Are you overwhelmed by the endless options for Technology Products and wondering how to choose?

Start of a new year and most of IT and Business people will be overwhelmed by the endless options for Technology Products and wondering how to choose the ones that will truly maximize your business's productivity, revenue, experience and success? Look no further! This post will share valuable tips for selecting the right tech stack for your needs.

1. Business Objectives - First and foremost, assessing your current business needs and goals is important. What problems are you trying to solve, what capabilities do you need to achieve them, how are you improving the customer experience and how it will help on the revenue enhancement and cost take outs Please list your must-have requirements and prioritize them in order of importance.
2. Ease of Use - It's also worth considering each Product’s learning curve and user-friendliness level. While some more complex products may offer a wider range of features, they may also require a longer implementation and onboarding process and more training for your team. On the other hand, simpler Products may be easier to use but may miss some of the features you need. Striking a balance between complexity and ease of use is key.
3. Business Processes – It’s extremely important for the success of any Product is simplify the business processes. As organizations, you need to be open to adapt the business processes in the product and minimize the customizations required to achieve the full benefits of the product and further upgrades in the future.
4. Flexibility – Flexibility is the key for the successful implementation of the Product, select a Product on which majority of changes can be managed through configuration rather than customization. You should also look for a low code options for speed of delivery.
5. Ease of Integration - It's also wise to choose tools that integrate well with each other and with your existing stack, so you can avoid the hassle of constantly transferring data and information between multiple systems. Microservices enabled architecture is the key to have open communication across the ecosystem.
6. Scalability - Next, consider the long-term scalability of the Product you are evaluating. Will they be able to grow with your business, or will you need to switch to new Products as your needs evolve constantly? Make sure the Products can horizontally scale to achieve the business growth plans
7. Multi-Cloud Strategy - One way to maximize the value of your tech stack is to adopt a multi-cloud strategy. This involves using multiple cloud service providers, rather than relying on a single provider for all your cloud needs. By using multiple cloud providers, you can take advantage of the unique strengths and capabilities of each provider, and you'll have the flexibility to choose the best provider for each individual Product or workload. This can also help you to mitigate the risk of vendor lock-in, as you won't be completely dependent on a single provider. However, you need to ensure that the Product can be deployed on an open stack such as RedHat OpenShift to delivers a consistent experience across public cloud, on-premise, hybrid cloud, or edge architecture. Of course, implementing a multi-cloud strategy requires careful planning and coordination, but it can be a highly effective way to get the most out of your tech stack and achieve your business goals.
8. Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a powerful addition to any tech stack, offering a wide range of benefits for businesses of all sizes. By using AI-powered tools, you can automate tasks, improve decision-making, and gain insights that can help your business grow and succeed. Some examples of AI-powered tools that businesses might use include chatbots for customer service, machine learning algorithms for data analysis, and natural language processing for language translation. As with any technology, it's important to carefully evaluate the benefits and potential drawbacks of incorporating AI into your tech stack, and to ensure that you have the necessary resources and expertise to effectively implement and use these tools. However, when used responsibly, AI can be a valuable asset for businesses looking to drive innovation and boost efficiency
9. Sustainability - Incorporating sustainability into your tech stack can be a win-win for your business and the environment. By choosing tools and technologies that are energy-efficient and have a low carbon footprint, you can reduce your company's environmental impact while also potentially lowering your operating costs. There are many ways to make your tech stack is more sustainable, such as using cloud-based tools to reduce the need for on-premises hardware, choosing energy-efficient devices and servers, and opting for eco-friendly hosting providers. By considering sustainability in your tech stack choices, you can not only do your part for the environment, but also make smart business decisions that benefit your bottom line.
10. Implementation Partners – Tool is as good as it is implemented by the implementation partner. Transformation projects normally don’t fail as a result technology but 60-70% fail because of poorly managed implementation. So, it is of utmost importance to select a right and certified implementation partner for the implementation.

Finally, remember to consider the price tag! It's important to find Technology Products that offer your desired features at a price point that fits your budget. While looking at a price, you should work out the full TCO for 3-5 years of the tool including license/SAS, Infra/Cloud, Implementation and Operations costs. Feel free to negotiate with vendors or look for discounts or special deals but don’t reduce it to level that it has a risk on your business.

?Following these tips, you can confidently choose the tech stack that best supports your business's needs and goals. Happy Product hunting!