Independent guidance for digitalisation: what it is and how to recognise it.
Many SMEs that want to digitalise end up with a software supplier or an integrator. They sell a package, and the advice you get often ends up at exactly that package. An independent partner works differently: they sell no software and receive no commissions from suppliers, and so sit entirely on your side of the table.
Jan and Walter, always on your side of the table.
Four things, from reviewing to letting go.
An independent partner starts from your problem, not from a product. In practice it comes down to four things.
Reviewing what's there
We read your quotes, talk to your partners and your team, and map where it really pinches.
A plan that holds up
We put on paper what needs to happen, in what order and what it costs, in language your team understands and your partners respect.
Orchestrating
We steer the external software partners, guard scope, budget and planning, and make sure they deliver what was agreed as one team.
Letting go again
We only leave once your team has things back under control.
We don't want to make ourselves indispensable. If you no longer need us, we've done our job well.
WalterWhy independence makes the difference
Whoever sells a package has an interest in that package. That's not dishonest; it's simply how that role works. But in the phase where you still have to choose what to buy where, you need someone who doesn't have to defend any product. An independent partner weighs the options against each other without gaining from it, and sits on your side of the table during execution when the partners disagree among themselves. If you want a running project assessed, look at a second opinion. If you want to know how we tackle a complete project, read our approach. If you'd rather first see the broad lines of how to tackle digitalisation as an SME, you'll find them on our answer page about it.
Three questions to test real independence.
Not everyone who says "independent" actually is. Ask every party you're considering these three questions. How openly they answer says a lot about their own independence.
Unsure about a proposal on the table? Call us for half an hour
Do you receive commissions or referral fees from software suppliers?
The answer should be "no". Anyone who gets a fee from the party whose software they recommend has an interest that clashes with yours. An independent partner works directly for you and gets nothing from the parties they recommend.
Are you an implementation partner for a particular ERP or CRM package?
Anyone who implements a particular package themselves isn't neutral in the selection phase. The odds are high that the advice ends up at exactly that package, because that's what that party supplies. Independence starts with not selling the solution yourself.
Can you give references from SMEs where you represented us, the client, towards the partners?
This shows whether they're really on your side. An independent partner has done projects in which they defended the client against the suppliers, and can put you in touch with those clients. Anyone who can't show that may never have filled that role.
Call us for half an hour and we'll tell you honestly what we would do.