Why Should we Invest in Technology for Our Business?

​As of these days and since a long time ago, many businesses and enterprise know and take for granted that if they wish to be successful or competitive in their respective markets and industries, they should start using information technologies to achieve it.  Nothing is farther from reality than this belief.  It is a fact that any business or enterprise not using current technologies for its operational processes plans and marketing strategies will find it very difficult to achieve its goals and objectives of conducting business on a highly competitive and technological world as is todays; so a significant share of its yearly budget should be assigned to this item.

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However, it is also well known by information technologies experts, salespeople and consultants that many businesses and enterprises do not use their technological infrastructure and devices to its full capacity and productivity.  In other words, out of a hundred percent they use between thirty to a maximum of fifty percent of their resources, capacities and procedures.  By the time they achieve from sixty to eighty percent of their potential, their technology is becoming old, if not obsolete.  This is placing ourselves on the conservative side, and according to our consulting experience on information technologies.
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Now comes the fundamental dilemma of deciding if investing in technology is an expense or an additional value because there is not an immediate return on this investment.  It is almost always certain that any businessman wants that every dollar invested not to be an expense, but be multiplied several times.
Now, which are the main reasons to explain this phenomena?:  Among them, you can find the following ones:

1. There is no doubt that poor planning, counseling, and short medium and long terms strategies in investment and implementation of new and better technologies are the principal drawbacks to profitability.
   
2. Poor or nonexistent clarification of current and future technological requirements is another important drawback.
3. Not having the services of qualified personnel or advisors with the latest trends in information technologies results in latter complications.
4. The lack among owners and administrators of basic knowledge on information technologies prevents their appropriate requests for adequate counseling.
5. The lack of initial training, continuing education, and transfer of knowledge among line personnel laces limitations on the use they do of available technologies to perform the duties and daily routines.
6. Another limitation is the lack of knowledge on the capacities applications, and limitations, of their information technologies hardware, software, and infrastructure.
7. Finally, but equally important is a basic knowledge of new, accelerated and advanced trends or movements in the field.

If we use the previous reasoning as a starting point, we can see that if every business or enterprise follows the first three or four main reasons, they could achieve a more efficient, effective and productive use of their investment in technology.  Even more, if we prepare our end users and our information systems personnel, we would maximize and optimize their use of the available information technologies.  Not only this, their productivity and satisfaction would also increase in a way that will positively affect the efficiency and quality of their service to our customers.

So, should we have to answer the question if a business or enterprise should invest in technology or not, we should consider what has been said previously to support that such an investment is more of additional value than of expense nature.
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Should you need our advice on these matters, you can contact us at www.bligconsulting.com.

Author: Gilberto Crespo, MSCE, CDIA+, CIP, ITILv3
Computer Engineer & Entrepreneur