As private capital firms accelerate their digital transformation, the evolution from technology provider to technology partner has become even more important – and the benefits of a long-term technology partnership are becoming clear.

Four differences between a vendor and a partner

A technology vendor simply provides a solution, and that solution is most often an off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all option. You plug and play and hope it does what it says on the box.

How is a partner different?

No. 1 – A technology partner understands your business. They provide market insights and help you strengthen relationships with your existing community.

No. 2 – They’re innovators, constantly investing in research and development to improve the solutions they offer based on market trends and best practices. They can offer a unique perspective as an active participant in the industry, listening to the market and creating a community of partners.

No. 3 – A partner is collaborative. Early-stage adopters of solutions can influence solution roadmaps and what the end product looks like.

No. 4 – They provide a streamlined, end-to-end user experience, resulting in a more efficient operational model. This gives general partners the time to focus on sourcing capital while giving limited partners the transparency into the process of finding the right general partner to invest in.

Data, data, data

In today’s fast-paced market, you need a comprehensive data management strategy, which may be unique to your business and your operations. A technology partner plays a role throughout your digital transformation journey, so they’re better able to help you overcome your data management challenges.

For example, as you increase your data footprint, you’re going to need data warehousing. In addition, with more and more data, you’re going to need to manage it and expose it properly to the correct platforms and in a way your users can ingest it and understand it.

A technology partner can provide the access, transparency and security you need but, crucially, they also help you leverage machine learning to process and interpret the vast data that you’re exposed to every day.

Source capital more efficiently

When sourcing capital, you need expertise and time to review all the opportunities that are available. Having a technology partner can help you alleviate administrative tasks, so you can concentrate on sourcing capital and the due diligence process through the use of smart technology.

The right technology partner can move you closer to your long-term objectives and help ensure your business grows. It leads to best-of-breed solutions that can be integrated across your enterprise for a seamless experience and greater efficiency.