When it comes to technology, we often have too much unbridled faith in the power of technology to fix the problem (whatever the problem is, we often think there’s a technology solution – a secret sauce to fix our businesses).
I’m going to give away the ending of this post now: there is no secret sauce for any IT project (unless you count doing the hard work required, but that’s hardly a secret).
IT projects rarely fail because of the information technology. They often fail because many companies think they’ve found a “secret sauce” of technology that will somehow magically fix or improve broken or ineffective business processes and that employees will immediately adapt to and use new tools. In fact, research from the Project Management Institute shows that 58% of people view changing mindsets and attitudes as the greatest barrier to new project success.
As those of us with stubborn children (and co-workers) know, there aren’t any shortcuts to changing attitudes.
But we’re still shortcut-obsessed.
We always hear about the latest shortcut – that single simple action or purchase that make our lives perfect. Magazine racks and the business and personal shelves in the book store tout the promise of a secret sauce – of a “one thing” that will improve everything.
The Shortcut Is the Long Road
Often, people will spend more time looking for a shortcut – the secret sauce to being more productive/losing weight/eating better/getting things done – that they ignore the fact that there are no shortcuts. If you want to be healthier, then you need to cut back on the cakes, double-down on healthier food, and get in a bit of exercise. If you want to be more productive, at some point you simply have to sit down and get the work done. (Click here from a few tips on avoiding distractions to get things done.)
When it comes to technology, we often have too much unbridled faith in the power of technology to fix the problem (whatever the problem is, we often think there’s a technology solution – a secret sauce to fix our businesses).
No Shortcuts. No Sauce
When it comes to information technology, stop thinking of IT as your savior. We often talk to potential customers who just want to get technology into their business – the new office equipment will address their document workflow problem; buying document management software will solve their file access problem; outsourcing the management of their network will eliminate all manner of user concerns and struggles with access.
In short, many potential clients are looking for a technology shortcut to business success.
I’ll just tell you now – that doesn’t exist.
Of course, technology can be used to address and solve business problems. The right technology and office equipment WILL help you achieve success. But technology, by itself, doesn’t create success.
You create success by doing the work. You create success by taking a hard look at your processes (your printing needs, your document access needs, your network needs; either with a partner or with in-house expertise) and then applying the right mix of technology.
There are days those of us here wish it were easy. It’s just not.
We Don’t Sell Technology Secret Sauce Here
We believe in the power of technology, but we won’t tell you it’s easy. While we don’t think there’s any secret sauce, there are a few critical ingredients that we at Datamax think are essential for our clients’ success.
Technology – The right technology applied to address the right business problem. Copiers, printers, document management software, network infrastructure services, and more all must work together.
Services – Hardware and software are the basic ingredients. Having experts who have the knowledge to help guide you to identify your business challenges and then to help identify what tools will be the best fit is a huge time-saving advantage, which means you get the right mix of technology up and running faster than you could do it yourself.
Customer Focus – Every company says this. We do it. And we have the stats to back up that claim. We rank ourselves using the Net Promoter Score (NPS) methodology. Our NPS is 91.2. Is that good, you ask? Companies with world-class service will have an NPS of 70 or over. So, yes, that’s pretty good. What’s it mean? It means we focus on you and creating service worth raving about and recommending.
If you’re ready to do the work, we’re ready to help – no secret sauce needed.
