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or is it actually costing you more
than it's worth?
W
e all know that technology is intended to provide
conveniences, usually by way of expediting part
(or all) of a business process. For example, you
probably use a database to store member details, in
which you can quickly search for a particular member, or generate
a list of members with a certain criteria, such as an age group or a
geographical region. We use email to send information quickly to a
member or colleague. Etc, etc.
In particular, the management of information and our methods of
communication have come a very long way. And so, technology, in
one form or another, has quickly become integral to almost every
organisation.
But how can you be sure that the technology you're using (or
you're considering) will provide your organisation with the benefits
you need, without exceeding those benefits in relative costs?
The short answer is easy enough given that
technology is a tool designed to assist a
process, does the process improvement
justify the cost of the technology?
This is where you need to quantify
(as accurately as possible) what
you should expect as a result
of implementing a particular
technology. It's very much like
drawing up pros and cons to make
a decision. At the very least, you
should consider the following:
1. How will the technology assist my
business process and as a result, what
can I expect to be my cost savings
and/or additional revenue, now and in
the future?
2. What will be the investment in purchasing and
implementing the technology?
3. What will be the running costs or Total Cost of Ownership
(TCO) of the technology?
4. What will be the impact to my organisation if the technology does
not perform as intended?
business process Improvement
Suppose you're considering hosting a website for your members
to easily access information that is most often requested, and to
provide them with the facility to "chat" with other members in a
forum, the objective being to speed up the time it takes for them
to obtain information. In order to successfully assess the projected
improvement in your service to members, you will need to
understand the following:
1. What kind of information do my members find most useful? What
kind of information do they request most often? Is this information
static, dynamic, or both?
2. What is the effort required to provide this information today?
How many resources do I need, and what equipment and services
do they need? I.e. what is the current total cost of providing this
service?
3. Does the cost fluctuate based on seasonal or market varying factors
that may affect the intensity of data being changed or requested?
4. How long does it normally take to provide requested information
to my members? How long would it take if it was technology
assisted? What would be the expected increase in member
satisfaction and/or number of members? This is where surveys
come in handy!
technology Implementation Costs
This should be the easiest aspect for you to assess, subject to
no compromise in level of detail and communication.
Your requirements and expected outcomes in
functionality must be clearly defined and all key
stakeholders must have the same vision and
understanding. Nothing should be implied
or expected without a form of written
agreement. As a guide:
1. What are the technology's
dependencies for it to perform
successfully? What is the cost
of these dependencies, now and
ongoing?
2. What is the cost of purchase?
What is the cost and timeframe
of implementation through to the
point of total and full operation?
E.g. you may need to consider
data migration, user acceptance
testing, etc.
3. Does any part of the solution consist of
any ongoing license or maintenance fees?
4. What disruption, if any, will there be to my business
and/or resources, human or otherwise, during the
implementation? What impact will this cause to my
service to members?
total Cost of ownership (tCo)
The TCO of technology may vary greatly depending on what the
technology is, and thus this is often the most important factor for
consideration. For example, maintaining a new call centre phone
system will yield very different ongoing costs to the maintenance
of a database.
For a new software package you should consider things like license
How mucH benefit
do you get from
technology?
tecHNoloGy
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