PART II: Technology Decisions!
WELCOME BACK…
As a Technology Business Owner, I find myself straddling fences and being constantly caught between seemingly opposing forces inside of my own head. On one side is the “Tech Guy” (aka geek) – I love gadgets and gizmos. I love great software. I love fancy new online services that offer to do my taxes, track my receipts, send me groceries in the mail, or deliver my packages via drone to my doorstep in 4 hours (e.g. Amazon’s “Prime Air” R&D project).
Then there’s the “Business guy”; forget gadgets and gizmos! Everything I use needs to be stable, it needs to be reliable – and it needs to aid productivity. If it doesn’t look professional and work consistently, I want nothing to do with it. Keep my away from highly controversial products or services, questionable companies, or anything not already proven by fire.
And finally, there’s the “Owner” part of me. Profits! Let’s cut here, slash there, trim this, replace that. Lets do whatever it takes to streamline, automate, and stretch into new (and lucrative) lines of business, products and services. But don’t burden me with big purchases on operational items – don’t surprise or confuse me with unforeseen expenses or potentially unneeded services!
BALANCE…
As we discussed in Part I of this series
, there is something of a paradox that presents itself when we consider Technology in our Businesses. Much like my own (internal) struggle of personalities and priorities as a “Technology Business Owner”, decision makers (whether they be Business Owners, IT Directors, Controllers, or Office Managers) have to balance seemingly contradicting priorities when facing their core business technology. And these aren’t simple conflicts by any means – we’re not talking just Cost vs. Performance – that would be simple! No, rather, when we evaluate Technology systems and upgrades, we’re talking about finding some comfortable platform that delicately balances ALL of our priorities, including things like:
– Flexibility
(Will it do everything we want it to, will it flex as our business changes?)
– Stability / Reliability
(Will it work consistently, reliably, and without an inordinate amount of maintenance?)
– Scale-ability
(Will it grow as we grow?)
– Compliance / Security
(Will it provide adequate coverage for Industry Standards and/or Governmental regulations? Will it protect our reputation and our customers trust?)
– Life Expectancy
(Are there guarantees that it will still be a viable solution in 3 year? In 5 years? In 10?)
– Short and Long Term Costs
(Are we seeing ALL initial costs, including incidental costs? Will we need to maintain support contracts, purchase updates, or hire additional staff and/or contractors to maintain the solution?)
– Professional Support availability
(Can we get qualified Professional support when we need it, where we need it, at a reasonable cost?)
– Burden on Staff
(Will this actually save time and increase productivity? Is it improving our quality and not overburdening our existing resources?)
These any many more factors result in a literal labyrinth of decision making considerations with even a simple system upgrade. Do we buy the newest version of Software X? Do we move from Windows to Mac, or Linux? Do we upgrade our Servers or do we move to “The Cloud”? Do we hire a full time IT staff member, or do we contract with an IT firm for support? Do we stick with our clumsy custom-built application, or do we make the jump to a proprietary ERP product?
If you HAVEN’T considered some of these concerns when you are purchasing technical products or services, I would wager that your missing out on features, savings and value that your company could profit from (in many ways).
It’s a jungle of questions and options, we know. And we know (from experience on both ends of the process) that it is littered with REAL pitfalls, real repercussions if the wrong choice is made, and it can be really terrifying to wade through the plethora of technical decisions that many non-technical decision makers have to make. But we challenge you – don’t make business decisions like a consumer, buying the most recent thing you saw on TV, or the software that the Jones’s Company bought. Take the time to decide the RIGHT way, and see the value that you gain when you embrace the challenge, and invest your time, energy and attention in the process!
THE PROCESS…
To aid you as you navigate your own Technology decision making process, I’d like to offer a few simple steps that should aid any Small and Medium Business decision maker when facing tough decisions about Technical systems.
1) DEFINE the Need
Take the time to sit down with all affected parties (or, representatives of all affected parties) and build a Solution Team. Take the time (together) to hash out exactly what you do (and do not!) need.
Don’t start with a Solution and apply it to your Need – start with your Need, and look for the best Solution.
