Although we place great expectations on technology, we do not always manage technology in a systematic way in our organisations. Managing technology requires a structured understanding of our most essential technologies, their nature, and their stage in the lifecycle, as well as a governance model for introducing technologies, continuously assessing them, and retiring them.
Technology is the cornerstone of a modern organisation. High-volume, information-intensive operations rely on technological structures such as software and cloud platforms. Yet technology is not always managed effectively at the organisational level. This results in difficulties in phasing out outdated technologies and in the adoption of new technologies. This, in turn, is often painfully visible to customers in the form of sluggish service processes and clumsy user interfaces. At worst, outdated technologies also pose a security risk.
Why, then, do we not manage technology systematically? The reasons vary. It is not always easy to communicate technology matters to busy decision-makers. As a result, important technology-related decisions are not made in time. Digital technologies are also full of details, and it is not always easy to limit the scope of central governance. Even if you liked the idea of governing every detail, it will not be possible.
Technology may also be perceived as trivial or less important compared with higher-level strategic or business structures. This is understandable from the perspective that technology matters have long been outsourced to vendors.
It is often tempting to rely on cloud services and SaaS applications and leave data centres and security updates to someone else. However, in times of global instability, it is worth remembering that the cloud resides somewhere physically and geographically, and in the worst case in the middle of political upheavals. Such events may be relevant when making technology choices.
Identify your technologies
In my view, there are two particularly important perspectives in technology management: category and lifecycle. To manage the right things, you must identify the technology categories that are essential to your organisation. Without this, you risk drowning in unnecessary details and micromanagement. The majority of technology choices can be left to self-managing teams. However, make sure that those teams have the necessary competence, trust and psychological safety.
What counts as essential depends on the organisation, but there are some common rules of thumb for identifying essential technologies. Replacing essential technologies would be expensive. They are long-term choices rather than temporary solutions. They have strong dependencies with other components in your enterprise architecture.
As essential technologies are identified, an understanding often begins to form of the broader categories they represent. Traditional categories include, for example, database server software or integration platforms, but artificial intelligence technologies are also increasingly visible in technology choices.
In addition, it is important to recognise the lifecycle stage of technologies so that they can be treated appropriately in projects. For example, if a technology is already approaching end-of-life, it should no longer be leveraged in new projects; instead, there should be a plan for how to phase out existing implementations.
It is important that information flows openly. When identifying and listing your technologies, ensure that the result is a view that is understandable not only to technology specialists but also to management and the business.
Descriptions alone are not enough
Even good technology descriptions do not manage technology on their own; they must be used in practical work. Without an understanding of when and how those descriptions should be used, they will gather dust and quickly become outdated. Their use must not be random or dependent on the attentiveness of individual employees; instead, it must be integrated into routine management and future planning.
In addition to documentation, there must therefore be some form of organisation-level procedure for assessing technologies. An overly complex process is not required, and existing structures should be utilised where possible. Some organisations are more allergic to administrative structures than others; in such organisations, it is worth emphasising the essential role of structure in enabling agile operations and facilitating change.
The enterprise architecture function of an organization is a natural place to assess technology choices. If the enterprise architecture function includes a designated technology architect, there is already a clear owner for this work. A technology architect is the right person to maintain a shared understanding of technologies and to prepare technology-related decision-making. If there is no designated technology architect role, responsibility can be assigned to the chief architect.
A technology leader’s checklist
· Technology matters. Recognise its value and manage it accordingly.
· Speak about technologies concretely and clearly, and expect the same from others.
· Focus on what is essential and avoid micromanagement.
· Ensure that technologies are described and that the descriptions are used systematically in planning and technology assessment.
