16 things keeping SME owners awake - 11. I’m worried about technology.

There is no precedent for the sheer volume of technological change that is occurring in the world and particularly in business. It is easy to become confused and overwhelmed, but there are things you can think about to engage sensibly with this tiger.

Whatever you do, don’t rush headlong into investing in technology just because the newest and flashiest thing has come along with the promise of transforming your business. When considering technology, think about what the issues in your own business are and make sensible decisions about what will make the biggest difference. The tech rabbit hole is long, windy and dark and can consume vast amounts of time and money.

Unless there is a crisis that can be solved with a king hit tech solution, make incremental steps. Even small tech projects can be incredibly disruptive and take focus away from what matters, so my strong recommendation is to approach technology as a continuous improvement project. Incremental steps where you make a change, bank the results and move to the next. Doing more than one thing at a time can be disastrous. Discipline is crucial.

Because we are in a tech revolution, things move at a dizzying rate. Every day there is something new and exciting. Let other businesses be the guinea pig for new things. Often tech businesses use chumps like us to be their crash test dummies. They promise the world but actually they’re ironing out the kinks on your dime. Resist the siren song of the latest and greatest.

Before you spend a red cent, ask yourself three important questions. Will this make my business more efficient (and therefore more profitable)? Will this improve my customer’s experience? Will this give me a sustainable competitive advantage?

Every business must make it’s own decisions about what’s best, but I urge you to think very hard before investing in installed tech. Although it carries concerns about security, more often than not, a cloud-based solution is going to be the best bet because it comes with automatic updates and support that will keep you current without the high developer costs required when you “buy” a tech solution.

Tech is only as useful as the ability your business has to use it effectively. Prioritise training of your team so they become proficient quickly or you’ll face having expensive dramas that impact customers and that is something you do not need.

There is a time and place for “doing your own research” and forming judgements based on that. I suggest you stick to harmless pursuits like whether the earth is flat or a sphere, or whether there are things hidden in COVID vaccines. When it comes to serious matters like investment in tech, consult experts and by that I don’t mean software vendors. You know what they’re going to say. I mean independent people who have experience in selection and implementation of solutions. They aren’t cheap but not nearly as expensive as a failure.

The most important test of a new piece of tech is whether it makes life better for your customers. They don’t care what’s happening behind the curtain. What they care about is reliability, the right price and good service. If a new piece of tech isn’t going to deliver any of that, you are probably looking at the wrong thing.

Experience has led me to a very firm conclusion. Never launch until you have thoroughly crash tested a new system. The enthusiasm for change can be intoxicating and your legacy systems may look stale and obsolete but remember that the old thing got you to where you are now. Run in tandem wherever possible until the outputs from the new system match the old system and don’t go live until you and the team are completely confident that no-one is going to get hurt by the change.

Data security is pretty good these days, but don’t make any assumptions. Make a point of getting advice and reassurances from any vendor about how they keep your data safe. You probably won’t understand what they’re talking about, so this is where you should use your tech advisor.

If at any stage you would like to reach out and talk in more detail about any or all these issues, or even ones that aren’t mentioned, please call me on +64 275 665 682, email me at john.luxton@regenerationhq.co.nz or book a time to talk, either face to face or by Zoom. Any call will be free, confidential and with no obligation to do anything else.