The aphorism: \u201cIf you\u2019re going to do something, try to have a reason for doing it,\u201d holds for new technologies. The business reasoning for the technology, its fit with goals and vision, and its potential benefits must hold sway, no matter how compelling the tech argument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, there is a way that CIOs should approach new tech, no matter what the technology is. They should assess technologies for meaning to their organization. (This is especially true for when executives arrive on the doorstep with the \u201cnext new thing that we must have\u201d). For each technology, CIOs should prepare a one-page position paper in which the tech, in respect of its organizational meaning, is outlined. (This helps with the \u201cmust have this tech\u201d executives). Every technology is unique for each organization, and this uniqueness is informed by the organization\u2019s vision, mission, and goals. So a position paper would have five to seven bullet-points condensing these factors \u2013 for example, customer-centricity, innovation, seamless product\/service operations, speed to market, our people, and so on. Then the technology is described in one paragraph. Finally, the CIO would show what the tech does (or does not do) for each of the bullet point factors. If they want, they can score the technology against each factor. So the position paper scoring would look something like this: RPA (Robotic Process Automation) \u2013 customer-centricity: 7\/10; innovation: 3\/10; seamless product\/service operations: 9\/10; speed to market: 2\/10; our people: 6\/10. In this way, the CIO can show that he or she has thought about the technology and can discuss it with other executives. Never mind if the scoring is subjective \u2013 it gives CIOs the agenda to have the discussion and often educates others in how the CIO views technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the technology has a positive meaning for the company, the CIO should be able to draw the attention of the organization to the tech and the attendant implications. Remember that the attention of executives revolves around business opportunities and not technologies the attention of executives revolves around business opportunities and not technologies. If the CIO believes that the company should use a particular technology, they should list the positive and negative implications to the revenue stream, the organization, customers and existing platforms. This is not a business case; we haven\u2019t got there yet. This is about getting the discussion going, about debating the pros and cons, and about preparing the way for the business case. There is a simple truism for communicating: People must be aware of something before we can inform them. At this stage, we are merely getting the attention of decision-makers by making them aware. If the awareness campaign falls on positive ears, we can move to the business case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building a case for the new technology is more than cost, time, ROI, and risk. Such a business case falls into the trap of the: \u201cI don\u2019t know much about IT, but I do know that it costs too much\u201d executives: You\u2019re talking their language and they can beat you at it every time. There are other ways of making a case for a new technology which still brings the cost\/ROI discussion to bear, but usually in support of the argument rather than being the argument itself. There are five types of value you can introduce when discussing IT. \u201cPreservation\u201d value which preserves the current business operations \u2013 it\u2019s the hardware, software, and networks needed to run the existing business. \u201cSustainability\u201d value ensures that what you have now will exist in a year \u2013 your DR, maintenance, patching, architecture and so on. \u201cUnlock\u201d value is about what you\u2019ve paid for, but aren\u2019t using \u2013 functionality, or even whole systems, unused licenses, poorly trained people are all waiting to be unlocked. Value-add involves business improvement \u2013 at last ROI comes into play. Finally, there is value creation \u2013 building something that no-one else has. Chat to us if you want to know more because this is a vast and rich field for CIOs to mine. Another technique when preparing the business case is to use \u201cpaths of action.\u201d What actions will become possible if the new technology is installed? Conversely, what will we not be able to do if we don\u2019t have the tech to do it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, the CIO should execute on the tech, usually by running a POC (proof of concept), followed by a pilot project, and only if positive, move to full implementation. This incremental approach allows for the tech to be tested, for investment to be gradual, and for learning to flourish, and most importantly, for you to stop if things aren\u2019t working out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Callouts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re going to do something, try to have a reason for doing it<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every technology is unique for each organization<\/p>\n\n\n\n The attention of executives revolves around business opportunities and not technologies<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cost and ROI should support the argument not be the argument<\/p>\n\n\n\n Author – Barbi Goldblatt – Regional Executive<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The aphorism: \u201cIf you\u2019re going to do something, try to have a reason for doing it,\u201d holds for new technologies. The business reasoning for the technology, its fit with goals and vision, and its potential benefits must hold sway, no matter how compelling the tech argument.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7528,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whitepapers"],"acf":[],"_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","yoast_noindex":false,"yoast_head":"\n
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