Now, with the advent of cloud, managed services and complete, integrated solutions, you’re not running a network, you’re managing a networked video surveillance system that protects your inventory and notifies security of any unauthorized access.

As technology providers, we have to act more like a think tank, developing the processes that help identify pain points in a business and then solutions to address those issues.

It’s a big leap from setting up a network to helping a craft brewery remotely manage its holding tanks to ensure they remain within a precise temperature range and automatically generate an appropriate response if that is not the case.

Every day, we evaluate innovative new applications specifically designed for the digital age. Internally, we’ve built a global dot-com platform that localizes content depending on who you are. When you visit our landing page, we know where you are and—if you’re registered with us—whether you’re a technology vendor, a solution provider or an end user. We know, in real-time, what products you’ve purchased in the past and what you might be looking for. Then we customize your experience based on what we predict you might be looking for and make it easier for you to find it.

That’s what customers want and it’s what they should expect in the digital age.

Security is Paramount

The core business of the IT channel —both distributors and solution providers—is to develop the tools to help companies solve business problems and improve productivity and efficiency. That’s typically accomplished in two ways: first, through providing the education and training around technology solutions and second, by providing the platforms (hosted or otherwise) that make the tools work.

As conversations around digital solutions increases, so do the concerns about security that come with any new technology. And rightly so. It’s incumbent upon any enterprise to ensure that their employee and customer data remains safe and secure. Of course, hardly a day goes by when news of another data breach isn’t in the headlines.

For all intent, the security technology to keep your data safe exists today. The challenge is integrating disparate systems together and ensuring that employees—and anyone else touching the network— follow proper processes developed to maintain security.

Sometimes that’s easier said than done, but one of the valuable benefits of digital technology brings will be improved security. By automating processes and having machines talk to one another, we can reduce the possibility of human error.

There’s not a CIO in the world who doesn’t worry about security and the development of next-gen security systems, specifically designed to provide rights management to multiple systems will be an important facet of providing that trust and smooth customer experience.

The Customer is Always Right

Finally, when we talk about creating a positive customer experience, it’s important to remember what it is customers want. Business school professors often use Starbucks as an example of how important customer experience is. Why does someone pay $5 for a cup of Starbucks coffee? It’s not because Starbucks’ coffee tastes five times better than a $1 cup of joe. It’s the experience of watching your brew get freshly made while surfing on free Wi-Fi and listening to some cool music. People pay for that.

Every technology company I know wants to replicate that feeling for its own solution. The easier you make a technology process for a company and its employees, the better they’re going to feel about using the technology in the first place.

So as you’re starting to think about your own digital transformation, ask yourself: does this technology make me comfortable, does it make me feel safe, does it do the job I need and do I think my technology partners can get the job done? If you can answer yes to all that, that next grande latte will taste even sweeter.