By Charles Nault

In my book “Risk-Free Technology,” one of my primary objectives is to elevate the role of the network integrator to that of a “trusted partner” in the mind of business owners/senior managers. I sincerely believe that this relationship needs to be on par with the three traditionally recognized pillars of professional relationships that every sharp business recognizes as critical to its survival, e.g., its banker, its lawyer, its accountant.

Business owners need to recognize that a solid, professional relationship with a trusted partner in Information Technology can have a more dramatic, positive impact on their daily operations, and therefore their business success, more so in fact than any of the other three more traditional pillars. The following excerpt from my book provides some insights into just what that kind of relationship looks like:

No one can know everything. The level of knowledge and experience required to integrate technology effectively is extensive regardless of the size of your company. It is the limit of your resources specifically, that requires you to work with a company or companies you can trust to provide the information and advice you need, and to provide competent people to augment your existing staff.

I am advocating a long term partnership with a company that provides a number of the solutions you need, and is competent and trustworthy enough to be the focal point for all of your projects, even if they have to partner with other firms to provide the entire solution.

One of the major inhibitors to relationships between your business and a value added partner is a lack of trust. You believe that giving up control or management of any part of your Information Technology solution is risky and that you can do it more economically in-house. There are approximately 239,000 solution providers in the US alone. There are a lot of partners out there that you can trust. You have to take a more active role in investigating who you partner with to find just the right fit.

IT systems integrators have a lot of knowledge that you don’t have. IT is a knowledge-based business and the technology changes so quickly that unless you are in the technology business specifically, you cannot possibly stay abreast of what is best for your company. However, an integrator is only going to know what new technologies are right for your business if they know your business, and your network, inside and out. This comes with time and trust.

The time it takes can be shortened if, once you chose a trusted partner, you hire them to do a complete assessment of what you have, the documentation you have, and the processes in place for implementations, change management, security, and support.

The trust issue can also be alleviated in several ways. I have found over the years, two opposite types of customers who have employed my company and other network integrators. The first are those who trust no-one but themselves, insist on hiring the lowest bidder, treat their integrator as an adversary who is trying to take advantage of them, and then try to take advantage of the integrator as often as possible. The second are those who consider the integrator a trusted partner, establish a long term relationship, and treat them as a true partner. In twenty years I have never once seen the first type of client thrive. These types of companies have constant

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