Is it the end of the IT vendor era? Advantages of collaborating with trusted advisors

The progressing digitalisation, new work models, the shortage of specialists and the necessity of process automation – all of this makes companies reach out for IT solutions. Sometimes they choose such solutions randomly and in a hurry, sometimes they consider opinions and the tool’s popularity. In both cases the chances of success are scarce. Nowadays, when business is growing in complexity, the extension of the IT infrastructure must be well-planned and adapted to the company’s needs.

According to Gartner’s analysts, in 2023 the global expenditures on IT (including hardware, software, data centre systems and services) will be higher by 5.5% in comparison to 2022. The year 2024 will see sales growth reaching nearly 9% per annum. Some investments made today by many companies form a transition from makeshift solutions implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic to systems that actually meet business needs.

It was the pandemic which exposed the fact that you cannot select IT solutions on a random basis. Of course, the drastic and unexpected change in the work model forced entrepreneurs to make hasty purchases. More often than not, companies chose tools that were popular or easily available. The price was also a significant factor. Today, it is clear that a large number of these system fail to meet business needs of enterprises. They are often at odds with the company’s modus operandi or employees find them ineffective and difficult to use, says Krzysztof Andrian, CEO at Concept Data.

Complex infrastructure, complex needs

When selecting IT systems, one must consider multiple factors, e.g. business requirements, scalability of the solution, its efficiency, flexibility, integration options, security, availability and reliability as well as the ease of use and costs (including the future maintenance costs).

There are no universal systems that will work perfectly for every enterprise and in every business situation. Today, nearly all companies use many various solutions. The trick is to select such a solution that will be complementary and easy to integrate with other solutions. It also should not duplicate functions available elsewhere, adds Krzysztof Andrian.

However, the problem is that organisations often do not know precisely what solutions they already use and which areas are taken care of by particular tools. The IT department collects requisitions for different systems and selects them. Then it carries out the implementation and makes sure all the systems work without excessive downtime. However, since the infrastructure is becoming more and more complex, IT specialists hardly ever have the opportunity or the need to analyse which tools are indispensable and actually used, which are worth developing and which should be invested in due to planned changes within the enterprise.

In consequence, chaos emerges in the IT areas and the implementation of another tool does not bring the desired effect.

A vendor is not enough

The best way in such a situation is to select a business partner who will help bring some order into the existing systems and solutions and then will add new ones that will actually support the company’s growth. However, traditional IT vendors do not work that way.

IT providers usually have many interesting solutions in their portfolios, but their core role is to sell, not to advise. So they tell about the tools they offer, they present technical specifications along with integration options and scalability. But they will not check if these tools actually fit the needs of the potential purchaser’s business. A company may choose from among such vendors if it has experts in both IT and business on board. Such a company knows perfectly well which solutions will support its development strategy, explains Krzysztof Andrian.

Otherwise, the better choice will be providers who offer a wide spectrum of various system and have teams of experts who can analyse the customer’s business situation and IT resources in order to select tools that will actually meet all demands and expectations.

An advisor company. What does it mean?

In English, such a provider is usually referred to as a Trusted Advisor. In other words, it is an enterprise that has been enjoying customers’ trust and recognition. It provides goods and services along with advisory functions and support of business decision making. Most often, it engages in long-term relations with customers in order to understand their needs and objectives and only then choose suitable solutions and tools.

The demand for such services is on the rise. Also in the IT sector.

Many companies that reach out to us, including large organisations, need professional advice in the first place, an external perspective on its resources, strategy, development plans and operational methods. They also need an analysis of how well the existing solutions actually fit the current business situation. The next step would be to select tools which help in achieving the goals and then to prepare the knowledge transfer strategy. A provider who is also an advisor will fill any competence gaps in the company’s teams, which will speed up the implementation of necessary changes and boost the business growth. That is exactly how we have been working with our customers for years, says Krzysztof Andrian.

How does a Trusted Advisor work in the IT area?

1. A Trusted Advisor gets to know the company: its structure, model, work organisation, development plans and business strategy.
2. Then it reviews the systems and tools functioning in the company.
3. It indicates the categories of solutions that will optimise and facilitate business operations as well as help in achieving the goals.
4. A Trusted Advisor analyses risks.
5. It assists in setting up a team that will implement new systems so that the process can run smoothly and meet the expectations of all stakeholders.
6. A Trusted Advisor supports the selection of particular solutions.
7. It takes part in creating the strategy for announcing the changes.
8. It becomes involved in training the employees and the users of new tools.
9. A Trusted Advisor defines an infrastructure development strategy in line with the company’s growth plans.
10. It checks whether the existing systems still perform their role effectively and shows the way to optimise the management of such systems.

To sum up, a Trusted Advisor is a business partner who provides advice, knowledge and experience at each stage of the process: from selection of the solution, through its implementation and up to its exploitation. Collaboration with such a partner can be the best way for many entrepreneurs to implement effective automation and digitalisation of processes as well as to attain business goals within the adopted time-frame.