Engaging a local technology partner to help with vendor and production selection can help companies achieve better results with lower costs. Having a trusted local technology partner offers access to additional pools of knowledge while also bringing a third party’s perspective into your decision-making process.
Here are the 3 reasons you should engage a technology partner when you are making product selections:
The RFP Process
The RFP process is usually the method businesses use to find vendors and products. The RFP evaluation team probably uses a checklist to determine which vendors comply with the different areas of the RFP and offer the best cost reductions, and the vendor with the most checks and the best price usually wins the business.
This process is fundamentally flawed, though. Frequently, businesses look at their needs very narrowly. For example, if you determine that you need a new firewall, you might come up with a comprehensive checklist of features. Following the process will probably get you the best firewall based on the checklist. However, if you aren’t sure what should go on a checklist, you might overlook important features. Also, this process won’t help you decide if a firewall is the best option for security. The right technology partner can address these shortcomings, add value to the process, and help you save money.
The Decision
Your technology partner can bring a different perspective to decision-making. They can assess the market to determine “best in class” solutions. Instead of focusing on the application or piece of hardware to be purchased, the consultant looks at the business problems or needs. Once the business problems or needs are defined, your technology partner can use its highly specialized knowledge of the available products to develop a plan for serving that need. The plan also takes into account your IT budget priorities as well as your requirements for functionality, ease of installation, and support. The IT consulting firm considers which solutions will best integrate with your existing network. When it comes time to integrate the solution, the consultant can leverage its extensive experience with the products used to deploy it more quickly and with fewer problems.
After the Sale
Unlike a vendor that is primarily concerned with selling specific products, your local technology partner sells solutions. In addition to connecting you to specific software, hardware, and systems, it also provides the business intelligence that ensures that you make the right choice for your business, which leads to better IT at a lower cost.
