From Security to Speed: New Priorities with Technology Providers

Company priorities when evaluating and selecting technology providers are changing at an unprecedented pace. What was the most valued attribute just a year ago may have become a minimum requirement today, and what seems like a differentiator today could be table stakes tomorrow.

Understanding this evolution is fundamental for both companies that hire technology and providers that aspire to long-term relationships. Recent market data reveals a clear and accelerating pattern.

2024: Security as the Top Priority

In 2024, security was the number one attribute when evaluating technology providers. The context explains it: the exponential increase in cyberattacks, increasingly strict data protection regulations, and high-profile incidents that made it clear a security breach can be existential for a company.

Companies prioritized providers with robust security certifications, demonstrated secure development practices, incident response capability and verifiable regulatory compliance. Security was the first filter — if a provider did not meet it, they did not advance in the evaluation.

2025: Speed Rises to First Place

In 2025, speed displaced security as the most valued attribute. This does not mean security lost importance — it means it has become a baseline requirement, an entry filter that is taken for granted. What differentiates now is the ability to execute fast: reduced time-to-market, agile development cycles, real-time adaptation capability.

Competitive pressure explains the shift. In a market where the window of opportunity is shrinking, a provider's ability to deliver functional solutions within aggressive timelines becomes a direct business differentiator. Security remains priority number two — essential, but no longer sufficient on its own to win a contract.

The Future: Deep Business Understanding

Looking ahead, the trend suggests that speed will follow the same path as security: it will become table stakes. The attribute that will emerge as the primary differentiator is deep understanding of the client's business.

Companies will seek providers that not only execute fast and securely, but understand their industry, their competitive challenges, their regulatory context and their long-term objectives. A provider's ability to anticipate needs, propose solutions the client had not considered, and act as a strategic extension of the internal team will be the ultimate differentiator.

Speed as Table Stakes

The concept of table stakes is key to understanding this evolution. An attribute that is table stakes does not cease to be important — it ceases to be a differentiator. Security did not stop mattering when speed rose to first place. It simply became a baseline requirement. The same will happen with speed: providers that cannot execute fast will be out of the conversation, but those that only offer speed will be commodities.

Emerging Attributes

Beyond business understanding, other attributes are gaining relevance in technology provider evaluation:

• Ongoing professional services: not just implementing, but accompanying the solution's evolution over time with support, optimization and continuous improvement.
• Co-creation: working alongside the client to define the solution, not just executing a predefined brief. Co-creation generates better-fitted solutions and greater commitment from both parties.
• ESG expertise: the ability to integrate environmental, social and governance criteria into technology solutions is becoming a differentiator, especially in regulated industries and companies with sustainability commitments.
• Deep business understanding: understanding the industry, competitive context and long-term objectives of the client to anticipate needs and propose proactive solutions.

The Comprehensive Approach

At Xcapit, we combine speed, security and business vision in a comprehensive approach. Our experience in over 160 countries working with organizations like UNICEF, IDB, NaranjaX, Banco Industrial and EPEC has taught us that real value lies not in a single attribute but in the combination: executing fast without compromising security, and doing so with a deep understanding of each client's context.

The providers that survive this evolution of priorities will be those capable of accumulating these attributes without losing the previous ones. It is not about choosing between security, speed and business understanding — it is about mastering all three and knowing which to emphasize at each moment of the relationship.