In response to this week's question, I'd like to quote Einstein as he put it very nicely, 'Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler'. To me, this is about recognising the complexity of systems and appreciating that complexity cannot – and should not – be removed.
In our businesses, IT systems are productivity tools and need to align to our business requirements. As businesses are handcrafted by people, they rarely form a perfect fit with a computer system. Computer systems are complex, and research into what to use for each component of your technology solution is essential.
In a small business enterprise, it is very difficult to determine what the best technology solution actually is. Additionally, it is very difficult to find any particular advisor who provides solid advice; without coming into your business and analysing your requirements.
Over the past eight years, during the course of visiting many SMEs every week, I have observed that the very skill of analysis is often missing in the SME sector. As a result, many businesses simply buy a solution and hope that it works.
There is actually a gap in our industry caused by people getting the 'advice they need' from a person selling a solution – not exactly objective! When somebody comes out from a software company to advise you on how to upgrade your accounting software, they are not there to analyse your business – they are there to sell you their solution. The nature of this visit is therefore a 'make it fit' approach.
There is now an emerging trend for a roving CIO to visit SMEs to assist with analysis. The benefit of this style of service is that a lot of the necessary research has been done before, and so economies of scale are achieved despite the relatively high hourly rate. If the roving CIO has designed systems for several businesses already that year, it is safe to assume they have already done a lot of research into what is available, and will be equipped to guide the outcome more effectively.
A specialist like this can reduce your risk of purchasing the wrong product or solution, and can provide valuable guidance on the implementation. They might also be able to save you time and distraction by providing IT project management skills as well. I have seen many businesses use a project manager without IT knowledge to run their IT project, because they thought it was just another project. I have not seen one of these projects run well, despite many of the project managers being very capable people. They did not know what they did not know, and fell into pitfalls that are inherent in the IT industry.
Similarly, on the IT infrastructure side with PCs, servers, networks and the standard fair of email, spam filters, anti-virus and so on, you can find experts who work with hundreds of small businesses who have tested dozens of applications in the past year, and know which systems deliver the greatest benefit. By tapping into their knowledge rather than trying to do in-house testing and selection, small businesses can save many hours of research time and reduce the risk of buying poor-quality products.
Most small businesses only need a few hours of high-quality advice each year, and many hours of tactical delivery and maintenance on these IT systems.
Therefore, maintaining these high-level IT skills in-house is just not the right approach unless your business is to be the roving CIO or system architect.
So, to reduce your time seeking the best IT solution for your business, the best advice I have is to find a good strategic advisor or advisors, and develop a relationship with them to ensure you can trust the advice you receive.
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