1. Respond to businesses’ growing need for security and data integrity
The survey results point to a changing regulatory environment – one where geopolitical fracturing and policymakers’ focus on technology self-reliance are increasingly influencing enterprises’ technology decisions and supplier choices. At the same time, security expertise has become the top attribute that businesses are seeking in their ICT suppliers. With digital sovereignty acting as a powerful new force in vendor selection, double down on your security credentials to meet business customers’ more stringent data protection needs – while also ensuring that security principles underpin your partner ecosystem formation and collaboration.
2. Revitalize your service portfolio and partner ecosystem based on your optimal “right to play”
Enterprises participating in our study voice growing interest in new technologies and associated use cases, from sovereign cloud through to network APIs and GPU-as-a-service. More broadly, the growing intersection of connectivity and computing is challenging ICT suppliers’ go-to-market approaches and supporting partner ecosystems. To thrive in this fast-changing demand landscape, identify and isolate areas of your service portfolios where you can extend your value proposition, either alone or with the help of partners. Stress-test your “right to play,” considering how best to leverage your unique assets in a crowded supplier landscape.
3. Educate businesses on technology transformation, positioning yourself as “client zero”
Businesses are clear about the type of vendors and supplier relationships they need: those that are centered on business outcomes and where vendors act as consultative partners throughout the lifetime of transformative technology deployment. To meet these demands, strive to have business customers not only appreciate the “art of the possible” with transformative technologies and associated business models but also take confidence from well-documented case studies of successful implementation and delivery against business goals. This will require ICT providers to present themselves as “customer zero,” showcasing how new technology can deliver positive business outcomes.
4. Boost your mindshare as a transformation advisor across the enterprise C-suite
A diverse array of leadership perspectives now informs enterprises’ technology decisions and supplier choices. And our research shows that those ICT vendors with the highest levels of receptivity among customers as business outcome or ecosystem experts tend to outperform in cases where the CEO acts as a key stakeholder in technology transformation. To capitalize on these trends, cement your relationships with existing stakeholders while also building new relationships as buyer groups evolve. The ability to sensitize your technology discussions to different parts of the C-suite will also help you better understand the linkages between your clients’ technology strategy and business goals, differentiating you in the longer term.
5. Double down on improved customer sales and support processes with AI at the center
While businesses are looking to place frontier technologies at the heart of their long-term transformation, they are also looking for ICT providers to deliver upside at a more functional level, through more meaningful buyer-seller interactions. Strengthen your relationships within client organizations at all levels, not just the C-suite. Embedding AI in service delivery has become a critical vendor attribute – and business customers will respond positively to service providers that can deliver more informed and frictionless customer experiences aided by digital tools. The reality is that AI-first interactions hold the key to delivering the consumer-grade support that today’s B2B customers demand.
