Technology is the bedrock of many successful businesses today. Given how the vast majority of sectors engage with technology to some extent — whether they’re using the tools to improve their processes and deliver their services or actually producing the tools themselves — the need for strong technology partnerships has heightened.
Increasingly, business is no longer thought to be a single team effort. With the escalating reliance on technology, many organizations are partnering with other companies to strengthen their efforts, improve their processes, and make better products and services.
Relationships in the technology realm take on many forms: some companies outsource work to partners, some work together to bring products to fruition, and others follow different models entirely. The common thread is collaboration, which, if done effectively, leads to greater success for both parties.
Partnerships in business are nothing new, but they are not always well maintained. They require nurturing and effort from both partners for each team to reap the rewards. How, then, can you strengthen technology relationships?
8 Benefits of Tech Partnerships
1. Future-Proofing
We have faced numerous challenges in the past few years, particularly given the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and difficult recessions. For both young and old businesses, nothing is a guarantee. But when you bring technological innovation, competencies, and know-how into the equation by working with an expert technology partner, you can increase your longevity.
It is impossible to completely future-proof your business, of course, but technology relationships will help you rethink how you do things and come up with ways of adapting to changing — and challenging — circumstances, thereby improving your resilience. That means a better outlook for your company and a greater ability to handle the obstacles you encounter.
2. Strategic Growth
Growth is a business’s goal, no matter its current size. A knowledgeable, capable partner will enable you to strategize new ways to scale your business and its endeavors, attract talent, and reach more consumers with your products and services.
Additionally, as technology changes, you will need to evolve your business along with it. A qualified technology partner will give you the extra hands on deck and support that will prove necessary for accommodating new tools and growing your business simultaneously.
3. Brand Reputation
You will improve your reputation as you grow and improve your business through stronger technology efforts. A technology partner can, for example, help you with different facets of your strategy, such as lead generation, website development and maintenance, and discovery. This will help you attract new customers — after all, an improved brand reputation and greater awareness mean that more and more consumers will flock to your business.
Additionally, a technology partner can help you better understand and connect with your consumers in new and different ways, thereby strengthening loyalty and recognition.
4. Specialized Talent
At some point or another, you may encounter a situation where you need a certain talent, skill, or competency that doesn’t exist on your in-house team. This is an ideal opportunity to partner with another team where this much-needed talent exists. And thanks to this type of partnership, you won’t need to train or pay extensive overhead costs to take advantage of this skill set since it already comes with the relationship.
You can leverage these talents for specific projects or periods of time and enjoy all the benefits while not having to deal with many of the drawbacks.
5. Modernization
When it comes to technology, there are always new models and advancements. It can seem nearly impossible to keep up with all the updates in the field. But keep up you must — or risk falling behind your competitors.
This is a major reason why many businesses choose to form technology partnerships. This way, they can keep up with the latest innovations and modernize their businesses without constantly evaluating and reevaluating their stacks. Instead, the technology partner will take care of these important aspects of the business and help you maintain and update your tools while you attend to your core business.
6. Risk Reduction
Investing in any technology is a huge risk for any business. But working with a technology provider means that you are each sharing the risk, thus reducing your overall individual level of risk.
Moreover, suppose you are partnering with an organization focusing on building, leveraging, and deploying technology. In that case, they will more than likely be up to date on the laws and regulations governing the tools you want to create or use. Therefore, they will be better equipped to advise you on how to proceed and work within legal limitations. Of course, they can’t replace a legal advisor, so that may also be a necessary partner, depending on your needs.
7. Greater Innovation
We are in the midst of an innovation revolution, and every company must deploy creative energy toward the goal of building new, exciting things. Engaging multiple perspectives, including those not only from your own team but from an external partner as well, in shared goals will inevitably lead to greater innovation.
Combining different backgrounds and viewpoints means better brainstorming and collaboration. And it can lead to boosting your operations to new heights.
8. More Support
Together, all of these benefits mean more support. This is something any organization can use, and you shouldn’t underestimate the power of having a supportive external partner on your side helping you navigate a range of challenges and obstacles, as well as take advantage of the opportunities that come your way.
Having an extra layer of technology support also means you have someone to count on in emergencies and everyday scenarios. When it comes to tools as critical as your tech stacks, that often proves indispensable.
The Foundation of a Great Partnership in Tech
Trust
It should come as no surprise that trust is necessary for moving forward in any type of partnership or arrangement. At the same time, you can’t expect to immediately have that critical level of trust from the get-go. That’s why it is important to do your homework — both of you, that is — to find out as much information as possible about any prospective partner.
In addition to researching the company’s reputation, projects, and other information, it’s generally helpful to set up agreements that carefully outline expectations, workflows, and more. This will go a long way in ensuring no surprises and allowing the partnership to function more smoothly.
Cultural Alignment
We can work with organizations and individuals worldwide in the digital, remote work era. This brings several advantages, but consider that cultural misalignment in a work context can lead to complications. It’s useful to partner with an organization that has similar work styles and no language barriers, as well as shared time zones.
That’s why many businesses in the U.S. end up partnering with technology companies based in Latin America. The regions have cultural similarities and are time zone aligned, and many professionals in LatAm speak English fluently. Plus, the level of tech talent is high in the region.
Collaboration
Collaboration is the cornerstone of any successful partnership. From the early stages of your working relationship, you must hone your collaborative process, and both offer input about what that should look like in practice. You should understand each other’s work styles and ensure they mesh well. There should be an understanding of goals and expectations for your shared venture and systems in place for working together with minimal hiccups.
