What should you look for in a technology partner?
November 3rd, 2009 by Tracy Fox
Over the years, I’ve worked with businesses, schools and nonprofits to help them find the right technology resources to meet their particular needs and goals. In many cases, the “devil they know” is the resource that they continued to use year after year - either because they were concerned that change might not bring something better, or because they weren’t sure if their expectations of a better partnership were realistic.
Let’s start by considering when you might look for a technology partner. The obvious answer is when you don’t have a full-time IT person, web site designer or developer on staff. But even if you do have someone handling the day-to-day needs internally, planning for a project that they haven’t done before or discussing possibilities of how technology can help you reach your goals may be areas where you can have the best of both worlds – someone who knows your environment and your culture and someone who can bring an outside viewpoint and a wide-range of experience and training.
No matter what your specific network includes or what your challenges are, there are 5 critical factors that you can use to evaluate your technology resource – whether you rely on internal staff, outside consulting or a combination of the two. Download the list of 5 critical factors to keep in mind as you plan for 2010.
Tags: 2010 technology planning, business success tips, Network support, small business concerns, technology consulting, Technology Planning, technology resource for small business, web site design, web site development
Good points made here, as you know we have a staff of 8 here, but there are so many things that no matter how many whitepapers and forums you read prior to a roll out of a major product or service, you never know the gotchya’s that folks who have been through it know. I think everyone can benefit now and again from a partner, and that being the case, an ongoing relationship is critical or else it takes a lot of time to get that partner up to speed.