The right business solution, or “tech for tech’s sake”? 

Businesses need to evaluate whether the technology solutions they choose address the right pain points, or are they simply a waste of time and money.

In an increasingly digital world, choosing the right technology solutions for a business is crucial for success, but navigating the sea of options can be overwhelming, and making the wrong choice can be costly. From financial reporting solutions to project management tools, each decision carries its own set of risks, and there are a number of common pitfalls that have trapped many businesses in this regard.   

Ignoring the needs of the business

The first and most common mistake many companies make is to jump straight into a tech solution without first doing their research and fully understanding whether the solution meets their unique business needs. This means that businesses run the risk of wasting money and resources on solutions that don’t address their specific pain points or that don’t increase efficiency.

Not considering the scalability

Scalability refers to the ability of a tech or software solution to accommodate a growing number of users and data in a seamless and efficient way.

“As businesses expand their operations and increase their number of business units; customers; suppliers and sources of information, having a scalable reporting software solution ensures they are capable of handling the load without having to completely redesign the system or make further investments,” says Alwyn Pretorius, General Manager at Infinitus Reporting Solutions.

Neglecting user experience

From an employee perspective, a technology solution that is not designed around how end users work, and that is not self-maintainable, will likely become an even greater financial burden, as companies need to invest even more money in training and ongoing support. Low adoption of a tech solution in business can of course hinder productivity and ultimately negatively affect ROI. Companies need to take the time to ensure that the internal business tool they ultimately choose to invest in and implement takes into account the users who will need to be familiarised with the system.

Overlooking integration capabilities

Many businesses fail to consider the integration capabilities of a new technology solution to its existing systems. For instance, a financial reporting software platform would need to integrate to more than just the accounting software, in order to cater for all data points that need to be collated from or exported to.

A lack of customisation and flexibility

An important question to ask (that not many businesses even realise should be asked), is whether the technology solution being implemented allows organisations to tailor software to ‘fit’ their specific operational processes and report formats, instead of being stuck within the confines of rigid, predefined system structures and formats. Being able to customise a solution ensures that it aligns with the business’s operations, which ultimately serve to optimise efficiency and productivity.

“Ensuring the tech solution you are implementing offers customisation capabilities also ensures that a business isn’t wasting time and money on a solution that includes functions and features they don’t need and will never use, or worse, having to invest in additional solutions to get to achieve their unique outcomes,” adds Pretorius.

With technology charting the course for businesses, it can be understandably tempting to choose “tech for tech’s sake”, but the cost of doing so can be significant if businesses do not pay closer attention to their choices.  While ‘cutting-edge’ tools and platforms may promise innovation and efficiency, their true value lies in their ability to address specific business needs, provide room for growth, take the users and their buy-in into consideration, and offer worthwhile capabilities.