4 perils of being an IT pioneer

The speed at which enterprises adopt emerging technology is widely acknowledged as a key driver of success. As a result, organizations often rush to adopt new technology believing it will make them operationally more efficient and enhance their competitiveness. Proponents of early technology adoption further argue that it enables companies to build informal relationships with leading technology providers, develop deeper understanding of the latest technologies, and lure better talent.

But there are also certain inherent risks associated with this. In their quest to become early adopters of a new technology, organizations may throw caution to the wind resulting in disastrous consequences. Here are four major setbacks that business and IT leaders could encounter if they rush to adopt a new technology without due diligence.      

Lack of support

Finding resources who are skilled with a new technology can be a challenge. For instance, there is still a significant skill shortage in relatively new technologies such as AI. This skills gap is conspicuous at both ends — at the technology provider and at the enterprise where the technology is being implemented. The absence of desired skilled resources can cause serious roadblocks in the successful implementation of a new technology.

A senior IT leader from a bank confronted this challenge while working with a fintech provider. “We were building a solution through which a third party could open current accounts on our bank’s behalf. At that time, enterprise service bus was the preferred technology for connecting digital services. We decided to leverage API, which was then an emerging technology. The solution’s proof-of-concept was successful, and the solution went live. The business folks went all out as they wanted to get the maximum out of the solution. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the desired support from the vendor on the production side and the implementation failed,” he says, on condition of anonymity.

For the technology leader from the bank, it served as a valuable lesson. “From then on, I always ensure there is an explicit agreement, with respect to annual maintenance contract and support team, with the vendor in writing. I tell them that there is money lying on the table provided they sign the agreement,” he says.

Although time consuming, upskilling in-house resources on the new technology can also prevent an IT leader from finding themselves in such a situation.