To capture new business growth, companies must constantly look to improve and add to their suite of products and solutions. While some have the resources and time to do this internally, others turn to partnerships with leading providers to keep their customers happy and maintain market share.
Specifically, content services partnerships are helping companies create more modern, user-friendly and connected content ecosystems for their customers. These partnerships can also provide companies with technologies that empower them to reach new customer segments with unique needs.
When considering this kind of initiative, it’s important to evaluate potential partners thoroughly to understand which of them will be most dedicated to your business’s success. Here are some questions to consider during a potential partner evaluation.
Do They Value Innovation?
A content services partnership benefits companies and their customers by giving them access to new technologies, capabilities and solutions. This allows your customers to focus on more demanding initiatives and priorities. When looking into a potential partner, get a sense for how much of their revenue goes into research and development (R&D). A study of the world’s 1,000 largest corporate R&D spenders conducted by PwC found that on average, these companies spend 3-4% of their revenue on innovation.
The more serious they are about advancing their product roadmap and developing new solutions, the more they’ll be able to meet your own customers’ evolving needs.
Can They Offer Cloud-Ready Integrations and Cloud-Certified Environments?
Today, cloud-based solutions are no longer a trending alternative; they’re an imperative. In fact, according to a report from IDG, 75% of business leaders surveyed said the cloud is fundamental to their digital transformation efforts.
With employees these days far more likely to be working offsite, cloud-based content services delivery gives your customers the flexibility and agility to manage their content without sacrificing control, security or access. A potential partner should also offer your customers solutions optimized for their unique needs while adhering to compliance objectives, such as HIPAA, GDPR, PCI, SOC 2 and more. It’s also worth ensuring that your partner has a team of trained and accredited experts to manage maintenance duties.With employees these days far more likely to be working offsite, cloud-based content services delivery gives your customers the flexibility and agility to manage their content without sacrificing control, security or access. A potential partner should also offer your customers solutions optimized for their unique needs while adhering to compliance objectives, such as HIPAA, GDPR, PCI, SOC 2 and more. It’s also worth ensuring that your partner has a team of trained and accredited experts to manage maintenance duties.
Are They Established, With Industry Awards and Recognitions?
To evaluate the various content services providers in the market, industry analysts regularly release rankings based on provider strengths and the satisfaction of their customer base. Rankings such as the Forrester Wave™ Enterprise Content Management (ECM) report identifies 14 leading providers and how they measure up against each other. Likewise, the Gartner Peer Insights portal helps organizations guide their technology and business decisions through peer-driven insights, reviews and discussions.
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Other industry, local, regional or national awards can also help you gauge a potential partner’s track record of success.
Are They Easy to Work and Collaborate With?
A good partner should offer you comprehensive benefits and support, including a dedicated account liaison to help your team develop capabilities and expertise with their products. Other potential types of support include:
- Expert marketing program support that includes co-brandingExpert marketing program support that includes co-branding
- Sales enablement training
- A development environment to test their capabilities before launching them to customers
- 24-hour technical support
- On-demand information access
Do They Offer the Type of Partnership that Works Best for You?
Content services providers may have several different types of partners in their network, including value-added resellers, strategic alliance partners, business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, original equipment manufacturers, technology partners and systems integrator partners.
Which partnership you choose to embark on will depend on the goals you wish to achieve. For example, strategic alliance partners are vendors or service delivery providers who work with a content services provider to develop complementary offerings. BPO companies, on the other hand, use a content services partner to manage their own customers’ business activities.
Conclusion
Businesses looking to bring industry-leading content services to their customers can explore partnerships to capture growth without the demands of developing these solutions internally. Although there are numerous providers in this space, and the scope of a potential partnership can vary, the right one should offer innovative, cloud-based solutions along with a track record of expertise and comprehensive support.
Learn more about Hyland and its extensive global partner program at hyland.com.
