Obsidian Echo

Strategic Focus Areas

Advisory designed for investors to identify opportunities and mitigate risk across AI, cloud, data, and the partner ecosystem.

Hyperscaler & GSI Partner Dynamics

How AWS, Azure, GCP, and GSIs shape enterprise adoption, pricing power, and partner‑led revenue.

✓ Hyperscaler GTM and incentive mechanics
✓ GSI co‑sell models and influence on enterprise spend
✓ Competitive landscape and share‑shift signals

AI & Enterprise Business Adoption

Signals and blockers for AI adoption in enterprise software companies, with emphasis on measurable revenue impact.

✓ Adoption drivers vs. organizational and data readiness hurdles
✓ Pragmatic use cases across GTM, apps, and data platform expansion
✓ Buyer indicators, budget sources, and adoption velocity

Database & Data Infrastructure Evolution

From NoSQL to vector databases and metadata‑driven architectures powering modern AI workloads.

✓ NoSQL vs. vector DB positioning and enterprise adoption
✓ Data infrastructure investment themes and valuation drivers
✓ Vendor ecosystem and enterprise buying signals

GTM & Ecosystem Due Diligence

Validating scalability via partner attach, marketplace momentum, co‑sell leverage, and repeatable revenue motions.

✓ Partner attach & marketplace growth diagnostics
✓ Co‑sell validation with hyperscalers and GSIs
✓ Enterprise buyer adoption indicators and churn risk

About Thomas Burling

Thomas Burling is a partnerships leader with 15+ years of experience architecting global alliances across hyperscalers (AWS, GCP, Azure), data platforms (Snowflake, Databricks, MongoDB), and GSIs (Accenture, PwC, Infosys). He has built repeatable GTM engines that have scaled into $20M+ pipelines and global partner-led revenue growth.

Currently Global Head of Partnerships at LocalStack and Managing Partner at Obsidian Echo, Thomas advises investors, founders, and operators on how to navigate AI adoption, cloud ecosystem monetization, and enterprise buyer dynamics. His background spans building partner programs from zero to scale at MongoDB, Obsidian Security, IBM, and boutique consultancies.

Based in Los Angeles, he brings both a Silicon Valley and Wall Street perspective, regularly advising startups and investors on where AI, data infrastructure, and ecosystem GTM are creating competitive advantage.

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