For a long time, the most effective way for an organization to benefit from the power of IT required committing to a single vendor’s technology ecosystem.
You bought or leased the designated hardware on which you ran the designated software and, perhaps, a compatible service or two. But when you inevitably bumped into the limits of your chosen technology ecosystem, you faced a stark choice:
Either give up on that capability you were hoping to implement in the manner that would serve your business best — or alter the way your business operated in order to “sort of” get at least some of what you needed from the technology ecosystem in which you’d already invested plenty.
Typically, technology customization stayed out of reach and businesses were cornered into the second option, forced to adapt to the technology tools available rather than the other way around. Certainly, the ecosystem vendors didn’t mind, as customer lock-in proved extremely profitable.
Opportunities to escape
In too many ways for too many organizations, this approach to IT lingers — even though the times and the technologies are changing and we at last have real opportunities for technology customization to meet our enterprise’s unique needs.
Some of the reasons for staying with the old ways involve little more than habit, but for many enterprises, a difficult legacy of system and software lock-in remains. It’s not obvious how to escape this legacy without shoving the entire organization into technological upheaval.
Which technologies should you pay attention to?
How do you sift through all the factors that feed your technology decisions — such as what your competitors are up to, your appetite for risk, your financial constraints, what potential opportunities you envision?
And what problems lurk in your technology infrastructure that must be recognized and rectified before you can move forward?
All told, the leap from legacy to future may simply seem too daunting.
Who you gonna call?
This is precisely where an experienced provider of technology consulting services can make a difference.
In my next post, I’ll examine the myriad ways the right technology consulting services provider can help you hone today’s information technologies into the uniquely customized toolset and capabilities you need going forward.
For now, though, I offer some advice about three features to look for in a technology consulting services provider:
- An extensive vendor-neutral technology services skillset, including integrated managed services, cloud services, and technical staffing with a wide-ranging, professional services portfolio emphasizing technology customization.
- An ability to respond with speed as well as depth of skill that ensures its experts are appropriately credentialed and certified.
- A variety of expert-delivered assessments that can help you understand how today’s technologies can enable your business to thrive and show you the various technology customization paths open to you.
