Use Proactive Technology Management

Use Proactive Technology Management

Now that we're entering a new year, it's time to look at our offices and find ways to manage our technology more efficiently. We can do so with proactive technology management or with reactive technology management.

I advocate proactive over reactive management. Proactive management involves replacing technology before its failures disrupt operations. Reactive management involves replacing components to extend a workstation's useful life and also temporarily reduces expenses.

Let us suppose that your office has a few workstations. Some are older than 3 years and the rest are newer. One of the office's 3+ year old computers starts running slowly. The user complains that she is unable to run a necessary application with acceptable speed, the workstation freezes "more than ever" and that general operations are "downright slow." Under Reactive technology management, you would place a service call. The technician would add memory (RAM) or replace the workstation's CPU. A month later, the technician receives another call that the same workstation has a problem. This time, the power supply has failed. He replaces the power supply and waits for your next service call on this 3+ year old computer. The pattern of failing hardware continues. You would find yourself investing more time, energy and money in the old workstation. This does not save management the burden of losing faith in the old hardware and eventually buying a replacement.

Under Proactive technology management, your firm would have budgeted to replace workstations on their 3 year anniversaries. When a workstation started showing symptoms of hardware failures, you would simply purchase its budgeted replacement. Proactive technology management does not mean we automatically replace computers on their 3 year anniversary. It does however mean we should budget for that replacement and continue using that computer until its user(s) report flagrant performance degradation.

I've also found that clients who utilize proactive technology management a) are more prosperous, and b) stay in business. 2007 has proven itself a litmus test year for those who have wise business practices and those who don't. Perhaps it's because those who do survive view technology as a tool to run the business. Employees use these tools to generate work product.

Let's also discuss pricing. I usually tell clients to budget $800 for a replacement workstation and add $400 for a new LCD monitor. That leaves us at $1200, before software.

I know some of you are reading this and yelling: "Mark, I can get a new computer for less than $1200"! No argument there. $1200 is a fair budget figure for a new computer and LCD monitor. You can pick and choose options when shopping retail or at varied web sites including www.Dell.com. The important point here is to budget for a replacement when your computers hit their 3-year anniversaries. If you're using notebook computers, I suggest budgeting a 2 ½ year lifespan.

Since we own computers, we manage technology. We can manage technology proactively or reactively. The choice is yours.