You don’t need 34 hours in day
Under normal circumstances, you would have to continually talk to sales representatives from each provider who only represent one option, and will only tout the products and services of their current employer. You would have to make follow-up calls to maintain the relationship, all the while double-checking everything they say to make sure the information is accurate.
Brokers develop and maintain relationships with numerous service providers so you don’t have to. They make all the calls, go to all the meetings, and perform all the fact-checks.
Don’t waste money on unnecessary expenses
When we talk about money, there are two aspects to discuss. The first is the actual amount paid per month. While provider representatives may try to convince you to purchase extra services, Technology Advisors ensure that you’re only paying for what you need. They also make sure that you’re paying the right price for these services by benchmarking them against current market price.
The second aspect encompasses uptime, performance, and flexibility. Paying a low price isn’t a good thing if it’s accompanied by downtime and inefficiency. Technology Advisors will help get you the lowest price available for the quality of services you require.
A Technology Advisor’s primary responsibility is to support, inform, and be an advocate for your company
Leveraging a Technology Advisor’s expertise as an advocate offers a distinct advantage. Not only will you stay one step ahead of the competition, you’ll also ensure that you’re getting the right quality service at the best price.
There is also the fundamental advantage of working with a technology advisor on an ongoing basis. Beyond understanding your company’s current needs, working with an advisor makes strategic and action planning easier; and moving in your chosen direction can begin much sooner.
A world of industry knowledge and expertise at your disposal
As an IT executive, you probably know the big service providers, the tools and the equipment. But the industry is in flux, and other players are constantly arriving on the scene with improved services and better gear.
Technology Advisor’s dedicate all of their time and effort to understanding the IT industry and building relationships with service providers. They are industry experts whose mission is to employ their market intelligence and expertise to provide you with the solutions that best satisfy your business requirements.
Grow your company and everything along with it
Saving time and money only tells part of the story. Having scalable systems in place will facilitate your company’s growth. Undoubtedly, your IT needs will change and you may find that yesterday’s solutions don’t match up with today’s problems.
Working with a Technology Advisor will allow you to stay nimble and continue to adjust your IT solutions as your business needs change. They will introduce you to those service providers that are in tune with the demands of your business and can meet those demands with the right service level at the right price.
Unbiased advice to keep your needs a priority
Objective tech advisors gain no benefit from convincing you to purchase a solution or choose a provider that may not suit you. Their interests are aligned with yours in that they want you to meet your performance, flexibility and business objectives with those providers that are best positioned to do so.
However, some advisors hold quotas with certain service providers, which could cause them to lean toward recommending those providers. Make sure you ask your broker if they have any quotas to maintain before engaging with them. If so, then be sure you understand the nature of the relationship prior to proceeding.
Maintaining relationships = keeping up with industry updates
Technology Advisors foster strong relationships with industry leaders, which allow them to stay on top of new trends, the latest releases, newest applications, and low benchmark pricing. They continuously collect this information and pass it along to you.
These relationships also allow tech advisors to directly contact those responsible for special pricing, unique solutions, and expedited turnaround. Technology Advisors literally bridge the gap between you and the executives from their provider partners – helping ensure compatibility and deployment of optimal solutions.
Everybody’s happy
Not only does the tech advisor model benefit you, it benefits the providers too. Technology Advisors offer market intelligence and recommendations; they ensure the provider has the right solution for you, and the provider only pays the advisor a commission once you sign a contract for their services.
Long term relationships have the most fruitful results
Service provider sales representatives typically change from one provider to the next every six months — one year. This means that they have a very short learning period after which they have to start over and do it again. The sales representative you worked with at one service provider may not be around when you need to renew or modify your services.
Maintaining long relationships with both providers and clients allows tech advisors to continually learn about the ever-changing service provision and client requirement landscapes. Technology Advisors can always offer pertinent expertise that reflects the ebbs and flows of both the technology industry and your business objectives.
You will never find yourself explaining your situation over and over again. Your advisor will just get it and will always be able to recommend the ideal solution.
More and more people are opting for the advisor model
Considering your daily responsibilities, it can be difficult to sort through all of the clutter to find the best solutions at the best price. Not only do Technology Advisors help you find high quality providers and services at the lowest cost, they also offer continuing support to improve your bottom line, stay on top of the marketplace, and deliver the uptime, performance, and flexibility you need.
Real results and experience shows that the advisor model is proving to be the most efficient method of acquiring complex IT services.
© 2022 ZBM Consulting Group
