与巨人共舞

    那年的春季和夏季，在思科公司蓝灰色的会议室中，经过一系列似乎漫无止境的磋商之后，我们终于很好地理解了思科公司的主要目标。他们的目标是：

    • 能够向思科的任何一位客户销售NAS，并且获得Opsware公司非竞争性的积极支持。

    • 产品需打上思科的标识。

    • 思科有权以任何价位销售产品，甚至可以在销售某个大型设备时免费赠送NAS软件。

    • Opsware 必须“保证”思科的竞争对手不会对Opsware发起出其不意的收购行动。

    • 有权进入Opsware NAS软件的源代码，甚至制造衍生产品（你可以想象，这个要求一度让我们心痛不已）。

    随后的整个秋天和初冬，我们穿梭往返于Tasman Drive大街的思科和位于玛蒂尔德大街的Opsware公司办公室，反复跟思科公司软件团队协商交易框架，及时告知我们的销售和产品研发团队谈判的进展，会同他们一起制定战略，以确保我们没有偏离既定目标。有些问题（比如源代码）极其复杂。然而，就犹如一个人正从重重雾霭中缓缓走出，一项引人注目的交易开始逐渐成型。

    2006年1月13日，也就是Rendition Networks公司收购案结束1年之后，我们终于跟思科公司达成了一份全球性的分销协定。思科的企业销售团队将向其遍及全世界的客户群销售我们的NAS产品，思科将其重新命名为思科网络管家（Cisco Network Compliance Manager）。Opsware公司的销售团队将追随思科公司同仁，为其提供销售支持服务，并在此过程中构建业务关系，为随后百万美元级服务器软件的销售奠定基础。

头条新闻的幕后故事——措辞强硬的协定

    虽然媒体报道和思科公司的公开认可带来的宣传效应很有价值，但让这种伙伴关系在实践中产生非凡成果的却是一个设计高明、旨在实现双赢的交易结构。

    最低收入承诺：虽然谈判耗时近9个月，但我们最终说服思科做出了一个为期3年、有约束力的季度收入保证，总额相当于我们此前收购Rendition Networks公司时所支付的款项。我们说服思科同仁相信，这样做将产生双赢效果：向Opsware公司保证每季度销售几百万美元的产品将给予思科巨大的销售动力。反过来，它可以让我们心安理得地中止我们自身的NAS销售活动，全力以赴地（包括指派一些专门的销售和产品支持人员）帮助我们的合作伙伴取得成功。

    可观的收入分成份额：双方就收入分成份额和最低售价达成的协定使思科公司的NAS销售活动在财务方面对我们的吸引力几乎等同于我们直接销售的效果——因为思科对于软件的定价能力其实远大于我们自己。

    In a seemingly endless series of meetings in Cisco's blue-gray conference rooms over the spring and summer, we gained a good understanding of Cisco's main objectives. They wanted:

    • The ability to sell NAS to any Cisco account, with active support, not competition, from Opsware.

    • Cisco-branded product.

    • Freedom to sell at any price they chose, including throwing in the NAS software free as part of a big equipment sale.

    • "Insurance" against a surprise acquisition of Opsware by a competitor.

    • Access to Opsware NAS source code, and even the ability to make derivative works. (As you might imagine, this one caused us a lot of heartburn.)

    All through the fall and early winter, we shuttled back and forth between Tasman Drive and Opsware's office on Mathilda Avenue, alternately negotiating a deal structure with the Cisco software team and updating and strategizing with our sales and product organizations to make sure we were staying true to our objectives. Some issues, like source code, were extremely complex. Nonetheless, like a figure emerging from the fog, a compelling deal gradually took shape.

    On February 13, 2006, a year after closing the Rendition acquisition, we announced a worldwide distribution agreement with Cisco. Cisco's enterprise sales force would sell our NAS product, rechristened Cisco Network Compliance Manager, to their worldwide customer base. Opsware's sales force would follow their Cisco counterparts, supporting their efforts to sell the network product and in the process building the relationships and laying the groundwork for a subsequent million-dollar-plus server software sale.

Behind the headlines – a deal with teeth

    While the press and public endorsement by Cisco were valuable, what made this partnership work unusually well in practice was a smart deal structure designed to achieve both sides' objectives:

    Minimum revenue commitment: It took us almost nine months, but we persuaded Cisco to make a binding three-year quarterly revenue guarantee that totaled almost as much as we had paid to acquire Rendition. We helped our Cisco counterparts to understand that this would be a win-win: Guaranteeing several million dollars a quarter to Opsware would give Cisco huge motivation to drive sales. In turn, it would give us the assurance we needed to back off our own NAS sales efforts and do everything—including assigning some dedicated sales and product headcount—to make our partner successful.

    Substantial revenue share: We secured a revenue share and pricing floors that made a Cisco NAS sale almost as financially attractive to us as if we had sold it directly—because Cisco could actually charge more for the software than we could.