First Step: Listen - Carefully

Finding yourself in the middle of a dispute between the IT and non-IT sides is "almost like being in the middle of a fight" between two spouses, says Kevin Goodman, managing partner at BlueBridge Networks, a Cleveland-based solution provider.

The person who winds up in that position must be ready to "educate, become a trusted advisor, and help lay out all the solutions" – even if it means the customer foregoes what you offer in favor of another provider's, Goodman says.