How do I work with a technology partner?
April 13th, 2010 by Michael Giuffrida
Let me start by saying that we strive to go beyond being “vendors” for our clients by combining our expertise and experience in technology with their expertise and experience in their industry and their organization. That combined approach allows us to be a “technology partner”. Be careful of the “technology vendor” who is more focused on their quotas and sales spiffs than they are on listening to your needs. I don’t mean to get off topic here, but this is an important distinction to us!
As far as the relationship goes, there are some keys to it being successful and they all start with trust. You need to trust that we are truly working on your behalf without some hidden agenda and we need to trust that you have given 
us all of the information necessary to make our engagement a successful one. Nothing is worse than getting halfway through a project to find out that there were requirements that we hadn’t considered. All we really want is to have the project go flawlessly so we can call it a success and you can go on improving your business.
Unfortunately, a flawless technology project really only exists in a utopia so I have written this short 5 point download about ways to mitigate those things that will go wrong. I hope this helps you manage your future relationships with your technology partner. If they don’t want to work in this framework, maybe they should be called a vendor.
Tags: being more productive, business success tips, generating operational efficiencies, IT partner management, IT vendor management, resource time management, small business, small business concerns, technology, technology management, technology relationship management
Michael,
Great article. I hear you load and clear on the distinction between vendor and partner. As an IT professional who came from a Customer Relations background, I had the fortune of working alongside a few key on-demand IT service providers we could call upon when a major unplanned outage came about and we needed that additional expertise. The element of trust had to be there for the partnership to work. Communication is key between the partners as well. In my roll as systems admin & network support I know all too well how important it is to communicate status updates during an outage, with regular updates on the progress of things out to the environment.
Having met you personally Michael and speaking to Tracy last year in December, I got an immediate sense of how much ForeSite is truly “customer centric” in it’s focus of providing service.
Keep up the good work guys!
I am a former accountant and have worked with various accounting programs. This experience taught me that when working with technology partner it is important to keep ‘em updated like you are. Since I’m working with a program it is important that our communication tool, computer, is always at its best to ensure that all the messages are properly relayed.
Identifying the necessary tools to prevent future problems is essential too. For example: In order to store all the financial data in your computer you must have enough storage space. Knowing which program can help you maximize your storage space in this case knowing what is a registry cleaner helps prevent future problems.
Working with a technology partner is supposed to make your work easier and more accurate. It also means that you are responsible in keeping your tool at its best to get the best results.