How to choose Technology

I strongly believe technology is a great enabler of the world but also add complexity and disruption if not delivered properly.

I'm not sure how other people feel but often choosing a technology is one of the hardest things you must do in IT. There is so much choice and also so many do pretty much what you want and a whole lot more, and this is where the problem starts. I've had to select a lot of technology in my time, including products that cost the company more than a $1m over the course of the initial commitment and they haven't all come off

I find some of the pitfalls are often:

1. You go off marketing information from the vendor on what they can do and the value it brings
2. You engage with the vendor and ask what it can do without a real set of the requirements
3. One of your users or IT peers pushes for a vendor that they used at their previous company and it was 'perfect'
4. You follow guidance from a consultancy or advisory service without due diligence
5. Considering a technology without planning what you need to run it e.g. staffing, ongoing budget ...

There are so many other pitfalls but that's maybe worth a discussion or webinar rather than a list that goes on all afternoon

These pitfalls often lead to poor investment of company funds, frustration for end users and the support teams or a realisation that the tool doesn't do what you need it to do and the process has to start again.

So, here are a few things I've found really helpful and these are likely obvious but sometimes you just need that little reminder :)

The key is finding the best of need vs. best of breed - what do you actually need, not the shiniest toy

Always start by meeting with your customers and really understand the problem they need solving, don't discuss technology, just understand what their problem statement is, what good looks like and what value it brings. The value could be revenue for the company, compliance/risk avoidance, efficiency or just keeping current as the current system is old or doesn't work and therefore fails with supportable. Remember to meet all customers, for example a web presence platform will have visiting end users, super users who have to add content, IT developers and IT support. All parts are key to ensure you can deliver what is needed for all. Also, remember to document these to ensure at the end of the project you can look back and see if you delivered on your commitment and did you meet the value

Set the priorities - what are the must haves vs nice to have, and what could be a compliance issue if not done. Often you find a tool has the most amazing set of features that everyone raves about but if you don't need them then they are worthless. I once told a software vendor that their product was a Lamborghini but I only drive to work and back and it's a 1/2 mile. Focus on what you need

Work out the total cost of ownership including the support contracts, staffing etc.

Finally, don't discard a technology that gets you 80% of the way there without some consideration. Often the price difference between a tool that can get you 80% of the way there and the tool that can get you 95% (no one gets 100% really), is far greater than the 15%. You'll pay a high premium for that last piece. Double check the requirement is really a must have, then look at the alternatives as you could maybe use a second tool for the small 15-20% piece and only pay a premium on the last. If you do this ensure you consider user experience and integration.

Also, consider having a manual process. This might sound far from ideal but sometime the cost to implement far out ways the benefit. If you're saving someone 1hr per week and they earn ￡25 per hour but the solution costs more than ￡1,500 more per year then it's not a financial benefit. You do need to consider a few things to check, like the risk of someone forgetting, doing it wrong or again customer experience. However, this can help when you're in the last few % points of functionality

In summary the key is to know what you need before you even step foot into the virtual shopping centre/Mall to buy the next piece of Tech for your organisation

I hope this is helpful and I'd love to hear other people's advise and learnings