Here’s a little chronology of recent alliances between computer industry giants & Orange, the mobile telcos brand of France Telecom, Europe’s second largest telecom carrier, which operates in many different countries worldwide (France, Poland, Jordan, Spain, UK, etc.).

October 18th 2006: Orange & Microsoft CEOs Didier Lombard & Steve Ballmer met in Paris to announce the launch of Windows Live Messenger for all existing and new Orange customers.

December 14th 2006: Orange & Apple co-launch a co-branded bundle including a Macbook laptop & full Internet access.

December 18th 2006: The British newspaper The Observer (see article here) reveals Orange & Google have built up a multi-billion partnership aimed at devising a Googlephone making search and use of Google software such as YouTube & Google Maps easy.

My call: although these three partnerships are brilliant, taken independently, I’m not quite sure Microsoft, Apple, and even Yahoo! really appreciate Orange’s new liaison with Google. For Google, it’s all a safe bet: the worst scenario sees Orange cancels or postpones the agreement and Google does it with someone else (Deutsche Telecom? Cingular?). No big deal. Best scenario: Microsoft cancels its partnership with Orange, customers are unhappy, and Google promises them they will get a replacement solution soon. Same as far as Apple’s concerned: the soon-to-be-released iPhone would’ve probably be launched in Europe in partnership with Orange – what if Orange already puts its logo on Google phones? Although I believe it’s quite likely that a status quo will actually take place, Orange’s behaviour is either strategic genius, making partners compete against one another, or complete diplomatic clumsiness. How can you build trust with a business partner foraging to your competitors weeks after you sign on something big?

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