A well-defined technology strategy and roadmap is a critical part of operational success. It should include a clear vision and timetable of how the organisation will grow and how technology can support that growth.
A technology roadmap can allow companies to:
- Make more considered technology investments based on a clearly-defined path
- Be flexible enough to adjust according to market developments without losing direction altogether
- Prepare for major technology investments in the future by setting out the expected lifecycle for each component of the infrastructure
- Budget more effectively, avoiding (where possible) large, one-off expenses
A key role of our Account Managers is to sit down with clients and put together a technology strategy that will support their business outcomes over the next year, or even a few years.
A useful technology roadmap should include these six key elements:
1. Roles Overview
The technology plan should include an overview of how key stakeholders, systems integrators, IT support staff, technicians, and heads of each business unit will work together to achieve desired outcomes. This will ensure that everyone knows their roles and responsibilities, it will keep the project on track from the outset, and help with identifying and resolving issues sooner.
2. Milestones
A set of milestones along the journey that team members can aim for is important and helps employees to get on board with a growth strategy. This focus gives them both incentive and direction to work towards hitting achievable, smaller goals along the way.
3. Change Management
When employees feel invested in achieving the organisation’s goals they are more likely to work productively towards them. This can be through formal or informal incentives, and should certainly be encouraged via an explicit change management component of the plan.
A change management plan helps teams work around any disruption created by new systems and lets them address any issues head-on. For example, managers can implement a training timetable for staff, ahead of the transformation, so that by the time it rolls around, employees are well-versed in how the new technology will work. As a result, there should be no loss of productivity while everyone adapts to the use of new technology in business.
4. Communications Tactics and Goals
Better technology should make people’s jobs easier. To get staff on board with any big move in a business, they need to understand how their roles will change for the better, and what the benefits will be. The use of new technology in business often frees time to focus on more strategic or enjoyable tasks or to get through a backlog of work faster. Organisations should communicate this information clearly and regularly to drive adoption.
5. Reporting
Reporting should be part of the technology plan from the very start. It is the most important part of keeping the project on target. Regular reporting provides a clear indication of progress and helps identify delays or setbacks, earlier on in the process. A trusted technology partner should keep you up to date and on track with the initiatives in the technology roadmap plan. At Brennan, our Self Service Portal has a live IT roadmap tracker, so that all stakeholders have full visibility of how things are going.
To speak to one of our team today about building and implementing a strong technology roadmap, get in touch with us here or call us on 1300 500 000.