Mutual Benefits
In any business relationship, both parties should benefit in some way from the partnership. That is, each should bring something to the table that the other needs. When you establish a technology partnership, you should determine what each partner will be giving the other one.
Perhaps, for example, you are seeking a holistic digital transformation, something your partner can help you achieve, given their technological expertise. In turn, they might be seeking additional revenue and want to build up their portfolio with high-profile clients like their prospective partner.
Transparency
Transparency is an important quality when it comes to your project. This goes hand in hand with trust — when you are open and honest with your partner, you are better able to keep problems to a minimum and maintain a positive relationship.
Transparency means keeping a dialogue going throughout the project. It means keeping them up to date on any relevant issues and goings-on. It also means alerting them to progress from both ends. While you don’t necessarily need to have meetings all the time, you should have regular check-ins and updates.
Shared Goals
All successful projects start with solid goals. In addition to establishing and defining these goals, set benchmarks along the way to help you gauge and evaluate progress. This also breaks up the larger project into smaller, more manageable components.
Both partners should agree on these goals from the beginning. Input should come from both sides, and each party must have a vested interest in achieving each objective. That way, you can keep the project on track.
Flexibility
Even with established goals, staying flexible throughout the project is critical. No undertakings are without hiccups, and it is more than likely that you will need to pivot in small or large ways at some point. Having a flexible mindset will allow you to stay on course and reach your goals.
It may sound counterintuitive, but this outlook gives you more direction, not less. Both partners are able to change certain ideas when faced with problems and continue to work together toward a solution.
Shared Resources
One of the main benefits of forming a technology partnership is that you and the other team can share resources. This is an important part of the process — ensuring both partners have access to the tools they need to do their jobs effectively and boost both their businesses at the same time.
A central repository with shared files, programs, and documents gives both partners access to materials they might not otherwise have been able to leverage, allowing them both to advance in their collective and individual missions.
How to Create a Strong Partnership in Tech
1. Ensure That You Find the Right Fit
Both prospective partners should do their due diligence and spend ample time finding a business that is a good fit for them. They should find as many reviews, testimonials, and examples of client feedback as possible. Additionally, here are some questions they should ask themselves before signing contracts and solidifying their arrangement:
- What am I looking to get out of this partnership?
- What are my partner’s mission and values, and do they align with mine?
- Has my partner worked with businesses similar to mine in the past?
- What is my partner bringing to the table? What am I bringing to the table?
- Can we align on goals and expectations?
2. Establish Shared Goals and Expectations
Discuss your goals and expectations for the project or overall relationship as you form your relationship. What does each party want to accomplish and get out of the partnership? These should be common goals — shared objectives that you each want to achieve together, ones that are mutually beneficial and will help you both further your individual missions.
NB: Goals are different from KPIs, which we will touch on below.
3. Define Roles
Decide which team members from each partner business will be involved in the projects you work on together. Additionally, define roles and responsibilities upfront. There may well be overlapping roles on each team, so it is important to clarify who will do what before you get into the nitty-gritty.
Moreover, each team should have a point of contact — the person responsible for communicating with the partner. This will help you streamline plans and information and avoid confusion.
4. Get Internal Feedback
Don’t underestimate the power of your internal team members. Even when you’re working with an external technology partner, you should keep your in-house team involved and apprised of your efforts. Welcome their ideas when it comes to your partnership — they might have suggestions that could solidify the relationship and make it even stronger.
This should be the case whether or not your team members work on-site. Welcome ideas from remote team members and in-person ones alike. Have check-ins to discuss their individual progress and ideas when it comes to other arrangements, assuming your partnership is relevant to their work.
5. Establish Channels of and Strategies for Communication
Communication is one of the most important pieces of any technology or business relationship. It should be constant and multifaceted. Since you won’t be seeing each other face to face frequently — or at all — it is critical to establish strategies and channels for communicating early on.
Determine what works best for both of you. For example, how often will you check in with one another, formally and informally? What methods will you use? Are all the team members involved comfortable with the tools you plan to rely on? What will you use to facilitate communication?
6. Determine Measures of Success
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are important for any project, whether you’re going at it alone or with a partner. This is how you will measure success. Of course, when you are working with a technology partner, you will need to develop your KPIs together.
What are the outcomes you are both looking to achieve — together? What factors matter to both of you, individually and collectively? What data do you need? What progress do you need to make? How will you determine that you have ultimately been successful? These are the factors you should establish early on.
7. Track Progress, Benchmarks, and Best Practices
Document everything. That includes best practices, plans, progress made, benchmarks, goals, and outcomes. Any problems or glitches you encounter — write them down. Any solutions you come up with — track them. Not only is this important for ensuring that you achieve your goals, but it will also prove invaluable for your next project or projects.
The purpose is to create a kind of history of your project, illuminating what went well and what could be improved next time. It will prove extremely useful whether you continue to work together or go your separate ways.
What to Consider When Selecting a Partner
There’s plenty to think about when choosing a partner. For example:
- Individual and shared vision
- The longevity of the relationship
- How you will each further each other’s goals
- The specific type of partnership
- Risk involved
- Nature of the business
- Compatibility
There is plenty that goes into making these arrangements work. When done well, however, forming technology relationships can lead to great success — for both you and your partner.
