Buy in key to new technology

Technology is changing at a faster rate than ever before but how, as a business owner, do you work out which new technologies to implement and how to do so as painlessly as possible?

On ted.com, United States inventor and engineer Ray Kurzweil says people took 50 years to adopt the telephone, yet cellphones became common in just eight years, showing the pace at which technology was developing and the increased acceptance of change.

Houston Technology Group's Alan Chew told The Daily Post this second factor was often the greatest barrier to the successful implementation of new technologies in business.

"In my 25 years of helping clients implement new technologies, I have found the biggest barrier to success, by a country mile, is buy-in from the users."

Chew said new technologies usually brought benefits but also typically required new processes and new skills.

"It involves change and careful change management is needed to ensure success."

He said the sales department was often an area resistant to changes such as introduction of client relationship management programmes.

"Effective salespeople are generally successful because of their unique way of doing things. They also tend to be nonconformist. Bosses who attempt to introduce new technologies into the sales department that require new ways of doing things tend to find a lot of resistance."

He said salespeople recognised how CRM technologies could lead to higher sales and therefore greater remuneration but they detested having to punch data into the computer, follow defined processes imposed by the software and being measured and transparent.

"The answer lies in getting buy-in from the users ahead of implementation and making it as easy as possible for them to use the technology.

"For example, the benefits of the technology to the salesperson, not the employer, must be clearly explained to them."

Chew said it was important to seek their opinions and to look for ways to overcome aversions such as data entry by supplying additional technologies, such as speech recognition, handwriting recognition or digital dictation.

"Less technologically inclined members must be given assurance the programme is easy to use and they will receive hand-holding for as long as it is needed."

He said simple steps such as these went a long way towards ensuring new technologies were successful for the employer and user.

The Daily Post Technology Talk columnist Nathan Willis, of Phocal Communications, said many people saw cost as the main barrier to bringing in new technology.

"But that is not often the big factor at all, because generally you will get a return from the technology, otherwise the implementation is pointless."

He said the learning curve required of the decision maker to choose and implement technology wisely was one of the greatest obstacles for most businesses.

"As technology gets more advanced and capable, the curve can get steeper. This is why the knowledge learning curve to understand what you are implementing is often the major cost of change."

Willis said gaining sufficient understanding to make informed technology choices could be a lengthy process for business owners.

"If you are a surgery practice or a logistics or shipping company, gaining a basic technical knowledge in telecommunications can be time consuming. After all, you're an expert at shipping, not how phone systems work."

He suggested using common sense, talking to people you could trust or pulling in a third party consultant could help get over this hurdle.

While using a consultant may appear to be an additional cost, Willis said the time saved often meant this was a more cost effective option than trying to research everything yourself.