The Elements Of Vendor Relationships

As a solution provider, are you adding value to your customers' businesses?

That’s a question your customers need to ask themselves, and that falls within their vendor management function, a Gartner analyst told a small gathering of information technology leaders from midsize enterprises Monday in Indianapolis. It's critical that the providers of IT products and services “are held accountable for meeting your needs,” said the analyst, Edward Weinstein.

In a presentation before about a dozen technology leaders at the Midsize Enterprise Summit East -- sponsored by The Channel Company, parent company of IT Best of Breed -- Weinstein said strong vendor management will ensure that the organization is getting the desired value from working with solution providers.

Weinstein outlined four key roles and responsibilities for vendor management.