Choosing the right tech for your company’s future
More than 20 years ago, Jack Welch, then chief executive of General Electric, said that information systems would be his company’s top priority. Since then, technology enablement of key corporate strategies hasn’t lost its place at the head of the priority list for most companies, whether the technology is an electronic medical record (EMR), drone deliveries of consumer goods, or new ways to monetize home services by sensor-enabling home appliances.
Another technology factor hasn’t changed much for chief executives: Technology doesn’t work well unless it can link into an existing base of legacy technologies and be well positioned to integrate with technologies that have yet to be invented. In other words, you can’t afford to invest anymore in a rogue operating system, an esoteric telecommunications protocol, or a piece of hardware whose future is solely dependent on its vendor’s survival or on its connectivity being accepted as a de facto industry standard.