3. Vendors should be transparent about their product roadmap and solicit partner feedback.

Vendors need to ensure they keep partners in the loop about new products and future projects—and solution providers can then help their customers make strategic decisions based on their knowledge.

This is particularly important with mobility, where customers need to know about how such products as Windows-based ruggedized tablets may change, said Hill.

“Being transparent about the product roadmap is important for our large customers,” said Hill. For example, some customers may want to know ahead of time “if there will be any changes in products in the future. It helps our clients to have that kind of insight.”