There is always a debate around the question “Which technology do we use?” People are type casted as legacy or non-creative or lacking innovation if they do not select the latest technology that is under development or maturing. Technology selection at times, becomes an issue where leaders form groups and ego’s or hierarchy plays an important role in the decision making.
Technology selection is fraught if decisions are made without considering support costs, scalability and continuous product development. Its also causes long term problems when technology selection is made on current skill capabilities within the organization. Understanding the technology TCO is critical and would lead to sound decisions.
In my mind “Which technology do we use?” is an incomplete question. The real question we need to ask is “Which technology do we use for the business problem we are trying to solve?”
Technology in most cases is an enabler of business and so we need to pick a technology that ONLY helps us enable business. We should not use a jackhammer to drive a small nail into the wood or use a hand drill to dig a tunnel. Similarly using the right software to enable the right business service is a key to make the business successful.
Another key aspect of Technology selection is having a lifecycle for every technology within the organization. Gartner Hype Cycles provide a graphic representation of the maturity and adoption of technologies and applications, and how they are potentially relevant to solving real business problems and exploiting new opportunities. Like everything else, there is a birth where you usher in a technology and an expiry date for eliminating a technology. Being aware and planning the technology life cycle is very critical for large enterprises.
Bottom Line: The most critical aspect in technology selection is to be able to make objective decisions to solve business problems.
– Samuel Seelam
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