Your business hinges on quality IT
Procuring IT services for your business is important to stay up and running without incident. By definition, IT procurement is the process of sourcing and purchasing the equipment and services you need for your business’s digital management. While purchasing is about getting the right thing at the right price and time, procurement involves developing a strategy around sourcing goods and services to meet organizational goals and create a competitive advantage.
When an organization thinks about IT services, the primary concerns are efficiency, speed, and competency. Having an army of full-time IT employees is not always cost-effective, nor is it feasible to move your IT staff from city to city as needed. Not to mention, inefficient IT doesn’t move the company in the desired direction, whether positionally or financially. That’s where IT procurement planning comes in, to save businesses like yours time, resources, and headaches.
Understanding the IT Procurement Process
The right IT procurement services provider to support your team can vary by business needs and finding a provider with knowledge of your software and equipment. The following are best practices for sourcing the best vendors for your organization’s needs.
Identifying Business Needs
A good procurement process starts with a specification development phase. Strategic planning and measurable criteria will help your business get the right provider. First, who is involved in the decision-making process? Is an IT procurement process something your organization can tackle in-house, or would you benefit from consulting services? What are the major and minor areas of concern in order of importance? What are the requirements for a good relationship with potential vendors? Develop measurable criteria to ensure you get exactly the help you need.
Vendor Evaluation and Selection
Once you’ve identified what IT services you’re looking for, you can move to another critical aspect of IT procurement services. To bring in a third-party organization for such a critical role, you’ll want to make sure you’re dealing with subject matter experts for operational efficiency and a competitive advantage. Evaluate each potential service advisor through the lens of your previously defined needs and goals. Ensure your business has a clear IT budget before making quick purchase decisions.
Contract Negotiations & Management
Once you’ve determined the best fit for on-demand IT procurement services, it’s time to negotiate contract terms. Make sure the contract provides a level of protection for your organization, plus clearly lays out expectations. Then, it’s time to put a system in place for vendor management. We believe vendor management shouldn’t come with pressure. With Techmate, IT managers have the necessary tools to monitor any IT request that comes in, and easily match with members from our expert team.
Ongoing Supplier Management & Value Analysis
When leveraging a supplier, an in-house member usually monitors the supply chain and collaborates with the partner to ensure service levels are maintained. The overall analysis of the value of IT procurement services will go back to the metrics you established upfront, as well as feedback from key users, both internal and external. With that information, you can evaluate possible alternatives to find your overall value.
Types of Procurement Services
There are several types of IT procurement services that can be outsourced to a third-party vendor to align with long-term goals, as well as deliver better service to your clients and employees. While procurement isn’t outsourced 100% of the time, it’s largely done for cost-effectiveness and to enlist subject matter experts.
- Hardware procurement. Hardware procurement is often complex, and deals with installing and maintaining tangible IT equipment like laptops, servers, and other devices. The need for this service mostly comes into play when a business opens, renovates, or moves.
- Software procurement. Software procurement is when a company sources third-party software solutions to support products and operations with a focus on automating processes.
- Network and infrastructure procurement. Network and infrastructure procurement involves acquiring hardware, software, services, and resources to create, maintain or upgrade a network and its supporting infrastructure. Third-party vendors may come into play when businesses need support building and operating a reliable infrastructure.
- Cloud services procurement. Cloud services procurement refers to sourcing cloud-based solutions to support organizational needs. Some examples might be SaaS (software as a service) or PaaS (platform as a service)
Importance of IT Procurement Services
All successful organizations have a vision for the future and a roadmap of how to get there. IT procurement services are part of that map, and a prime example of working smarter rather than harder. Contact us to find out if techmate is the right solution for your business.
Enhances Efficiency & Productivity
Third-party IT procurement services protect your most valuable resource: your team’s time. Rather than pulling your IT team in different directions, topically and geographically, businesses can source IT procurement services for on-demand needs.
Saves on Costs
Working with Techmate technicians is 50% less expensive than hiring contractors and 80% less expensive than hiring full-time staff who travel to individual destinations. Third-party IT procurement services are more cost-effective overall.
Ensures Compliance & Risk Management
Market research of vendor options and contractual agreements will help ensure compliance with regulatory standards and security protocols in your IT department. By working with subject matter experts through a network of technicians like Techmate has, you’ll ensure accuracy and be able to continuously monitor vendor performance to mitigate risks.
Keeps Your Company Modern/Current
As your company works to keep up with the latest technologies, make sure you have resources in place to support your digital evolution. Part of businesses staying modern is the ability to implement and maintain technological advances without incident.
Best Practices for IT Procurement
When it comes to managing IT procurement services and relationships, keep these best practices at the forefront of your mind to ensure you keep your business running smoothly.
Foster effective vendor relationships — Strong vendor relationships reduce the risk of miscommunication that can effect your business internally and externally. The best practice for vendor communication is to utilize a digital system like an app or dashboard that records requests, questions, and feedback as well as any ticket notes.
Organize regular reviews and audits — Regular review of your IT procurement service as well as audits of processes and efficiency will identify any potential risks on the horizon before they happen.
Challenges in IT Procurement Service
- Managing vendor relationships. IT is multi-faceted and vendor relationships can get difficult to manage when there’s a different vendor for each aspect. Different vendors may have different terms, communication platforms, and more. Techmate offers an all in one solution for IT procurement services.
- Keeping up with technology advancements. Technology is complex and rapidly evolving. Maintaining a thorough understanding of every aspect of your IT solutions can often be daunting for procurement teams, and present challenges if providers don’t have the right knowledge for your business.
- Cost management. Balancing the need for cutting-edge technology and solutions with IT budget constraints can get tricky. With strategic planning and market research, businesses can source the best value for their organizational needs.
- Compliance and security issues. The procurement process can be complicated by changing regulations, data privacy laws, security standards and more, particularly when it comes to ensuring your third party vendor is adhering to business standards.
When IT procurement services are outsourced thoughtfully and intentionally, your business will reap the benefits of improved efficiency and maximum cost-effectiveness.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a procurement service?
Procurement service is a people-based service that connects organizations with the experts they need to meet goals and boost efficiency.
What is the IT procurement strategy?
The IT procurement strategy is the process of sourcing technology-related tangible goods (laptops, servers, etc), services (cloud-based, software, etc), and solutions (processes or people) to position the company to meet long-term goals.
How does the IT procurement process work?
The IT procurement process involves identifying needs, doing market research to evaluate the best third-party vendors, then selecting one or multiple services to help your organization succeed.
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