4th in the Series "A Guide to Selecting the Right Technology Rollout Company for Your Project"
Collaborative Partnerships for Nationwide Rollouts & Global Technology Deployments
A Concert Technologies White Paper
Executive Summary
Technology rollouts on a nationwide and global scale require technicians to perform onsite work. Though you may have hired a Technology Rollout Company to manage and deploy these technicians, they ultimately serve as direct representatives of your company. If they are ill-mannered, inexperienced, or unprofessional, it is a direct reflection of your company to your customer and you are faced with the consequences. So, understanding the relationship your Technology Rollout Company has with its field technicians is very important.
This paper is the final installment in this series developed to help you intelligently evaluate a Technology Rollout Company to ensure that your deployment is as efficient and cost-effective as possible.
What are the Field Deployment Partnerships of Technology Rollouts?
Partnerships can consist of technician businesses or individuals with working relationships that vary from company to company. This paper explores the details of these partnerships and how they apply to the rapid deployment of nationwide rollouts and global deployments. Topics include:
- Types of Partnerships. Understand the issues regarding local vs. non-local partnerships and the advantages of local technician partnerships.
- How Rollout Partnerships are Established. Learn what to ask a Technology Rollout Company to determine if it has the right partnerships for your project requirements.
- The Ideal Technician Communication Channel. Discover which Technician Communication Channel will increase quality assurance and accelerate deployment speed for your project
What Are the Benefits of Local, Established Partnerships?
The many advantages include:
- Accelerated deployment timeframes
- Minimized technician travel time
- Expedited communication methods
- Accelerated emergency response times
- Expertise in local codes and regulations to ensure compliance
- Rapid access to materials
About This White Paper Series
In this series' first three white papers, we explained the Technology Rollout System and its Process Structure, Rollout Services Model and Internal Resources. This final white paper in the series examines the fourth part - Partnerships - and its critical role in nationwide rollout and global deployment projects. For the purposes of this paper, the following definitions are used:
Technology Rollout
Consists of (a) multiple sites (b) requiring technology services (c) implemented by onsite field technicians.
Customer
The organization or individual that engages the technology rollout company.
Additional terminology definitions (such as Rollout Categories) are defined in the first white paper in this series.
Note: While the information presented in this paper is applicable to all Rollout Categories, it primarily focuses on Category 1 Rollouts (work at each site consists of one day or less).
Additionally, this paper assumes that the previously established ideal parts of the Technology Rollout System are utilized:
- Centralized Single-Tier Process Structure
- Rollout Services Model employing the Local Multi-Service Deployment Method
- Internal Resources utilizing the Unified Resource Rollout Delivery Team Configuration
To download any of our White Papers, visit us online at: www.concerttech.com
Introduction
"Effective alliance management begins with selecting the right partner."
- Duane R. Ireland, Journal of Management
Strong, well-established partnerships are critical to the rapid deployment of large-scale technology solutions. They are comprised of both the "human factor" and the expert management capabilities required for project success.
How This Information Benefits You
- Minimize project costs, time, and potential problems by understanding how partnerships maximize Technology Rollout System efficiency
- Guarantee professional performance and quality assurance by understanding how partnerships are established and maintained
- Determine the ideal Technician Communication Channel by understanding the critical advantages and disadvantages of each option
What is a Rollout Partnership?
"Alliances are vehicles of opportunity that provide companies the much-needed leverage to compete effectively in the global marketplace."
- Duane R. Ireland, Journal of Management
For the purposes of this paper, a partnership is defined as:
A company or individual that possesses:
- A direct relationship with a Technology Rollout Company
- All necessary licenses and certifications to conduct business in a specific jurisdiction
- The technical expertise to provide onsite deployment services
- Necessary equipment to perform work
Types of Partnerships: Companies, Individual Technicians, Staffing Firms
When it comes to nationwide and global rollout partnerships, there are three types to consider:
- Companies - A company employing individual technicians provides the resources, redundancy and scalability as needed for your project.
- Individual Technicians - Individual technicians working as independent contractors may be unable to provide the necessary advantages a company provides. They may also lack the local requirements (e.g., licenses, insurance and equipment) necessary to provide all required services.
- Staffing Firms - Staffing firms often limit the types of rollouts for which they will provide technicians. For example, the firms don't normally supply technicians for Category 1 Rollouts, which have timeframes of one day or less.
Why Local Partners are Necessary
Ideally, a Technology Rollout Company should have well-established relationships with partners located in close proximity to each job site. This reduces travel costs, conserves energy and fuel, and accelerates the speed of the technology rollout.
Additionally, issues with local codes, regulations and unions can put an immediate halt to work at a site. A local partner provides the best safeguard against these potential problems because the partner understands local codes and regulations, and can respond immediately to rectify any issues.
