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Technology adoption should be driven by strategy

CHRIS O'FLAHERTY
Clear communication of why a technology is being adopted and how it will help employees contributes to employees embracing the changes

CHRIS O'FLAHERTY Clear communication of why a technology is being adopted and how it will help employees contributes to employees embracing the changes

23rd October 2020

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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The adoption of technology in a business must be strategic, informed and should be performed with the aim of streamlining and enhancing the existing business processes to ensure maximum value and efficiency, says business consultancy multinational BDO Financial Services Technology junior analyst Christopher O’Flaherty.

An iterative and agile approach when exploring and adopting technologies for business purposes is conducive to ensuring that companies align these technologies with their business uses, and helps them determine not only how to customise technologies to suit their uses, but also helps them to adopt a long-term strategy, he says.

“This process of exploration and implementation leads to advances in the use of various technologies and helps determine the technology’s worth or irrelevance to the business. Companies can determine how best to implement or upgrade these systems or technologies, or to adopt other technologies that will meet their strategic needs.

“Choosing a new system or technology is a big decision, and this is why these feedback loops are important to ensure that the systems and a business’ decision about technology are robust. “Simultaneously, this approach also ensures that time and resources have gone into ensuring the technology is fit for the process, and the most efficient methods used to implement new technologies.”

Additionally, when implementing many different technologies, tools and practices from various third-parties, the iterative feedback loop helps to ensure that the best solution is chosen and deployed for the specific needs of the company.

Data Directive

The first important step when implementing technology is to determine what the business wants to achieve with the technology. Once this have been determined, the business must determine what data will be needed and how it will gather this data.

Similarly, when considering what processes can be automated, businesses must consider whether they have the necessary skills in-house or whether they must approach a third-party service provider, and then whether they have the required data to support automation.

The steps to identify processes that can be automated is also fundamental when a company is evaluating artificial intelligence or machine learning. This enables companies to plan how much these systems cost and how much resources companies will save or what efficiencies they will gain and thereby determine whether to continue with implementation.

When considering the use of technologies from a process point of view, it is critically important to consider the data used and generated by the systems, and to ensure that it is clean and unbiased, says O’Flaherty.

“Quality data is important not only when automating processes and training models used in business processes, but also to determine the risks the company faces with regards to cyberthreats, and how to protect the data.

“Simultaneously, focusing on good quality data will enable technologies that are adopted by businesses to provide the expected business value and potentially support broader benefits in the future. Good quality data will also ensure that business decisions, whether for day-to-day routine work or long-term strategy, is accurate and representative of the business’ operations.”

Changing Attitude

Meanwhile, employees remain crucial to technology adoption and implementation. Uncertainty must be reduced by clear communication throughout the organisation about the vision and intended uses for the technology, as well as how this is expected to change employees routine work.

Additionally, to eliminate the impact on operations when transitioning to new systems, companies can use key performance indicators (KPIs) to frame the roles and responsibilities of employees so that they understand what they must achieve regardless of what systems they are using.

“KPIs can also help to anchor employees during transition and implementation. Leaders must keep people at the forefront of planning, and detail how the systems will change employees roles, how the systems are expected to change their work and how it is expected to help them perform their duties more efficiently and effectively,” says O’Flaherty.

Clear communication of why a technology or system is being adopted and how it will help employees perform their daily activities can lead to employees embracing the changes.

“It is important to understand that we are not in a race against machines, but we are in a race with machines that will allow employees to reduce certain workloads and thereby focus more time and efforts on the important elements of operations, and allow companies to serve its clients more effectively and efficiently.”

Meanwhile, third-party advisors and service providers can help companies evaluate existing and new technologies, and their suitability for the organisation and its client base, by providing a bird’s eye view and advice on various technologies.

Similarly, service providers can help companies to understand the risks of various technologies and provide access to a range of skills, services, software engineers and cybersecurity specialists through its partners network to allow for effective implementation.

“Technology will bring many changes. Companies should be optimistic because the use of suitable technologies reduces the burden on people and companies and improves specific processes, making operations more effective and efficient. “Having a specialist service provider helps organisations to more effectively evaluate technology stacks, select the suitable ones and plan their short- and long-term technology strategies,” concludes O’Flaherty.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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