Definition

partner

A partner is a member in a partnership, an entity in which both the profits or losses of a business or other venture are shared between all members. Corporations favor partnerships because of a taxation structure that eliminates dividend taxes upon the profits of owners.

In information technology, a partnership can indicate a relationship that extends beyond monetary considerations. For instance, one software maker might agree to integrate another company's product or service into their products or agree to support a common standard or protocol. Other partners may be aligned together for expressly non-profit goals, like sharing internal resources for disaster recovery, open source software development or digital education initiatives.

Related glossary terms: tier 2 vendor, backside bus, administrator code, solution provider, fair and reasonable price, partner specialization, channel conflict, partner portal, sales certification, broad agency announcement (BAA)

This was last updated in October 2007

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

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