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http://www.alliancetek.com/ is the answer is to discover a technology partner that’s able to help you design the ideal combination of technology, software platforms and services, and execute a solution tailored to your needs.
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5 Must-Haves in a Technology Partner
Embracing technology is essential for leaders who want to
grow their businesses and maximize return on investment.
That’s because technology enables you to scale your
business, increase productivity, and sustain a competitive
advantage. But to reap optimum rewards you need to stay
abreast of current technology trends, assimilating the latest
innovations judiciously along the way—a demanding task
when you’re managing a business, trying to cope with
customer needs, industry trends, ongoing operations and
more.
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The answer is to discover a technology partner that’s able to help you design the ideal combination of
technology, software platforms and services, and execute a solution tailored to your needs. Because of
their daily exposure to a broad spectrum of clients, projects and industries, they enable you to leverage
fresh ideas for increased efficiency. And one that will take a methodical approach that dramatically
decreases your cost and time to implement your project.
“Dig your well before you're thirsty” – Chinese Proverb
Finding the right technology partner, however, takes time. And it takes even longer to build a long-term,
synergistic relationship where your partner is fully immersed in the intricacies of your business, your
systems and your people. So start looking for a partner now and when you find them, put your new
relationship on a test drive with a small pilot project.
The 5 Essential Questions to Ask Potential Technology Partners
You’ll discover many technology companies eager to partner with you, but ask these questions before
you tie the knot.
1. Do they have competent people?
Look for people who are not only passionate about technology, but also what it can do for your business.
Your partner should have long-term, experienced employees who can tackle complex projects, protect
you from problems they’ve encountered before, and bring unique insight and value to your project. They
Smart business solutions are the result of implementing knowledge and skills in a systematic way.
Therefore, to gain confidence that a partner can deliver an innovative business solution without running
into speed bumps along the way, it’s critical to learn what processes and systems they have in place.
For example, instead of communicating with never-ending e-mail strings, your partner should have a
seamless collaboration system that centralizes communication, assures nothing falls through the cracks,
and deadlines are met. They also use an intelligent project-management system to bring issues to the
surface sooner; and have a well-defined development, change-order and deployment process.
2. Do they have effective processes and systems in place?
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contribute innovative ideas, demonstrate thought leadership, and show you how leading-edge technology
offers powerful opportunities. Then they create a technology road map that illustrates the steps required
to reach your destination.
Using hybrid and agile development processes helps nail down cost-effective, timely solutions that deliver
results.
A technology partner using a well integrated hybrid development process has local presence and
global reach, enabling them to tap into talent and skill-sets from across the globe. The process empowers
team members working across multiple time-zones, providing an around-the-clock development cycle for
faster results. To be successful, communication is essential. It should include regular meetings on project
status where team members synchronize their efforts and overcome obstacles together. Meanwhile the
US-based team communicates with the client to assure their requirements are reflected accurately, and
they are filled in on the project status every step along the way.
An agile development process ensures active team-member and stakeholder involvement, timely
updates, risk management, and cost control. All are crucial for large, complex projects with detailed
specifications. By reviewing and reporting on the development process on a timely basis, agile
development increases flexibility and the ability to adapt to change. The on-going active involvement of
the entire team and the client reduces the time spent in meetings because of fast-paced decision making.
This keeps the team motivated and boosts their performance.
3. Are they using best practices for development?
Your technology partner must be capable of taking your project from inception to deployment, and
maintaining speed and agility throughout its life-cycle. This is a multifaceted, iterative endeavor that
encompasses project scoping; defining requirements; building application architecture; designing and
developing the application; quality assurance; maintaining and hosting the application; and ongoing
support.
4. Do They Offer End-to-End Solutions?
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112 Moores Drive, Suite 200, Malvern, PA 19355 484-892-5713 [email protected], Inc.
Call to schedule your free consultation with . Reynolds Corea 484-892-5713 ext.108 AllianceTek
Because of the explosion in information technology innovation and knowledge, your technology partner
needs to have wide and deep experience. Like most companies you probably need multiple technologies
to run your business, for example, cloud services, mobile applications, and web-based solutions.
Therefore, your partner needs the broad, experience and knowledge required to create a robust solution
that intertwines these technologies for optimal results.
For the most successful outcomes you also need to use best-of-breed technologies. For example, you may
want to use Salesforce.com for customer relationship management, Microsoft SharePoint for
collaboration, and an iPhone for your sales force. Thus, your technology partner must be able to work on
all these platforms, recommend optimal technology combinations and integrate them. These capabilities
also enable them to enhance outcomes by implementing distinct technologies on each project tier and
designing the ultimate user experience.
By relying on one partner to complete your whole project, you save time and don’t have to worry about
coordinating activities of multiple vendors.
The core message is that your partner should be a business solution architect, looking at the big picture,
the challenges and opportunities unique to your business, and applying their know-how to create
solutions tailored to your needs.
5. Do they have a broad technology background?