How to establish a long-lasting partnership with our clients?

“BIRGER. partners with clients who share the same values and want to create sustainable technological solutions.”

Parwez Bhugalee, Executive – Business Development

At BIRGER., we believe that to be able to help our clients with value-added services, trust must prevail between all parties. The earlier you invest in such collaboration, the more you benefit from the partnership.

Businesses need the expertise of IT service providers to respond to their needs over time. When partnering with an IT service provider, clients need to be able to find the right balance between what they can invest and what they want to have. It is important that, from the outset, there are open and honest conversations between the client and its IT service provider, who in turn must understand the short, medium and long terms objectives of the client. These discussions must not take place with technological experts only, but also with the back office, support services and purchasing. Our clients choose BIRGER. based on our value-added solutions and the quality of our services. They understand our capabilities as an integrator and aggregator of solutions, but also for the after-sales support we provide them in the region.

It is also important to learn from our past experiences to improve our working relationships with our clients. That's why we need to:

Deliver our promises.

Our clients must evaluate the real capabilities of IT service providers because there may be differences between the PowerPoint presentations of the first meetings and the deliverables. At BIRGER., we bridge this gap by inviting our clients to our Technology Operations Centre in Mauritius to evaluate our performance as part of their decision-making process.

Establish a technology service provider policy.

To better define the expectations of both parties, we recommend a supplier’s policy that describes the client's expectations, its internal and external processes covering its purchases, technology, security and risks. This is essential because it links technological discussions to specific results expected by the client.

Implement a culture of cyber resilience.

Organisations have been subject to regular attacks in recent years. At BIRGER., we believe that the cyber resiliency of IT suppliers and other service providers should be evaluated to ensure the sustainability of their technological services and strengthen their supply chain.

An African Engagement Model

The stereotype of foreign IT service providers evolving in our region is that they are only interested in IT opportunities and not in the countries! These foreign service providers are ready to bribe local populations to win local projects. Corruption is sometimes our biggest competitor.

BIRGER. partners with clients who share its values and want to create sustainable technological solutions.

In countries where we are present, our strategy is to only employ local talent. We partner with local universities and technological institutions to identify the best talents to employ, train, and retain. We propose internships where these students work on real projects which bring value to our clients. In so doing, these students get a chance to experiment on latest technologies and be evaluated for full-time employment.
 

Author: Parwez Bhugalee, Executive – Business Development

Source:  JANVIER-FÉVRIER 2023 - Supplément de L’Éco austral n°375