Today, there are new and emerging technologies available to solve almost any business problem. We should be able to simply find the technology we need, plug-and-play and be good to go, right? Wrong! Our industry analysis says otherwise. Many businesses that expect technology magic struggle to fully realize the promise of their expensive technology investments.
Buying new technology is merely the tip of the iceberg. Once purchased, if it is not planned for and implemented wisely, the technology will not meet Stakeholder needs and will instead end up creating a mesh of technical debt, operational complexities and a host of related issues. For many businesses, there is a clear gap between the potential value of a technology and the realized benefits in practice. When considering why this is the case, several hurdles stand out prominently throughout the pre-purchase, implementation and post-implementation stages.
Pre-purchase
- Lack of a robust problem space assessment.
- Insufficient user research.
- Unclear or ill-defined backlog of needs, issues and aspirations.
- Inadequate appraisal of technology vis à vis long-term business outcomes.
Implementation
- Siloed implementation with a lack of a Stakeholder involvement across the board.
- Architectural/ Infrastructural inconsistencies.
- Misalignment between technology and business processes/value delivery models.
- Confusion and chaos, partly due to the system integrator’s unfamiliarity with the business and IT landscape.
Post Implementation
- Inconsistent, broken rollout process.
- Lack of training and support.
- Resistance to change within the subject matter expert community and reluctance to move away from the paper processes or old technologies.
- Excessive customizations by users leading to operational complexities.
- Poor post-implementation support by the vendors.
How do you avoid falling into these common pitfalls?
In light of the factors sampled above, amongst numerous others, it becomes essential for enterprises to have a structured approach to buying a new piece of technology or a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product that addresses the above phases and issues in a timely manner. It is here that some of the core basics from the Product Management and Business Analysis domain come into play. The importance of having an implementation partner who understands these issues and the technology end to end, both from a business and technology standpoint, cannot be overemphasized.
Technology does not work in isolation. The real value from any technology can be harnessed through:
- Understanding the problem it addresses and its contribution to business outcomes.
- A disciplined alignment with both immediate and long-term Stakeholder needs.
- A comprehensive, well-coordinated implementation that culminates in a smooth adoption.
To avoid the common pitfalls and truly get the most from your technology investments, a Product Management approach is crucial. To learn how to best leverage Product Management to drive your technology optimization and digital transformation, download our latest eBook.
