Many organisations face the same, complex technological problem: technology-related decisions are made in a decentralised manner across the organisation – often building on a legacy of multi-layered, outdated systems. However, technology choices should be sustainable and direct the organisation’s operations towards the future.
In the traditional model, technological solutions are typically built layer by layer. Without active technology management, a situation can gradually emerge where technological solutions no longer fully support the organisation’s strategy or scale with its changing needs.
The end result is a heavy and hard-to-manage tech ecosystem which at worst can hinder the achievement of business goals.
- The organisation cannot identify the technological solutions that would best support the business.
- The capabilities required for the successful deployment of the chosen technology cannot be recognised.
- The company is not aware whether it has in-house expertise to utilise the selected technologies or whether it should seek support from outside.
- There is a lack of understanding that adopting new technologies requires professional change management — for example, the impact on end users or integrating the change into daily operations is often overlooked.
Technology is advancing rapidly. Platform solutions are playing an increasingly critical role in driving business performance and impact.
The situation is unfortunately common but also easy to understand. As technology evolves rapidly, technology decisions must be made thoughtfully and deliberately.
In other words: technology choices must be actively led.
What is technology management?
Technology management covers the systematic and business-oriented management of technological choices and solutions. In professional technology management, decisions are made thoughtfully, based on a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the organisation’s needs.
Technology management offers numerous advantages.
Goal-oriented and professional technology management guides the organisation towards secure, cost-effective and scalable digital solutions. It is a combination of business-oriented planning, decision-making and guidance.
Good technology management can include activities such as evaluating the technology portfolio, clarifying the architecture, assessing capabilities, or facilitating the development of technology visions.
Uncontrolled chaos or smart technology decisions?
Managing technology solutions is like uncontrolled chaos in many companies: the organisation does not know how to handle technology choices or who is responsible for them. There is no clarity on what is happening at different levels of the organisation or what has been achieved with the technologies already in use.
In professional technology management, the selected devices and systems and their scalability to future needs are considered. The optimisation of data collection, storage and processing is assessed and the use of data to support business is considered.
A technology management expert is also able to examine technology choices from the perspective of legislation and information security. Managing such an entity requires a broad technology vision – not just technical expertise.
What do you do to consider business results when making technology choices?
