Technology planning implies to the process of identifying and outlining the tech-based solutions and devices a business may need to achieve goals. Previously Anand Jayapalan had spoken about how program directors and management teams generally collaborate to decide which digital tools can be the most beneficial for the business. Proper research and planning is needed to make sure that the management teams make the right investment. To create a technology plan, a company may follow these steps:
- Create a technology planning team: A technology plan must incorporate ideas that reflect the entire company. Hence, to create it, one would need a team that includes employees from multiple departments. The team leader must assign goals and responsibilities to each of the members prior to starting the planning process. Regular meetings should be scheduled so that members can collaborate and review the technology plan.
- Examine existing technology: After the planning team is established, its members have to take inventory of the existing software and hardware systems of the company. The team should try to identify if the company benefits from its current technology, which tech requires improvements or repairs, which systems should be replaced and so on.
- Outline priorities of the technology plan: The technology planning team must identify the main goals of the plan. Usually, companies prioritize their strategy to solve important problems like replacing an obsolete legacy system. Technology plans may even focus on leveraging new opportunities in certain cases. Assessment of the existing technology of a company would provide the team with a good understanding of the goals they need to prioritise.
- Identify tech solutions: Based on the technology goals and objectives identified, one has to explore varied solutions for them. This stage would involve extensive research on diverse software, hardware, and other digital tools.
- Create a budget for the plan: A budget must be created for the new tech tools and solutions to protect the bottom line of the business. It would be a good idea to break down the costs of diverse systems to effectively determine the budget. It is vital to consider both long-term and short-term expenses at this stage. A company is likely to incur regular expenses for data storage, network, and IT labor, and hence the budget needs to have capital reserved for such expenses.
- Find a tech vendor: The technology planning team should try to search for a vendor or tech tool that effectively aligns with their budget and needs. Many software providers today have scalable packages, which allow companies to purchase specific features that will help them achieve their objectives. The technology planning team needs to conduct a comprehensive research and compare the packages offered by varied vendors. This would help make sure that the company is investing in the right tools and prevent delays in executing the technology plan.
Earlier, Anand Jayapalan had mentioned that after a company has chosen its technology vendor partner, the timeline for the technology plan implementation should be developed. This shall involve setting deadlines or benchmarks for integrating software and training employees on how to use it.
