Business software applications aren’t ever stand-alone solutions. They are meant to be used on PCs, mobile devices, or IT hardware, and they almost always need to integrate with other applications. So if business software is intended to be used with other solutions, then why not work with business partners to develop them?
Here are six advantages of partnering to develop business software applications:
- The result is a total solution.
When you work with an IT hardware manufacturer, a payment processing company, or another tech vendor with complementary products or services, you have the opportunity to create a total solution, designed to seamlessly work the way you and your partners intend. There’s no need for your customer to reconfigure screens, develop workarounds, or go through lengthy and costly custom integrations. Everything is already done, and the system works the way it should, virtually right out of the box. A total, integrated solution is also easier for your customer’s employees to learn and use and for your reseller channel partners to maintain.
- You can leverage partners’ expertise.
Your partners may have experience and in-depth knowledge of your industry that you can use to your advantage when developing solutions. They may be able to provide you with information on user behaviors and preferences, industry trends, market analysis, and more — intel that can help you tailor your solution to exactly what your target market needs and wants. In addition, if you develop solutions for various types of businesses, partners can help you more easily keep up trends in multiple industries.
- Partnering can drive innovation.
Both you and your partners may find that working together gives you a more comprehensive view of how customers use your solutions. This can enable you to close gaps that may exist in functionality or user experience and minimize performance problems. In addition, you may also find that working with a partner creates synergy, inspiring new ideas and new ways to solve problems.
- Certification and testing are easier.
Building solutions together from the ground up will expedite the certification and testing process. You don’t need to start from square one with a new business software application and IT hardware — you’ve been developing your application to work on the hardware all along.
In addition, if you work with partners well-versed in certification processes, you can leverage their expertise — as well as their relationships and buying power — to progress through additional certifications faster.
- Customers receive better support.
When you work with partners to develop business software applications, whether your customer calls you or your partner for support, they’ll reach someone with detailed knowledge about the solution and receive excellent service when they request support. When both you and your partner are equipped to answer questions, there’s no need to ask customers to call a different number or, worse yet, not adequately answer their questions.
- Resources are allocated more efficiently.
Working with a partner also lets you expand the scope of your business. You can use your partner’s experience and knowledge to develop solutions outside your core competency. Leveraging your partner’s expertise will free up more time for your engineers to focus on improving other aspects of your application.
Two Heads are Better than One
If you intend to scale your application in a reasonable timeframe, it’s worth considering working with a hardware manufacturer, payments company, or business application vendor to make sure your product will function reliably. There is little to gain in developing independently of other vendors if your application is meant to work with their products — especially if the end result is that your software application doesn’t work quite right with their solutions. Form partnerships that enable you to provide your customers with truly valuable additions to their IT ecosystem. 
