Ron Piovesan: Building Outsized Value in Every Partnership

Inside Okta HQ in San Francisco, Chip Rodgers sits down with Ron Piovesan, Head of Technology Partnerships at Okta. Ron shares how Okta grew from startup to identity leader with 7,000 integrations – and why he now focuses on fewer, deeper alliances that deliver “outsized value.” He explains Okta’s new three-way partnership with Google and Omnissa, designed to simplify procurement while giving customers the best of breed in productivity, security, and device management. The conversation dives into how co-innovation meets co-sell, why sales teams should be pulling partnerships in rather than being pushed, and what trust and teaching have in common in the next generation of partnering.

⸻

Chapters

00:00 Outsized Value – What Real Partnering Means
02:30 Ron’s Journey – From Mozilla and Cisco to 10 Years at Okta
04:20 Okta’s 7,000 Integrations and the Long Tail Strategy
09:10 Announcing Okta × Google × Omnissa Partnership
11:45 Marketplace and Ease of Procurement Trends
16:30 Co-Innovation Meets Co-Sell – A Pull, Not a Push
19:10 Teaching Marketing and Partnerships at USC
23:00 Trust, Skepticism, and the Next Generation of Leaders
27:00 Final Thoughts – Partnering as Core to Business

⸻

Key Takeaways
1. Partnerships must deliver outsized, not incremental, value.
2. Customer demand is the best signal for where to invest in alliances.
3. Co-innovation is only half – co-sell and ease of procurement matter as much.
4. Marketplaces and simplified buying motions are reshaping enterprise sales.
5. Trust and clear communication are the foundation of every successful partnership.

⸻

Key Quotes
• “Partnership has to be about outsized value. It can’t be incremental value.”
• “Your biggest ally in partnering is always the customer.”
• “Best of breed software. Best of breed procurement. That’s what customers want.”
• “The best co-sell is a pull, not a push.”
• “Trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets – and it’s harder to earn than ever.”

⸻

Final Thoughts

This episode is for partner leaders, alliances pros, and product marketers who want to turn integrations into revenue-driving relationships. Ron’s framework – start with the customer, simplify buying, and aim for outsized value – is a masterclass in modern ecosystem strategy.

Hashtags:
#InsidePartnering #Okta #PartnershipLeaders #CoSell #Ecosystem #Marketplaces #Alliances #IdentitySecurity #GoToMarket #GoogleWorkspace #Omnissa #TechPartnerships

https://insidepartnering.substack.com...