New technologies promise to boost efficiency and productivity, but successful adoption is rarely just about the tech, says Steve McCorry.
I entered the world of IT as internetworking was transforming how enterprises used, shared and stored data. Scalable network protocols were finding their relevance and choosing the right tech to reach users and end points was largely a leap into the unknown.
Luckily, super-talented designers and engineers were able to apply “pre-internet” thinking to hold the Wild West chaos of technological progress at bay, applying a very simple rule that holds true to this day: just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
This helped us avoid countless disasters – from deploying new features only to find they were fraught with bugs, to avoiding implementing datacentre kit without setting the right standards from the get-go. We went on to build what was at the time the largest Cisco and government networks ever undertaken – largely without incident or finding ourselves in the press!
Roll on many years and IT innovation remains the name of the game. The Internet is now taken (somewhat unbelievably) for granted; new tools, frameworks and platforms emerge almost daily, promising increased efficiency, productivity and competitive advantage – much of it driven through the current advances in a brave new frontier: AI.
As IT leaders, we must remember the age-old wisdom (and I don’t apologise for repetition as it’s key to learning): just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
The Temptation of Shiny New Tech
Imagine a developer stumbling upon a cutting-edge library that could revolutionise their codebase. The excitement is palpable – fingers itch to integrate it into the project. But pause for a moment. Is it truly necessary? Will it enhance rather than confuse UX or solve an existing problem? Is it secure? Or is it just a shiny distraction?
In IT, striking the right balance between innovation and stability is crucial. While adopting new technologies can lead to breakthroughs, it can also disrupt established workflows. As leaders, we must assess the impact of each decision:
- Evaluate Need: Before implementing a new tool, ask: Does it align with our business goals? Will it simplify processes, boost efficiency or introduce unnecessary complexity?
- Assess the Learning Curve: Introducing novel tech requires training and adaptation. Consider the team’s capacity to learn and adjust, and how users can be enabled to maximise its benefits.
Technology doesn’t exist in a vacuum – it’s wielded by people. People’s ability to embrace change varies – some thrive on it, while others resist. Communication, support and acknowledging resistance play as much a part in the success of introducing new tech as anything else. In short, it is very rare that successful implementation is just about the tech.
The exemplar projects Creative has been involved in have always integrated this thought process. We’ve noticed patterns of success we what to replicate across all our client engagements – taking a moment of deliberate pause to consider the impact of change from both a technical and human perspective has helped us make better decisions and achieve more successful user adoption.
Success is achieved not just by introducing technical change (however exciting that may be) but by really understanding what it takes to bring an organisation and its users along for the ride. Taking a moment (away from the tech) to ask ourselves, “What truly matters?” is beginning to pay a great dividend.