SearchI know it might sound weird coming from a guy who works for a software solutions company… But it’s time for me to tell some tough facts: Whatever your business problems are, technology’s not the solution. If you try to solve your problems by blindly adding technology, it’s a waste of time, waste of money and–worst of all–a waste of technology.
Technology for Technology’s Sake
Not getting what you want out of your system that was built a few years ago? Ask around and you’ll probably get tons of advice to upgrade to whatever new version was just released. Or, even better you should upgrade to some new unreleased beta edition because it’s cool and new! Great idea! Now, you’ve spent time and money on an upgrade, have to deal with changes and bugs, and the system likely still has the same problems as before (or worse). Throwing technology at a problem is like throwing water on a fire. It works sometimes, but if it’s a grease fire you’ve just burned down your kitchen.
Don’t get me wrong, I love technology. Personally, I’m an technology innovator, an early adopter… But, I put up with the problems that come with that, and would never recommend that for business critical operations at a company. There’s a difference between trying out the new beta iOS operating system and upgrading you company’s software in the random hope it will fix all your problems magically. Don’t believe the hype.
Stop Wasting Technology
When you try to solve problems by forcing technology as the supposed solution, it will be a difficult, frustrating road forward… if not a complete and utter failure. You’ll grow to hate technology and fear what’s next, rather than curiously embrace it like you should. You’ll never work again with the tech company who messed up your system. This is why there are companies still running on decades-old mainframes. I am willing to bet someone at some point tried to force a tech upgrade for no real reason and it went terribly.
The next time you come across a business challenge or problem, take a step back. Analyze the problem itself and see if you can actually identify what’s wrong and how you might be able to solve it. Sometimes issues can be solved by changing a process, or thinking outside the box. Investigate first, and find out if technology can indeed help you get to the answer for your issues. You might be pleased to find that sometimes you don’t need an upgrade or expensive consulting to make a process change that could be all the difference in the world.
Technology’s not the solution to your company problems. It might be a way to bring the real solution to life in a convenient and innovative way… But it’s a waste of time and money if you haven’t identified the true problem, and dug deep into potential solutions. If you love technology, stop wasting it and giving it a bad name!
