Toll Free: 877-379-8279Selecting a Technology Management Company
News / By Scott M. Lewis, President / CEO Winning Technologies Inc
News / By Scott M. Lewis, President / CEO Winning Technologies Inc
The selection of a technology management company is one of the most important aspects of your business, and one that companies dedicate the least amount of time and effort in doing a proper selection process. I recently participated as a panel member in a discussion with small and medium size business owners on how to select a technology management company and I found the discussion to be very interesting from the perspective of why these business owners selected the companies they did and why now they are dissatisfied with their selections.
One of the most fascinating aspects was the concept of what I call the “Big Fish” and this is where companies feel they would rather be a big fish in a small pond, verses a medium or small fish in a big pond. The feeling was that by being the big fish that they would be a higher priority in their provider’s customer list, they would have more control, or the provider would dedicate more resources to them because the provider would be concerned about losing the big fish. I found this interesting because yes there are some advantages to being the big fish if you as an organization are willing to accept the downside to being the big fish in a small pond. The small pond means from a business perspective, limited people resources, limited financial resources, and in most cases limited technical expertise.
When you think about the big fish concept limited people resources has to be a consideration. When you think of what it takes to manage a technology department it is far more than reporting a broken computer, or email issue, it is quality control, it is parts and procurement, it is strategic planning and modeling, it is project management, it is budget management and return on investment. These are all ongoing, time consuming aspects of running a successful business based technology initiative. If your technology selection does not have these aspects to their business or they are expecting their technical staff to fulfill these roles than it will reduce the level of satisfaction you have with your technology partner.
The financial stability of your technology partner should be a consideration during the selection process. You should be asking the same questions you would of any business partnership. Are they paying their bills on time? Do they have outside investors such as venture capital investment? Are they in debt to banks, credit cards, loans? Do they have the cash reserves to fund themselves when projects do not go as planned, or do they under estimate projects or initiatives or to provide warrantee services?
These are the types of things that drive the ability to provide the technical expertise you need to run your business and be happy with your technology provider. The fact of the matter is that there are far more small technology firms than big ones. Ninety percent of technology companies employee less than seven people including the ownership and work in local markets. There is five percent of the huge companies such Dell or IBM, and then the remaining five percent that are the medium size national or international technology management companies.
Which one is right for you? That depends on your business and your acceptance of risk within your business. There is certainly more risk when dealing with smaller technology companies, they don’t typically have deep financial pockets and I have seen many of them go out of business if an unforeseen event happens to them such as a project overrun, client attrition, or key employee loss. However there is also risk associated with larger technology companies, not all companies do all things well, and the downside to many larger technology companies is that they eventually move outside of their areas of expertise and move into products and services that they simply don’t do well but because of their size have the ability to impact the market place. Regardless of size small or large, the overall priority for both should be setting the expectation of service at the right levels, and having a track record that shows that they have the ability to meet that expectation of service.
There are many other things to consider when selecting a technology management company, such as are you looking for a management company or a break fix company? These are two separate business models so make sure that you are picking the right one. Your business vertical, do not make the mistake that technology is technology, it isn’t. Make sure that you are selecting a company that has the expertise in your market. Culture, remember this is a partnership not a vendor relationship, so make sure that your business culture is compatible with your technology partner.
The selection of a technology partner is important and it is worthy of your time to make sure that you get this right. Take the time to discuss with your prospective technology partner how they will manage your business, how they will be held accountable to your business, and exactly what kind of Technology Company they are so you can manage them against your expectation of service.
