In today’s era of hyper-connectivity, technology is often perceived to be the backbone of successful businesses due to its ability to improve productivity and minimise laborious work, among its other functions. The advancement of technology in recent years has also led to the rise of a variety of solutions for businesses, ranging from cloud services and data management to artificial intelligence (AI).
But the question remains for decision-makers – how do we choose the right technology to resolve existing pain points and ultimately, propel our business forward? More often than not, we are caught in the pitfall of jumping on the shiny new technology bandwagon without gaining a firm grasp of the tool’s functionalities and the associated caveats.
Some may argue that the proliferation of information on online platforms has empowered consumers’ decision-making process. Still, we cannot deny that this has also been an underlying driver behind the mindless adoption of new technologies, simply because it is generating buzz.
Cloud computing, for instance, is fast becoming a favourable technology solution for many businesses today, and its benefits are widely discussed. Likewise, Intelematics made the transition last year to Amazon Web Services (AWS), and we have seen great results so far. However, solutions that work for a particular business are not guaranteed to do the same for all. While some technologies may seem to be a viable option and a great fit, they may not be after considering the business’s unique needs and quirks.
Having gone through the decision-making process myself, here are some key areas of consideration I believe will go a long way in helping others.
Identify business needs and pain points
The first and arguably most important step is to understand the fundamental business needs that a new solution must be able to achieve or the pain points it should seek to resolve. The key is to identify the areas in which you’re performing well and determine what needs to be improved. By laying out these factors, we will be able to define better the role technology will play in our business.
Some questions to ask when evaluating a new technology and its relevance:
- What do we hope to achieve by investing in this solution?
- How does the solution align with our business goals / resolve inefficiencies?
- Does the new approach add value to existing processes?
In addition to looking at how the current state of play can be improved, we also need to consider the long-term impact the solution could potentially have on the growth of the business and determine if it can be easily scaled to benefit all stakeholders.
At Intelematics, the shift to a cloud computing system was driven by the challenge we faced in having to sift through vast amounts of information to derive valuable and relevant insights for our customers. By moving to AWS, we are now able to access new forms of AI and machine learning that deliver greater scalability and flexibility. The cloud computing system has also allowed us to deploy our services more quickly and in the long run, enable us to accelerate our growth in new markets.
Revisit established practices
Self-reflection does not stop at business-oriented objectives. It is also essential to consider the resources needed to invest in the new technology and determine if there are already established solutions within your business that can help to resolve the same problem or achieve the relevant goals. If so, use them to your advantage!
Knowing what we were already familiar with, we chose to use existing Programming Languages such as Java for our Serverless Lambda Functions during our transition to AWS. This minimised the hassle of learning a new computing language while allowing us to discover a new way of developing solutions.
Understand existing skill sets
The impact of implementing a new technology goes beyond the business – one also needs to understand the potential implications it might have on the team adopting it. Different individuals have varying levels of familiarity with the proposed solution, and it is necessary to know the types of skills that exist within the company and the additional support that is required.
Even if the chosen solution is the best fit for your business’s needs, it might require significant investment in training and implementation that you are hesitant to make.
When we faced the dilemma of whether we should refactor our applications for the cloud or adopt the lift-and-shift approach, we eventually landed on the latter after considering the team’s abilities and existing knowledge of the proposed solutions. There were pros and cons to both options, and while no perfect solution exists, doing so allowed us to make the transition seamlessly as well as optimise the time and resources needed from those involved.
Prepare for uncertainty
Given the current circumstances, one other point that becomes imperative to consider is, if the solution you choose will bring certainty in times of uncertainty.
The current COVID-19 pandemic is a great example of such uncertain times. In a matter of days and weeks, businesses across the globe were required to move away from regular practices and get used to the new normal. Taking their day-to-day business functions 100 per cent online, ensuring easy access, productivity and seamless connectivity for their staff as they worked from home while ensuring the safety and security of their data and assets.
Going forward, companies looking for tech solutions should make sure, the solutions they invest in, help them tackle the unknowns better.
For Intelematics, our investment in the AWS cloud solution made it easy for our teams to work remotely across the business.
Make a conscious effort
In order to derive true value from technological advancements and to drive your business forward in an ever-changing market – a proactive effort to overcome our cognitive biases toward new and trending solutions without truly understanding the actionable benefits they could bring to the business, as well as the overall return on investment, is required.
A mantra that I abide by is, always think wisely before picking a particular technology for your solution, as the latest, shiniest new tool isn’t always the best.
Article written by James Anderson former Intelematics employee and contributor of the Intelematics Thought Leaders Club.
