Auditing Tools

Notes

Periodic Technology Reviews are Necessary due to Changing Needs & Technologies – In today’s world of fast-changing technology, many experts suggest that companies, firms and organization should review their technologies regularly as their needs change and as new technologies emerge. The reasoning is that technology can provide a competitive edge, and failing to embrace that competitive edge may allow your competition to prevail.

Lack of Technology Training Remains Top technological issue - Studies confirm that the number one problem with technology is a lack of training. For example, one Microsoft employee reported that most Excel users use only 6% of the products capabilities and most Outlook users use less than 5% of that product’s capabilities. Similar low usage results have been reported by several accounting software product employees. One Sage employee reported that at least 96% of all requested new features are already in the product. Ultimately, the evidence suggests that all companies need to do a better job training their employees how to use the technologies they have.

Justifying Technology - In general, technology should only be implemented if it is expected to produce greater work efficiencies, money savings, improved security, or a better work product.
Justifying the Cost of Technology - Many companies fret over justifying the cost of technology before making those expenditures, but according to one industry expert, “the right technologies don’t really cost anything as they tend to pay for themselves fairly quickly. For example, new computers that boot faster, launch applications faster, retrieve data faster, print faster, browse faster, and avoid freeze ups, can save 5 to 10 minutes a day, which translates to 20 to 40 hours per year. These efficiency savings multiplied by any billing rate you want to use suggest that costs should not be a great barrier to technology adoption.”

Companies can be Typed According to how Eagerly they Embrace Technology – Companies are often categorized according to how fast they tend to adopt new technologies. For example, 5MetaCom classifies companies as either Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, or Laggards. The diagram below depicts the proportion of companies that fall into each category.

Arguments can be made that early innovators and adopters often overspend for technology, and in some cases end up deploying unproven technologies that do not live up to their expectations. In some cases these companies are Beta testers and they provide feedback to the vendors for improving the products. Arguments can also be made that Late Majority and Laggards type companies tend to be less competitive in the marketplace, which in some cases leads to the decline of these companies while their competitors thrive. It appears that the safest and most reasonable option is to embrace the Early Majority concept of adopting those technologies once they are proven and go mainstream. Following are 5MetaCom’s definitions for each of these groups.

Innovators – Innovators are technology enthusiasts. They like technology for technology’s sake. They pursue new technology aggressively, learning about and evaluating new products in an effort to be first. They’re likely to try anything new. They’re also relatively few in number—so, for marketers, they represent a beachhead, an important source of references and referrals.
Early Adopters – Early adopters are visionaries, not technologists. They find it easy to imagine, understand, and appreciate the benefits of new technology. When it comes to high-tech products, they’re looking for fundamental breakthroughs, not small improvements. They care about ROI and see new technology as helping them reach a business goal in a hurry, before their window of opportunity closes.
Early Majority - Early majority customers are pragmatists. They’re ready to buy when someone else has taken the risk and worked out the bugs. Their goal is to make a percentage improvement, rather than a quantum leap. They see a technology decision as something they’re going to have to live with for a long time, so service is important. Once you win them, they’re extremely loyal.
Late Majority - Late majority adopters are conservative. They’re content to be followers, and often are not comfortable in their ability to handle new technology. They’re not going to buy until lots of others have the product, and what they’re using instead has become inconvenient. They are extremely service oriented and want lots of support. They won’t support high price margins.
Laggards - Laggards are skeptics. They are very late adopters and may, all things being equal, never adopt. In fact, their major role in the high-tech marketplace is to block purchases by pointing out that new systems don’t deliver on the promises that are made at the time of purchase.

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Tools for conducting technology audits