When Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, started his business, his dream was to run a 50-person company that served clients that he enjoyed working with. Oracle is a $200 billion company today and Ellison outlined how he had to work with the right partners at each stage to grow his business. In this short clip, he describes how he needed the right partners to grow Oracle from a startup to a million-dollar company, to a billion-dollar company, and so on.
Although most businesses won’t reach Oracle’s scale, this is sound advice for any management team that’s looking to grow their business. Many businesses rely on the same IT providers that they started their business with. Although familiarity is convenient, what do your business outcomes look like? If you are not growing, this may be an indication that your IT provider will not accelerate your growth.
What does the right IT partner look like?
There’s not a one-size-fits-all IT partner for businesses. In order to truly find the right IT partner, you will have to set your business goals and work backward. The right IT partner for your business will be a provider that helps you meet your business goals while giving you the IT infrastructure you need to thrive.
There are some characteristics that your right IT partner will have. Some of the characteristics you will find in the right IT partner include:
Flexibility: The most important characteristic you should look for in an IT partner is flexibility. Your ideal IT partner should be able to support your business as it grows and has changing demands. The last thing you want is for your business to grow quickly and realize that your IT partner can no longer support you. This will make transitioning to a new provider costly and time-consuming.
Track record: The right IT partner for your business should have a track record of helping businesses like yours. A track record from your IT partner gives you the confidence that your IT partner can replicate similar results to previous clients. Without a track record of working with businesses similar to yours, you are basically making a bet on the IT provider.
Business-centric vs technology-centric: Many IT partners are technology-focused and they can ramble on about technical jargon to sell you their services. Your ideal IT partner should be business-focused and help you attain your business goals instead of naming different technologies you can use. If your IT partner can not spell out the benefits of their services to your bottom line in plain English, you should seek a better one.
Migration assistance: The right IT partner should be capable of helping you migrate to their services seamlessly. Competent IT providers have a lot of experience onboarding new clients to their services. If the migration is too difficult, the provider might not be your best option.
To learn more about how to find the right IT partner for your business, contact us today in the form below!
