manage best practices.

Solution

ALE selected Qollabi's partner planning platform to digitalize their partner collaboration process and establish a more dynamic, transparent approach to partner management.

"Within the digitalization of our company, we wanted to offer a real-time collaboration tool for goal setting, planning, execution and defining joint commitments with clear accountabilities," explains Laurent Dollé, Head of Global Partner Programs at ALE.

Qollabi addressed ALE's core needs by providing:

• A digital collaboration platform: Replacing static templates with a dynamic environment for information sharing among stakeholders.
• Real-time visibility: Allowing all parties to instantly see current status, activities and progress, eliminating delays and manual reporting.
• Structured planning process: Supporting ALE's business planning methodology within a consistent framework.
• Centralized information: Creating a single source of truth for partner plans, activities and investments.

‍

Result

The implementation of Qollabi has fundamentally changed how ALE collaborates with partners, delivering measurable and strategic benefits:

• Quantifiable performance gains: When partners actively engaged with Qollabi, marketing plan completion increased by 115% and the average number of partner certifications rose by 73%, compared to plans that were assigned but not actively managed.
• Improved alignment and transparency: Sharing real-time data ensures all stakeholders have a common understanding of goals, progress and next steps, leading to more effective joint efforts.
• Enhanced execution: Strategy is now directly connected to clear, actionable steps, providing a defined path for growth and transformation.
• Increased efficiency: The platform has eliminated many administrative tasks and increased predictability in partner activities.
• Cultural transformation: ALE has fostered a “lead by example” culture, recognizing partners as key to success and supporting them with disciplined processes, tools, KPIs and regular follow-ups.
• Stronger partner relationships: The platform enables ongoing, day-to-day conversations rather than periodic reviews, resulting in more continuous engagement.

‍

Future outlook

Looking ahead, ALE is focused on further enhancing partner collaboration by integrating artificial intelligence into their partner management processes. This next phase is expected to drive additional business value:

• Predictive analytics: AI will help identify high-potential leads within the pipeline, enabling channel sales managers to prioritize opportunities and drive faster revenue growth.
• Personalized recommendations: Leveraging historical data, AI will suggest upsell and cross-sell activities tailored to each partner, increasing sales effectiveness.
• Best practice sharing: AI will analyze successful strategies from the past to tailor sales and marketing plans to each partner’s goals and profile, improving outcomes.
• Benchmarking: With a large partner ecosystem, AI will facilitate benchmarking and recommend best practices to channel sales managers and country teams, helping them address challenges more effectively.

‍

As partner management evolves, Dollé sees the role shifting from tactical management to becoming a trusted, strategic advisor. With Qollabi’s platform as the foundation, ALE is well-positioned to continue transforming partner relationships from transactional interactions to strategic collaborations that drive mutual growth and innovation.