Why Your Technology Rollout Company's Partnerships Matter
Technology Rollout Company management expertise is one critical part of a smooth onsite installation. Another is the partner company's and its technicians' expertise and their relationship with the Technology Rollout Company. Your Technology Rollout Company's partners form the field force that will ultimately represent you at each site location. Unprofessional or unskilled technicians can have a profoundly negative effect on your reputation and ability to complete the project in good standing - and they have unfettered access to your site. Solution providers and end users alike need to be confident of every technicians' capabilities and trustworthiness.
How are Rollout Partnerships Established?
"Careful consideration of potential partners, with a focus on functional competence and value creating capabilities is essential."
- Duane R. Ireland, Journal of Management
Partnerships are critical to an effective Technology Rollout System. Understanding how the deployment company develops its partnerships before engaging the company warrants asking specific questions as you evaluate firms:
How does the Technology Rollout Company acquire its partners?
The company should have a well-defined Technology Rollout System that incorporates dedicated processes and personnel to perform recruitment and maintenance functions of its partnership program.
What were the projects that established its partnerships?
As a customer, it is important for you to know the initial and current projects that form the partnership. Look for broad-reaching projects with longevity.
What are the qualifications to become a partner?
Though criteria may differ from company to company, having an established set of partner qualifications (business processes, insurance, technology expertise, etc.) is essential.
What is the quality assurance policy of its partnerships and their onsite technicians?
For optimal performance, the Technology Rollout Company must have direct contact with its partner technicians in order to assure quality and rate them for use on future projects.
What are the measures in place for technician redundancy?
Redundancy is one of the chief reasons for establishing company partners instead of individual technicians. Having the capacity to provide additional technicians if needed assures deployment speed and overall project success.
Who is responsible for the technicians at each site?
Ultimately the customer (i.e., solution provider) is responsible for the actions taken by onsite technicians. However, the Technology Rollout Company should assume liability for any work-related problems caused by its partner technicians if they occur. With so many individuals involved in nationwide and global rollouts, a potential situation can quickly escalate out of control. That is why the best companies have a formal Technology Rollout System in place that includes direct communication with each technician. In this way, the company has the processes in place to prevent or rectify problems immediately.
What if my project requires technicians with security clearances?
An experienced and professional Technology Rollout Company will have an established Security Officer on staff. The Security Officer, who is in charge of obtaining technicians with proper clearances, should be involved in the Pre-Deployment Phase to address all security issues pertaining to the project prior to the Deployment Phase.The Role of the Web-based Software Application in Partnerships
As previously discussed in this series, all Technology Rollout Companies providing deployment services on a nationwide and global scale must have a well-orchestrated workflow process. This includes a Web-based Software Application that enables quick and easy access by customers and partners alike.
The Application should include technician partner profiles (company and individual) that detail all relevant information. These profiles allow visibility into every partners' performance so they can be evaluated for work on specific projects.
Technician Communication Channel Comparison
"Since 1975, alliances have become widespread in technology-intensive industries, to facilitate strategic coordination... increase market power, and to acquire. new technological capabilities..."
- David C. Mowery, Strategic Management Journal
The Technician Communication Channel defines how the Technology Rollout Company manages and communicates with each onsite technician. Consider the options:
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Conclusion
It is important to understand a Technology Rollout Company's technician partnerships before hiring the company. This understanding provides insight into the deployment methodologies it has in place as well as the individual technicians that will be representing the customer at each site.
As presented in this paper, partnering with local technician companies and utilizing the Direct Tech Communication Channel helps maximize rollout efficiency and ensure quality at each site. Understanding this information will help decision makers evaluate the business processes that a Technology Rollout Company has in place and ultimately its ability to deliver rapid, quality deployments on a nationwide or global scale.
About Concert Technologies
This paper was authored by Dennis Mazaris, President and Founder of Concert Technologies, Inc. Since 1995, Concert Technologies has offered rapid delivery of multi-technology, multi-service, multi-site rollouts on both a national and global scale. Our Maestro Technology Rollout System, the world's first unified system, is based on the proven methodologies that span our extensive experience of providing professional rollout services.
For more information:
Visit our website: www.concerttech.com
Contact Dennis Mazaris, President:dmazaris@concerttech.com
References
Ireland, R. Duane, et al., Alliance Management as a Source of Competitive Advantage, Journal of Management 28(3), 413 (2002).
Iyer, Karthik, N.S., Learning in Strategic Alliances: An Evolutionary Perspective, Academy of Marketing Science Review, Volume 10 (2002).
Mowery, David, C., et al., Strategic Alliances and Interfirm Knowledge Transfer, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 17, 77, 79 (Winter 1996).
Ring, Peter, The Three T's of Alliance Creation: Task, Team and Time, European Management Journal Vol. 18:2, 152, 161 (2000).
Return to Technician Communication Channel Information
Return to Technician Communication Channel Information