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The Oxfordshire Project - Faringdon

The Oxfordshire Project is a business networking community set up to support and help local businesses to grow.

Our focus is on building a community rather than just contacts, and our members benefit from the supportive community of businesses who trust each other and work towards the same goal.

This month we welcome Mike Woodward

Collaborate to compete

Prior to forming Opera Anywhere with his wife Vanessa, Mike had a corporate life, working within the IT industry as channel partner and alliance manager for software companies, Lotus Development, IBM and SOPHOS.

Whilst at Lotus he formed partnerships with other 'competitors' in order to compete against the mighty Microsoft. He developed a strategy for the UK business that was to become standard practice in European markets and eventually in the US.

By developing trusting relationships, building mutually rewarding and complimentary complete solutions, incorporating some of his competitors products directed at specific markets he was able to win business in the PC software consumer market where Lotus were traditionally weak and Microsoft dominant.

Working in partnership with competing vendors though was difficult at times, there was a great deal of suspicion and a considerable amount of internal resistance to the idea and certainly in the early days many obstacles to overcome.

Moving into a completely different industry such as the arts seemed to be very different and on the face of it much more collaborative and easy going. However, there are still competing influences that threaten to undermine the opera company's goals and objectives.

In Mike's talk he will cover the benefits of working together with other organisations to provide a better customer solution. He will explore the if, when and how to take on a competitor head on, choosing the right battles and knowing when to cut one's losses!

Event Organised By

The Oxfordshire Project

www.oxfordshireproject.co.uk

The smarter way to Network

Running a small business is always busy, but it can be lonely at times too. Sometimes it would be great to feel part of a bigger team.

But joining a network can be difficult. They can demand a lot of your time, and the pressure to refer business can add to your workload.

At The Oxfordshire Project, we network differently.

We focus on support and education, as well as business growth.

We're not about short term sales, we're about building long term connections, because this is the route to sustainable success.

With our 8 different groups and 9 monthly meetings around Oxfordshire, we provide flexibility to suit your busy lives, variety to suit your enquiring minds, and a community of smart, like-minded people, to help you and your business grow.