Dodging Big Tech Mistakes

Technology is a massive areas for both spend and innovation in any company today. New ideas pop up every day, and success can vary dramatically between organizations, even those in the same industry. Still, that doesn't mean there aren't general bad ideas that should be avoided. With a few exceptions, none of the ideas on this list are things I would recommend:

1. Vendor Lock-in - It sounds like a good idea on paper. Get everything from one place, made by the same teams. Unfortunately, because IT can change so quickly and rapidly, placing your bets on the wrong horse can be very expensive to either get where you want to be, or worse, to jump ship to a different vendor. There is nothing wrong with only purchasing ABC hardware. But if that ABC hardware only works with ABC products then there is a problem.
   
2. Cost, Cost, Cost - Yes, costs are important - no one will deny that. However, if the only difference between potential solutions is cost, either research didn't go far enough or objectives weren't clear enough to ensure that the company gets the right solution. Don’t be afraid to obtain the solution that meets your company’s needs, even if it is more costly. If this means using Windows instead of a Linux OS, for example, so be it.
   
3. Ignoring Users - If an employee asks for something from IT, there is usually a reason for it. Perhaps existing systems aren't friendly or effective, or they have found a better way to do the same thing. IT should evaluate these solutions rather than ignore them, because if they don’t employees will just use whatever they want, which can result in serious security problems.
   
4. Treating IT outside the Business - IT is just as much a part of an organization as Sales, Marketing, or Human Resources. Treating IT as if it is some kind of odd appendage that is just kind of there can breed resentment among departments or apathy from employees - neither of these emotions generate the drive that companies desire to see from their employees.
   
5. Lack of a Plan - Investing in new technology can improve company productivity and really assist in outperforming competitors. If there is a plan for that technology. If there is no plan for the technology and management or ownership has simply bought it to buy it, it is highly unlikely to recoup the investment, regardless of how magical the technology might seem.
   
6. Not having a pilot program - Not planning is a bad idea, and one of the first elements of a plan, aside from what your new investment will do, is how to test it out. A great way to flop at that plan is to roll out a solution from the get-go to every employee. Not everyone can be a good beta tester for a multitude of reasons. Some lack the know-how to determine that the software is being buggy, and others just don’t have the patience. Pick small groups to test out your IT ideas before rolling out to everyone.
   
7. Not backing up - If you implement a new software or technology that just doesn't work after going into effect, have backups in place to roll systems back to where they were prior to using the tool. Sometimes testing doesn't catch everything, so even if your pilot program was a complete success it isn't a guarantee that going into production will be.