You Can’t Be a Technophobe Anymore
Strategic Investment in Technology is Necessary. Whether you are a technology company or not, you simply can’t be in business and expect to remain competitive without investing reasonably in technology. Reasonableness is the key. Here are some tips:
· Perform a needs assessment. Where can technology solve problems or help you reach a goal? Will the technology in question support your company’s long-term business objectives and strategy?
· Analyze the ROI of the investment. Considering upfront costs, implementation, training, and maintenance, what sales increases, productivity gains, cost savings, improved customer experience, or competitive advantages will they provide? How can you measure that ROI?
· Focus on scalable solutions. Invest in what you need today and consider how it can grow with you.
· Pay attention to cybersecurity. Use firewalls, encryption, secure access protocols, regular security assessments, and continuous education.
· Work with trusted vendors. This is no place to use the local guy offering 50% discounts to the large, established providers.
· Make IT a continuous process. Plan for regular reviews and modifications. The beauty, and the challenge, of technology is that it is constantly changing and improving. What was state-of-the-art a year ago might have been superseded this year by a new start-up that does the job better, faster, and cheaper.
Immerse in AI. AI has, of course, exploded, in the last couple of years. Some of it is hype and much of it is not. It has the capability of putting some businesses out of business, and it has the capability of boosting businesses beyond their wildest dreams.
Personally, I subscribe to six AI language models and am constantly studying how to use them better.
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