Don’t make the IT buying process more difficult than it has to be.
Today’s IT decision maker is faced with a number of issues from technical to political to financial which lead to mistakes in the IT buying process. These mistakes can cost your organization money, time, and productivity. More importantly these mistakes impact a leader’s credibility and employee morale. After all who wants to work for a boss that doesn’t seem to know what they’re doing.
The devil is in the details but time, our most valuable resource, keeps many from focusing on what’s most important. Unfortunately, a hastily made patch will just mean you’ll need more time in the future to fix things properly often leaving things to predecessors to address. If you want things done right you can contact us here or simply avoid these three mistakes made in the IT buying process that we see most frequently.
- Hyper-focus on the budget – If your budget was unlimited and you had carte blanche to make any decision, would your buying process be the same? Frequently, IT decision makers are forced to focus on the budget rather than the goal. I can’t tell you how many times we see environments with multiple carriers are no redundancy because decisions were made based on budget and not goal. You know the old saying… You buy cheap, you buy twice.
- Avoid learning the technology – Nowadays, technology and its capabilities are on the rise faster than most can keep up. In the as-a-service world solution providers have nuances to their offerings that make it hard to make exact comparisons. There’s always the end-user that doesn’t anything to change but catering to that will prove impossible as technology develops. You don’t need to become an expert but you should have a firm grip on the limitations and possibilities of the technology explored.
- Letting non-IT folks make IT decisions – Now more than ever, IT decisions should be made by IT experts. Input should always be accepted but failing to fight for the right technology can put an IT executive in a position in the future to defend a decision that was not made by them. With the increase in cyber security concerns and the need for technology improvements to gain a competitive advantage, the IT expert’s opinion should be weighed heavily as an expert. You wouldn’t go to the doctor to take the advice of the secretary about getting a flu shot so why take in advice from finance on updates to your security? These are our areas of expertise.
We see these mistakes made with great frequency in a plethora of organizations whether financial services, medical, higher education, or government. As mentioned earlier, the devil is in the details and we see folks overlook things like EIR:CIR, true redundancy, and mere reality. If you’d like to learn more about our process click here.
Having unrealistic expectations is never helpful but we see it all the time and often are forced to walk away from customers because of it. You’re not going to change AT&T, Comcast, Verizon or the telecommunications industry. It’s not Burger King so you won’t have it your way. That said, speak truth to power early and often without accepting status quo. Technology is not a discipline that can afford to be slighted as it provides a competitive advantage and leads us into the future. Don’t make these mistakes in your IT buying process.
