Adding more manpower to IT isn’t the answer. Established companies must change the business process that manages IT to realize dramatically better results
Proven technology implemented correctly has always enabled business to become more productive. The dilemma many businesses face today isn’t knowing whether the correct technology is implemented but understanding why there are so many issues encountered when using it.
Ultimately technology has no value outside of its use as a business tool. It must bring value to the company by enhancing the company’s greatest expense. We can determine what you value most in your company by finding out where you spend the most money. For many companies this greatest expense is payroll. It could also be a manufacturing process. Regardless of what the greatest expense is, technology must enhance it so that it becomes a competitive advantage.
Proven technology is rarely the root cause of technical issues within a network.
There are three principal factors that affect technology performance. First, your technology must be controlled. Today’s technology is a complex system built on underlying complex systems. It is impossible for this complex system to function well without firm and continued oversight. The oversight must be directed by actions that enhance your environment so your technology will live in an atmosphere conducive for it to work well. For instance, your car wouldn’t function well on winding roads in a rainy day with bald tires. For your car to function well in this environment you must have well tread tires. Every level of your network has an environment in which it will function well. Controlling your environment is the most critical first step toward reliability.
Second, business management must have direct and continued involvement in IT decisions. The technical landscape today is much more complex than 8 years ago. Your competition is using newer technology that gives them a competitive advantage by increasing their efficiency. What has not changed is the requirement that technology enhance your business in the areas that are most critical. You are the best resource (not your IT vendor) on what business function should be enhanced to further your business.
Third, your IT vendor must bridge the technology gap between where you currently are and where you expect to be next year based on your business plan. You are an expert in your area of business but probably not in IT. If your IT vendor doesn’t have a disciplined process they follow to control your technical environment, learn what is important to your business, and then create a roadmap to link the two, then your technology will never have the reliable results you need.