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HOUSTON BUSINESS REVIEW
COST-EFFECTIVE IT: Integration with the Business Process
By Richard Sonnier
Houston Business Show Commentator Richard Sonnier, of the Information Technology Services firm Nimble Services, provides weekly information on our show about information technology issues. Mr. Sonnier can be reached at 281.445.4800 x 250 or via email.
This week I discuss integrating your new IT system with the business process.
Don't Focus on the Technology
At this point in creating money saving technology, you have create the new IT system to meet your design; and it works great. Now, you need to make sure you reap the returns on your investment. You need to fully integrate this new system into your business. Don't fall into a technology mindset. Often you will want to keep polishing, tuning and expanding the system. You will understand so much more about what the technology could do. How it could more. Save those ideas for the next generation of the system. Instead focus on the inputs and the outputs of the new system.
The Inputs
You need to feed the new system with the correct information. For example, you may need to collect information from your suppliers and load it into the system. Don't forgot to create a process to keep this information current. Perhaps someone on you staff can review this information annually.
The Outputs
Your new system produces results that you need. Now, you need to push those results downstream into the rest of the business. Perhaps it tracks deliveries to customers so you need to define the process of how to use this tracking.
Summary
You have built a nice automation engine. Make sure to hook it up. Many successfully implemented IT systems fail to deliver their full business value because people are reluctant to change. Thus, the shiny new automation engine sits on the side of the business barely used. Changing the business is hard work. Don't let that derail your new system.
Next week, I will continue this discussion by focusing on training your staff to use the improved business process.
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Richard Sonnier Archive
- Hot Information Technology Summer 2005 (August 2005, Issue No. 4, Thursday Edition)
- Testing and Reaping Your Reward (August 2005, Issue No. 3, Thursday Edition)
- Training the New Business Process (August 2005, Issue No. 2, Thursday Edition)
- Integration with the Business Process (July 2005, Issue No. 1, Thursday Edition)
- Putting It All Together (June 2005, Issue No. 3, Thursday Edition)
- Getting the Right Hardware and Software (June 2005, Issue No. 2, Thursday Edition)
- Designing the System (May 2005, Issue No. 3, Thursday Edition)
- Identifying Opportunities (May 2005, Issue No. 2, Thursday Edition)
- Money Saving Technology (May 2005, Issue No. 1, Thursday Edition)
- Wireless Inventory (April 2005, Issue No. 2, Thursday Edition)
- Cell Phone Applications (March 2005, Issue No. 5, Thursday Edition)
- Cell Phone 2005 (March 2005, Issue No. 4, Thursday Edition)
- Open Source Compiere (March 2005, Issue No. 3, Thursday Edition)
- The Compiere Difference (March 2005, Issue No. 1, Thursday Edition)
- Compiere (February 2005, Issue No. 4, Monday Edition)
- Web Forms (February 2005, Issue No. 3, Monday Edition)
- Dreamweaver Product Review (February 2005, Issue No. 1, Monday Edition)
- Web Development (January 2005, Issue No. 4, Monday Edition)
- Linux And Open Source 2005 (January 2005, Issue No. 3, Monday Edition)
- Planning The New Year (January 2005, Issue No. 1, Monday Edition)
- Service-Oriented IT (December 2004, Issue No. 4, Monday Edition)
- Photo No-No! (December 2004, Issue No. 2, Monday Edition)
- 100 Megabit Wireless (December 2004, Issue No. 1, Thursday Edition)
- Wireless Technologies (November 2004, Issue No. 2, Monday Edition)
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