Software
There’s no holding back anymore. If you’re only somewhat tech savvy and you need anything, just type it in google. Data visualization, data gathering, storage, everything is available from internet, mostly at almost no cost. With every new step in the evolution of technology your teams will expand their set of software.
The “bring your own software” time creates an enormous potential of unused functionalities of tools. And it also introduces risks. Is the download location safe? Is your data suddenly made available to third parties? How is support arranged? Are we compliant with license policies? These types of questions often don’t get answered, leading to unacceptable corporate risks.
With one of my clients we found that someone had posted a question on a specific tool on a public forum, and he attached the full solution containing a complete set of supply chain data from the last year….. We found it by coincidence almost directly after it was post and could remove the attachment within minutes. So no harm done this time….
New technologies always promise to solve your major problems, conquer your deepest fears or to give you a head start on your competition. In real life however new software will rarely be a true solution to your problem. Probably it will introduce new problems and require new projects, software and people that don’t have anything to do with your strategy. You’re losing focus.
But….. New technologies also drive innovation and creativity, which could lead to new business models.
It’s important to keep focus, to stay on your path. But also to keep an eye open to the world, cease opportunities and stay on top of your market. Software is essential to business success nowadays, and it should always be in favour of your business. Keeping an internal eye on the software that’s roaming your networks is however also of great importance to manage risks and keep running an efficient and effective organization.
People
At any point in time after introducing new software we probably need more people. Specialists to utilize the full capabilities of the tool, support engineers to keep the software running and train the users and probably some maintenance workers. Training and using internal people won’t cut the deal and takes too much time, as regular work also needs to be done. So in the end, new software will probably cause your (hired) staff to grow.
And every now and then, even complete new profiles appear, with our latest contester: the Data-Scientist. If we need to believe what’s on the internet data-scientists are a rare breed of people, who need to earn loads of money and can bring wealth to your company. If you don’t have these people on board, well, you’re going to be out of business pretty soon.
These data scientists have MBA level business understanding, master IT completely, know professor level mathematics, have the curiosity, flexibility, the speed and impartiality of a teenager and the professionalism of a true scientist. Do we actually need these “Hors Category” profiles to run our business? And, if these people would exist, and if we would be able to have them working in our organization, will he or she actually ignite our corporate performance?
Hypes
It’s always the question when something is a hype, and when something is not. Just following hypes won’t get you far, but missing out on structural evolution might kill you (just look at Kodak). We have to stay critical to new technologies and people. Do we need them, will they ignite our performance, and will they bring us to the next level.
But sometimes we also need to innovate, to adopt new technologies. The best chance on making the right choices is to have seasoned experts available. Not just trust on any consultancy firm whose only business is to make money, but trust the seasoned people in your own organization or look at individuals (who might work at consultancy firms) that have proven to know the market and can make an honest judgement on the relevance of technology evolutions.
To keep focus and not deviate from your strategy you need to build a stable, functional and effective landscape of tools and people. Specifically for data this is a prerequisite for effective use of data.
Building a data vision or data roadmap can manage and prevent the proliferation of tools and people.