In part one of a three-part series, Microsoft's Brett Roberts looks at how to set an IT strategy for difficult economic days.
KEY POINTS:
There's something priceless about the look on a business owner's face when it all comes together.
The "I didn't know you could do that" smile followed by a "why didn't we do this years ago" grimace.
Not only does a bit of smart software help the bottom line, it makes people's working lives better.
Anyone who knows the owner of a small (or even a medium-sized) business will identify with the time spent balancing the books at the kitchen table. That's seen as a rite of passage and for some businesses in the early stages it's a necessity. But there comes a point when to become truly competitive, businesses have to let go.
Just as busy professionals often struggle to delegate tasks because they incorrectly believe they can do them quicker, cheaper and better, a small business owner toils convinced he or she can't afford the software - even though all the rational evidence says it will free up the time to help build revenues and profits.
Many of us are not at the point where we will truly trust technology - be it telecommunications, hardware, software - to do the hard work for us.
That's understandable. It's hard to work out what to do when faced with all the competing messages.
Why would you want to spend more on accounting-based software when you can't see how it will put more money in your pocket? And how do you justify expenditure to upgrade systems and processes that aren't broken? And if you get on the technology bandwagon, will you ever be able to get off?
If you've taken a bunch of files to the bach, or cut short your family holiday to return to the office, then you may already be thinking about the answers. Take the insurance broker who spent weekends manually calculating premium equations and writing cover notes by hand. Today, a clever Excel-based application and email-enabled mobile phone is worth three games of golf a week.
Or take the biochemical business whose intellectual property was locked into paper-based processes rendering the company a fire or theft away from financial ruin.
Or the New Zealand Rugby Union. Upgrading its email platforms to allow team members access to email anywhere from any device kicked its operational performance forward.
Or trail-blazing hi-tech company Rakon, which uses software to centralise its business operations and maintain a simple, holistic view of its customers, where everyone on its team has access to the same information at the same time, regardless of location.
None of these technology investments were bank-breakers. All complied to straightforward business cases and each has generated a return that can be measured in real terms. Importantly, each replaced or improved an existing function.
It's not about doing business differently, just better.
* Brett Roberts is National Technology Officer for Microsoft New Zealand.
