IT Vendor Management Houston

Address: 1208 N Post Oak Rd #190, Houston, TX | Phone: (713) 869-0001

Simplify Software Selection with IT Vendor Management in Houston, TX

Vendor management is an essential part of a complete IT infrastructure solution. Our technical staff assists with IT vendor management in Houston, identifying the most professional IT support vendors, hardware, software, VOIP, cabling and Internet service providers.

Combining IT support equipment both hardware and software from a variety of vendors is complex. Vendors shield their product trade secrets from competitors making compatibility challenging. Open sourcing has become more popular, but tension between competitors, even when they want compatibility, is difficult.

Before we recommend new IT products, vendors or systems, Truewater employees a vetting process designed to increase launch success. Usually, Truewater first deploys a new product in-house. This gives our technicians firsthand experience using the network infrastructure products. If our own experience is successful, we find a client that is not only in need of the product but willing to participate in initial trials. Only after we have had multiple successful launches in a variety of computer network environments do we widely roll out a new product.

Vendor Selection

Here are just a few of the factors that we evaluate to select the best vendors and products for your organization.

  • Price
  • Reliability
  • Warranties
  • Speed of delivery
  • Support availability
  • Length of time on the market
  • Software or hardware compatibility
  • Technical documentation
  • Penetration of market share
  • Vendor’s financial stability
  • Vendor integrity

Internet Service Providers (ISP)

Fast, reliable Internet access is essential to a smoothly running business. When your Internet grinds to a halt, so does your business productivity. Truewater has extensive experience with the top-tier Internet Service Providers (ISPs). We review your network and bandwidth, then analyze your ISP invoices to be certain you are not overpaying. Internet speed has not only gotten faster, but prices have gotten better. So if you have not shopped for new Internet in a few years, you could be overpaying significantly. If needed, our team will craft an ISP cutover plan for a smooth and seamless ISP transition. When you need faster Internet or a redundant failover system, Truewater manages the entire process from start to finish.

Line of Business Software (LOB)

Most organizations rely on one or more Line of Business (LOB) applications. Popular suites include QuickBooks, Sage, SharePoint, Dynamics GP, Salesforce, Goldmine, Yardi and Dispatch Mate, just to name a few. Deploying these applications involves working with both software vendors and consultants.

Managing these resources can be difficult, distracting, and time-consuming. Truewater brings over a decade of experience in IT vendor management, working with software vendors and subject matter consultants. We ensure that your infrastructure meets the needed requirements while providing managed oversight through each milestone.

It’s our goal to make sure that the software deployment is both timely and minimally disruptive to the function of your network infrastructure. Then, when it is time to upgrade your Line of Business Software, Truewater will coordinate with your vendor for server access and management.

Your Line of Business Software is the heart of your company. Employees will spend more time working in your LOB than any other software. Over the years Truewater has discovered four essential requirements that are needed to have a successful LOB experience. We have dubbed these requirements the “Four Pillars of Effective LOB Software Management.” If any one of these four pillars is neglected or lacking, the weight is shifted to the other pillars causing instability in all four.

Four Pillars of Effective LOB Software Management

  • Executive Leadership
  • LOB Software Vendor Support
  • Internal Subject Matter Expert
  • Network Environment Support

Executive Leadership

The decision of which Line of Business software to use, what to pay for it, and which support contracts to buy is more times than not made at the executive level. We have seen executives forego making the necessary decisions on their LOB. Instead, they may continue to use a woefully inadequate product that was not designed for their needs or growth. This lack of adequate leadership results in poor performance with costly mistakes. When the correct choices are made at the executive level, the rest of the systems will function well together.

The executive leader must also engage financially with the LOB Software vendor, select a competent subject matter expert and hire a trusted managed service provider

LOB Software Vendor Support

This is the software used to run your business. The variety of LOB software is vast and extremely intricate as to how you conduct your organization’s business. The software vendor knows the software they wrote inside and out. They know its flaws and shortcomings. They know its incompatibilities and their plans to improve it or not. The software vendor contract is imperative whether you pay a one-time fee or an annual fee, for this maintenance. The IT vendor management contract is your first line of defense in successful deployments, upgrades, and ongoing support.

Internal Subject Matter Expert

The internal subject matter expert is the person in your organization that uses all aspects of the LOB software. They have trained with the LOB software vendor or taken other training on its use and deployment within the organization. They understand not only the software, but how your organization wants to utilize it for the company’s specific needs.

Network Environment Support

As a Managed Network Service provider, Truewater lives in the Network Environment Support arena. Our life is patches, anti-virus, remote monitoring, IT help desk, networking and backup monitoring. We know how to size servers and backups that is necessary for your LOB to function properly. To perform our role successfully, Truewater heavily relies on the three other pillars to develop and manage our approach to the Network Environment Support.

The reality is anytime the weight is shifted, the load becomes unbalanced, and there are going to be issues. There will be frustrations from all sides because there are gaps in how the LOB software is managed. Only when all four pillars are in place and working in unison, do we find a successful LOB software management experience.

Phone Systems

The connection between IT Infrastructure and telephony systems are increasingly interwoven in the modern technology environment. Although it’s possible to deploy an entirely on-premise solution, most modern systems require at least a PRI and a SIP trunk. PRI and SIP Trunking is the terminology for two ways of connecting your business to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

As demand for “anytime-anywhere” access grows, organizations are increasingly turning to hybrid and cloud-based solutions. And, Truewater is continually looking for the best VOIP solutions providers. Truewater’s experienced technical staff will assist in finding the best phone system vendor. Then, working with your vendor, to ensure that your network is ideally configured for optimal call quality.

Truewater has the expertise and experience to provide successful IT vendor management in Houston. IT support products do not operate independently. There is an interdependence shared by all the vendors that supply your hardware and software. When something is not working properly, vendors can be notorious for pointing the blame at the other vendors without adequately performing the trouble shooting required on their own products. This is where Truewater’s experience is invaluable to you. Not only will we help you select the right computer products and vendors, but we will manage them so their interdependence it a harmony of efficiency.

Contact Truewater today for help with IT vendor management in Houston!

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