For most small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) technology has been traditionally viewed as a cost of doing business or even a necessary evil to doing business. Over the years, the proliferation of
April 3, 2007 (Press Release) --
How to Address Technology Over-spending and Under-utilization
For most small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) technology has been traditionally viewed as a cost of doing business or even a necessary evil to doing business. Over the years, the proliferation of the Internet has provided businesses a seemingly limitless means to access, communicate and collaborate corporate and client data. This has now resulted in most organizations today being increasingly more reliant on technology to operate, communicate and manage their business effectively.
Unfortunately, many businesses today still view technology and related services similarly to insurance – they don’t need it until something bad happens! Why do most people view technology from this perspective? What should organizations do to change this problematic view of such a key enabler to their business, not to mention one of their largest monthly expenditures?
For years the technology supply chain has been influenced by a handful of large software and hardware vendors whose sole focus was (and still is) technology innovation. They have basically over-marketed themselves and their wares to businesses and consumers on the premise that “you need our latest and greatest” technology to make you more productive, efficient, save costs, etc. Unfortunately, this has left many businesses in a position today where the two major issues with respect to technology are:
•Over-spending – the fact the average SMB spends $360 per user per month on technology for an industry total of $400 billion annually.
•Under-utilization – the fact that only 15% of this investment in technology is actually utilized by these businesses.
Most business owners and decision-makers have purchased technology “in a vacuum” without really understanding the impact these investments has on their business. Poorly conceived technology procurement and service plans can, in fact, negatively impact business productivity. While large enterprises can address this through budget and headcount, small and medium-sized businesses have been left in the untenable situation of looking for answers to questions they really don’t understand. The result – a do more with less approach to technology or alternatively the “pay and pray” break-fix outsource model where companies pay for technology time rather than uptime.
The Utility Approach
To help businesses better understand technology, The Utility Company recently launched a free business-technology online assessment service called the Utility Meter Reading. The Utility Meter Reading assesses a business in four categories: spending, operations, communications and management. The online assessment available at www.theutilitycompany.com examines these key areas and provides a report on how you are faring in terms of your current technology spending versus its effectiveness in meeting your business objectives in key areas such as sales, marketing, customer service, HR and fi
For most small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) technology has been traditionally viewed as a cost of doing business or even a necessary evil to doing business. Over the years, the proliferation of the Internet has provided businesses a seemingly limitless means to access, communicate and collaborate corporate and client data. This has now resulted in most organizations today being increasingly more reliant on technology to operate, communicate and manage their business effectively.
Unfortunately, many businesses today still view technology and related services similarly to insurance – they don’t need it until something bad happens! Why do most people view technology from this perspective? What should organizations do to change this problematic view of such a key enabler to their business, not to mention one of their largest monthly expenditures?
For years the technology supply chain has been influenced by a handful of large software and hardware vendors whose sole focus was (and still is) technology innovation. They have basically over-marketed themselves and their wares to businesses and consumers on the premise that “you need our latest and greatest” technology to make you more productive, efficient, save costs, etc. Unfortunately, this has left many businesses in a position today where the two major issues with respect to technology are:
•Over-spending – the fact the average SMB spends $360 per user per month on technology for an industry total of $400 billion annually.
•Under-utilization – the fact that only 15% of this investment in technology is actually utilized by these businesses.
Most business owners and decision-makers have purchased technology “in a vacuum” without really understanding the impact these investments has on their business. Poorly conceived technology procurement and service plans can, in fact, negatively impact business productivity. While large enterprises can address this through budget and headcount, small and medium-sized businesses have been left in the untenable situation of looking for answers to questions they really don’t understand. The result – a do more with less approach to technology or alternatively the “pay and pray” break-fix outsource model where companies pay for technology time rather than uptime.
The Utility Approach
To help businesses better understand technology, The Utility Company recently launched a free business-technology online assessment service called the Utility Meter Reading. The Utility Meter Reading assesses a business in four categories: spending, operations, communications and management. The online assessment available at www.theutilitycompany.com examines these key areas and provides a report on how you are faring in terms of your current technology spending versus its effectiveness in meeting your business objectives in key areas such as sales, marketing, customer service, HR and fi
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