This blog was last updated on February 2, 2023
There are many technology vendors out there promising you the world. With a technology vendor partnership, those miracle solutions to all your business needs are available at your fingertips. However, as with most things in life, it’s important to ensure you check off all the important boxes before making a purchasing decision.
When you’re shopping for a trusted partner, validating four key pillars of their solution will generate your perfect match – reliability, scalability, security and experience.
Reliability
2021 marked the record for the highest percentage of people working from home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. At the same time and with little warning, companies found themselves accelerating or even creating digital adoption strategies to merely survive. Couple this with the continuing consumerization of technology and today’s always on/always available expectations, the technology solutions you provide and that are provided to you must work all the time, every time.
Being able to rely on your technology partner’s expertise to advance your company is at the heart of a successful business relationship. Technology is constantly updated to enhance business ventures and organizations should be able to depend on their tech partner to take care of back-end tech concerns.
With a steadfast partner, businesses won’t have to worry that they’re falling behind as these market changes happen.
Scalability
Many businesses are evolving or implementing digital solutions to capitalize on the expansion of the online market. Any business gaining momentum in the market should not be held back because of a lack of experience or involvement in technology.
So, when looking for a technology partner, it is important that they are going to support the growth of your business in all aspects, including that transition to the digital realm.
According to Renolon, on average 93.79% of businesses use social media like Facebook, Instagram and other platforms to be able to reach their markets. Business websites, social media platforms or mobile applications are one area of technology that is constantly being updated to keep up with the needs of organizations and their consumers.
Ask if your partner is prepared to support the doubling or tripling of your volume due to an unanticipated response to a media campaign or even something as random as an influencer shouting out about your product on Tik Tok. It happens in real life.
A partner committed to supporting the expansion of your services, products and reach into the digital space enables your business to evolve as quickly as possible.
Security
Moving into a relationship with a technology partner exposes sensitive business and customer data to systems and networks you do not control. It’s important to verify your partner’s security posture because, ultimately, it’s their job to preserve your business’ functionality, but it is your reputation at risk.
You want to trust your technology partner with all the information they need to improve your business.
Your partner should be evolving with your business in every sense, including reducing security threats and closing attack vectors in the digital space. Providing secure IT solutions and services to your organization is essential for a successful match.
Experience
When partnering with a technology provider, it is important that the experience with both the products and the relationship are simple and effective. Every business should be able to count on their tech support system to commit to the overall needs of their operation. The best user experience is one that is focused on your people. According to a survey conducted by Partner Path, solution providers ranked the People Pillar as the most important factor when considering any partner experience.
A partner that focuses on the people aspect of your business primarily considers the experience of your employees and customers.
A great experience offers easy access to different business solutions quickly, provides the domain expertise needed to ensure the complex seems simple, and offers products that are so intuitive, help is rarely needed. Technology companies like Stripe, Square, and Uber became well known outside of their target audience simply for being so easy to use.
Wrap Up
Having trust is a big part of a business relationship with a technology partner because they deal with the most sensitive information of your organization. Trust is built by ensuring they can deliver on the four pillars: reliability, scalability, security and experience, for your particular needs.
Finding an IT partner that offers a trustworthy service that you can depend on to help grow your business is a winning combination for success.
Take Action
Not sure where to begin with your technology partner? Reach out to an expert here.
