There are amusing and horrific stories from the trials and tribulations associated with the transfer of technology, as well as the implementation of new systems and architecture. You will discover lessons that we can learn from those who have blazed the trails just before us, and those who have already been burned by the blaze. Get your fingers prepared to count the 5 basic considerations for implementing new technology.
What we learned from Oracle
“The original program was to transition the current IT infrastructure to Oracle for more than a period of 3 months. It is 3 years later, and we believe that we are just about done with our Oracle implementation.” Does this sound familiar? if so, you have got an abundance of a fantastic corporation. Oracle is often a powerful engine. It can be high octane, scalable, and has the versatile object-oriented architecture to enable continuous growth and integration. So, what went wrong?
Pretty typically, in the eager anticipation to install the most recent and greatest engine, the other components of your car have been forgotten or overlooked. Certain you’ve got an effective new engine, but your steering wheel is gone. It was replaced by a series of point and click drop-down boxes to precisely instruct the car to turn at a particular angle. Do you desire to create a 30-degree turn, a forty-degree turn, or perhaps a 90-degree turn, proper or left? Simply pick the suitable item from the drop-down menu and you will have the precise turn that you simply want. Gone is the fact that old fashioned and an inaccurate steering wheel that necessary manual intervention and guidance to progressively adjust the turn in approach, and installed may be the precision turning device that may be managed by your mouse.
So, what must we do?
1) Be Aggressive
It truly is proper to become aggressive when implementing new technology that offers a competitive edge. The competitive edge may very well be related to overall system overall performance that empowers personnel to grow to be additional productive. A competitive edge could be a utility that empowers clients and clients to become more self-sufficient, like installing the ATM outdoors the bank for consumer self-sufficient convenience. The competitive advantage might integrate various functions, partners, or streams of information that enable more intelligent choices or helpful small business. If the implementation, integration, or transfer to new technology is going to have a substantial and measured competitive advantage, then be aggressive about the pursuit of technology.
2) Be Cautious
When the transfer of technology touches upon the core competency or revenue of the business enterprise, then be cautious about making any significant adjustments. This does not mean that you just stay away from improving technology. It merely implies that it truly is appropriate to be much more cautious in studying the ramifications and ancillary applications which may very well be impacted by even a subtle modify for the code. You’ll find horror stories from companies that implemented seemingly innocuous modifications to billing, after which failed to produce invoices or statements for the consumers. During this period of the transfer of technology, revenue was suddenly reduced. The result produced financial hardship for the billing corporation, and for the disgruntled clients who abruptly received quite a few month’s worths of accumulated billing once the invoicing system troubles were resolved. Not only was this an effect on cash flow through the interruption in billing, but it impacted the connection using the customers also. Be aggressive about competitive possibilities to grow your profit and efficiency, but be cautious in regards to implementing alterations that may well impact your core small business offerings, clientele, or billing.
3) Be Speedy
Be speedy to implement minor alterations, and meticulously monitor the effect. When it comes to functionality enhancement, internal ideas for simplifying routines, or enhancing the customer knowledge, don’t delay. Design the smaller alterations, test the changes thoroughly, and generate a schedule to regularly roll out enhancements. Frequently, small enhancements have the largest effect on enterprise efficiency.
4) Be Slow
With regards to major modifications within the architecture of systems that sustain your company, be slow in implementing modify. Regularly, the core architecture and functions of the business will be the most efficient and streamlined. The processes that get one of the most used are the ones that get the most consideration and are frequently the most hugely evolved. Regrettably, they are also the processes that commonly are chosen for the initial priority about implementing a transfer in technology. On the contrary, stay clear of the allure of focusing on familiar ground, and preserve the main processes till the transition has been tested on some of the much more complex, and less typically utilized, utilities. By focusing development around the most complicated and least made use of functions, there is tremendous information to be gained by the practical experience, and the least quantity of impact for the business enterprise. You will discover too a lot of horror stories of companies that eagerly transferred the primary processes, and then spent months or years exercising the bugs that could have been identified by building a great deal less needed or impactful aspect in the approach.
5) Be Secure
There is no greater time for you to address the vast array of possible security needs than through the design, development, and implementation of new technology. What private data do you handle, procedure, forward, or shop? This isn’t restricted to credit card transactions or bank account numbers for wire transfers. Someplace inside the enormous archives of data, that you are most likely holding valuable private information on each of your workers. Employee records contain social safety numbers, bank accounts for direct deposit, names and addresses, and possibly even reference to medical coverage. Rather generally we think of the pipeline to our customers and neglect the goldmine of private data inside our facilities. Never we owe the same protection to our staff?
