You have probably seen it before: your company makes an investment in new technology (such as a CRM or time tracking system) only to find that it is underutilized or not used at all in a few month. So, how can you increase the odds that a new technology investment works for your company?
The secret is understanding your processes and doing in-depth research before you make the investment. If you only check out a demo, read the specs, and ask the rep about a few features, you are unlikely to have a successful implementation.
Understand Your Processes
To have a successful implementation, your first step is to really understand the processes to which you want to apply technology. If the processes are not currently working, then adding new technology on top of it is not going to make it work any better.
An example I have seen involved putting expense reports on the network. The company was having problems getting employees to complete their expense reports on time. However, simply allowing people to do it on their computers versus a paper form did not change their behavior. It required a different set of incentives to get employees to submit expense reports on time.
So, be sure your processes are already working before applying a technology solution to them.
Research the Technology
Researching the technology does not involve just watching a demo and asking the rep a few questions specific to your organization. One of the most valuable things you can do is consult with someone who has successfully used the technology. Ask them about the challenges of implementing it and what they needed to do to make it work for their organization.
When you have specific needs that the technology should fulfill, be sure to see how that specific feature works. It is not enough for the rep to say “It does that.” There is a lot of room for miscommunication about exactly how you would use it. And, you want to be sure that the feature is included in the base price or learn how much it would cost as an add-on.
By following these two steps, your technology investments should be much more successful.
And if you would like some outside guidance on a technology investment, Skyriver IT would appreciate the chance to help make it a successful implementation for your business.
About Skyriver IT
Skyriver IT delivers frustration-free IT for small and midsize businesses with Managed IT and Outsourced CIO Services. If you would like to discuss how we can help make your IT frustration free, please contact us.
