Vendors & Partners

Vendor and partner engagements follow a simpler model than customer engagements. They use umbrella groups and optional engagement triplets, with the same three-drive channel model.

Vendor Groups

Vendors are organizations that serve us (SaaS providers, contractors, consultants).

prv-{owner}-vendor-{extorg}@{domain}

Example	Purpose
prv-ops-vendor-acme	Acme Consulting vendor group
prv-plt-vendor-datadog	Datadog vendor relationship
prv-sec-vendor-crowdstrike	CrowdStrike vendor engagement

Vendor Umbrella Sets

For significant vendor relationships, create umbrella facets similar to customers:

Facet	Pattern	Purpose
Main	prv-{owner}-vendor-{extorg}	Primary vendor group
VPOC	prv-{owner}-vendor-{extorg}-vpoc	Vendor points of contact
Announce	prv-{owner}-vendor-{extorg}-announce	Vendor-facing broadcasts

Engagement Triplets

For significant vendor engagements (e.g., a consulting engagement), create project-style triplets:

prv-{owner}-vendor-{extorg}-{engslug}-dri
prv-{owner}-vendor-{extorg}-{engslug}-delivery
prv-{owner}-vendor-{extorg}-{engslug}-vendor

Partner Groups

Partners are organizations we collaborate with (alliances, channel partners, co-marketing).

prv-{owner}-partner-{extorg}[-{function}]@{domain}

Example	Purpose
prv-sal-partner-aws-alliance	AWS alliance partnership
prv-eng-partner-gl-prosrv	GitLab professional services
prv-mktg-partner-acme-comarketing	Co-marketing with Acme

Partner Functions

The optional {function} token specifies the collaboration lane:

Function	Purpose
alliance	Strategic alliance
sales	Channel/reseller
prosrv	Professional services
mktg	Co-marketing
legal	Legal coordination
ops	Operational
tech	Technical integration

Partner Umbrella Sets

Facet	Pattern	Purpose
Main	prv-{owner}-partner-{extorg}	Primary partner group
PPOC	prv-{owner}-partner-{extorg}-ppoc	Partner points of contact
Function	prv-{owner}-partner-{extorg}-{function}	Function-specific lane

When to Provision Users

Prefer external group access to COLLAB drives over creating vendor/partner user accounts. Only provision workspace users when justified by:

• Contract requirement
• Audit/compliance need
• SSO enforcement requirement

Document the rationale in the engagement ticket.

Drive Access

Vendors and partners typically only access COLLAB drives:

• COLLAB: Viewer or Commenter (via engagement groups)
• TEAM: Never for externals
• STRICT: Never for externals

Lifecycle

Create

1. Create vendor/partner group with canonical naming.
2. Set up umbrella facets if the relationship is significant.
3. Grant COLLAB access if needed.
4. Document engagement scope and expiry.

Operate

• Quarterly: review membership, access grants, engagement status.
• Update VPOC/PPOC as contacts change.

Close

1. Freeze access. Remove engagement groups from ACLs.
2. Grant ...-archive team access if needed.
3. Export relevant archives.
4. Delete engagement groups after retention window.

Decision Guide: Vendor vs Partner vs Customer

Question	Vendor	Partner	Customer
They serve us?	Yes	No	No
We serve them?	No	No	Yes
We collaborate as peers?	No	Yes	No
Billing direction	We pay them	Mutual/none	They pay us
Primary taxonomy	vendor-{extorg}	partner-{extorg}	cus-{cusslug}