Each day the newspapers are filled with stories of the incredible shrinkages going on in the economy. There are firings by the thousands. Stocks of growth companies like Cisco have been decimated. Capital spending is out and mergers and acquisitions have evaporated along with inflated stock prices. Mature companies can reinvent themselves, small outfits can leapfrog competitors and firms of all sizes can partner to enter new markets.
Global business moves at a much faster pace today.
Strategic alliances help companies keep up. They are not merely an alternative, they are a necessity. The Web has awakened big companies to this new reality. In 2000 the number of alliances exploded to more than 10,200. That's the good news.