Don’t get distracted or side tracked. You don’t want to let someone sell you on a Town Car when you need only need a hatchback. There are too many variables to let a few bells and whistles (or discounts and free “goodies”) divert you from the best solution for your business.
2) EXPLORE the Options
You have defined your Need – now go fishing. Cast a wide net – what’s out there? Get your whole team on board – the more options the better!
What do others in your industry use? Who are the key providers and/or partners in your area? Who are the long standing heavyweights, who are the up-and-coming players, and where are the “fresh faces” to the market?
Gather up as many Options as you can find, then grab their spec sheets and their marketing materials. Peruse their websites, check in on their references, maybe sit in on a webinar (or invite a salesperson in for a meeting).
3) ELIMINATE the Losers
Now it’s time to get a little dirty. Take your work from Step 1 and apply it to Step 2. If your “Need” is clearly defined, hold it up, then put your “Options” up beside it, one by one. Which ones fit? Which ones don’t? Which ones might (with some tweaking)?
We’re not looking for a winner here – we’re eliminating options, thinning the field.
When you’re down to just a handful of options (3 to 5 is my suggestion), stop. If you can’t narrow it down that far, you may need to revisit #1 and more clearly Define and add detail to (or perhaps Simplify) your Need.
4) EVALUATE the Contenders
At this point you should have a handful of viable options. You’ve already eliminated anything that CANNOT fit your “Need”, so anything remaining should be a viable option (if it’s not, revisit #3 again before continuing).
Here is where you really start to invest the time.
Do a deep-dive on the options. Get a demo, or request a site visit on an existing solution user. Get the Sales team and/or Sales Engineers to visit and sit down with each of your Team members to answer their questions, concerns, and to show them the solution in detail. Take the time to consider (in detail) how each solution matches your existing work flow; how it could improve (or introduce new challenges) to efficiency, quality, and security/stability.
Make detailed comparisons of each Contender. Generate some charts, have some team meetings, and (finally) eliminate the outliers.
5) SELECT a Winner
FINALLY, at the last stage, you should be left with (hopefully) only 2 or 3 options. If you only came away with 1, then you’re done already (and I hope it perfectly meets everything you need!)
Gather any final input from team members. Be certain to evaluate the final options fully (using all of the criteria mentioned above, plus any others that you can come up with). Take the time to consider all angles, gather additional input from as many players (and perspectives) as possible.
Assemble all of your data, all of your team’s input, and pursue a consensus from your entire Decision Team. If no clear winner has emerged, embrace debate and discussion, but also be ready to defer the final decision to “The Boss” (i.e. the person in charge of the Team, or the decision).
SUMMARY…
Decision making can be a big process. Not all Technology decisions require this much effort. Consider the impact and costs of a good (and bad) decision, and then decide if it warrants engaging in the full process. If not, make a judgement call. But if it DOES, do yourself a favor – focus, engage, and do it right. Big decisions have Big impact for everyone affected, and while it’s scary (and hard) to make decisions on things that we don’t understand, you’re going to make them one way or the other (after all, avoiding a decision is still a decision – it’s deciding to stay the same, instead of embracing the opportunity to change and grow).
FINAL THOUGHTS…
For the Small and Medium business segments, let me through in one very key observation: if you don’t have an Internal IT department to involve in your Decision Making process, you are making Incomplete and Uninformed decisions about Business Technology. You will almost certainly overlook incidental or recurring costs, miss important aspects of security and risk associated with the various options, and possibly (inadvertently) select a solution with a short expected life-cycle or limited support options.
That’s where we come in. Use us – we’re here to help. Engage a consultant who’s qualified to “stand in” for the IT department that you don’t have. Bring them in on meetings when possible, get their feedback at each of the decision steps, and pursue their input on incidental and long term costs, support challenges and security concerns.
After all, “ignorance is only bliss” doesn’t pay any bills, doesn’t do much to repair reputations, and is small comfort to people permanently affected by bad or uninformed decisions. You owe it to yourself, and your people, and handle Technology Business Decisions correctly.
Stay tuned for Part III of this series!
