The Case for a Multi-Community Approach.
As most of you may know, I have a passion for communities, specifically the Microsoft ecosystem community.
The Microsoft ecosystem community is part of the larger tech community. Personally, I differentiate the larger tech community as a group of partners working with other technology vendors, not exclusively Microsoft, while the Microsoft ecosystem community revolves around Microsoft technology only.
Within the Microsoft ecosystem, we have several communities: some are exclusively for Microsoft’s partners and others have mixed membership options. Having so many different communities is superb, with some operating as formal associations owned by their members and others being more commercially driven by a company that creates and orchestrates them.
Some communities exist entirely online, some are more focused on in-person meetings and most are some kind of hybrid in their approach to meetings. This pluralism serves a great purpose -- there’s a community for everyone.
In sports, we often support and cheer for a specific team, making us a part of that fan community, like our favorite football team. But in tech, I think it makes sense to cheer and become involved in multiple communities. This is what I call the Multi-Community approach.
When people and companies are involved in multiple communities, they bring new perspectives and ideas to each of the communities in which they’re involved. This drives innovation, fosters collaboration and expands partner connections, which is often the core charter of any community. The number of potential business opportunities is often directly related to the number of engaged people.
Sometimes I hear from partners that they don’t want to meet their competitors, which is why they don’t engage in a community. At times, communities are afraid of growing because they don’t want too many members doing the same thing and then turning into each other's competitors.
I love engaging with people that are representing companies that might see me as a competitor. I love getting to know them and forging friendships. There is an old saying, ‘Under the rose’ (from the Latin ‘sub rosa’), which means that what was discussed under the rose should remain private. This is key to building trust. For me, it means that people who are part of a particular, mature community can openly discuss their thoughts, share knowledge and help each other, regardless of whether they see each other as competitors.
Often, someone you think is a direct competitor actually isn't when you get to know them and their business. You might do similar things, but for different verticals, company sizes or locations. The chance of finding a great return through collaboration is far greater than the risk of losing business to each other. Unless you’re having a monopoly-sized market share [which nobody has], the likelihood is high that when you lose business, you’ll lose it to someone else. So never be afraid to make friends with people working for competing organizations, as the upside of building relationships is probably greater than the perceived downside. In this way, you can take on larger engagements and serve clients in more locations together.
As is standard, most communities have a Code of Ethics; sometimes it’s written down and members need to sign it, but more often it’s a de facto code of how to behave that is part of that community’s culture. Those who go against that code will not be very popular and will have fewer opportunities within the community. Both formal and informal Code of Ethics work as they serve the same purpose and filter out those who don’t behave.
Something I’ve often heard while traveling around the globe and opening more than 40 country chapters of the IAMCP (International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners) is that people said they already knew everyone in their town and didn’t see the need to belong to a formal community. That might be true locally, but when you’re part of a global community, you can always expand your network by meeting members from other locations. That is perhaps one of the main benefits if you’re small but want to scale up. Using your membership in a local community and building relationships with people in other locations is a great way to grow while taking on acceptable risk and reducing financial burden.
People who belong to different communities are important, and I hope to see more collaborative initiatives among them. None of the communities that I see in the Microsoft ecosystem is in direct competition with each other, even if I know that there’s some marginal overlap. I think inviting members of one community to participate in another community’s activities makes a lot of sense. Seeing membership deals where you get a bit of a discount if you sign up for one more community would also be a great incentive. Cross-membership and more collaboration between communities are what is needed and what I hope to see more of!
Getting Microsoft partners to meet, exchange ideas, and potentially find business opportunities together is a great way to increase overall competitiveness and benefit our community as a whole. Customers love partners who work well with others and actively seek ways to collaborate. Our communities can serve the role of being a foundation for this to happen.
Let’s all embrace our communities, contribute our knowledge, help create business opportunities and be positive about embracing The Multi-Community approach!
Posted by Per Werngren on February 11, 2026