Implementation of Technology Solutions

It seems like every week there’s new technology available to help your business run more smoothly, from a point-of-sale (POS) installation that tracks sales and inventory, to payroll software that requires minimal work on your part. It is critical that you carefully pick and choose the new technological solutions that truly benefit the unique needs of your company without being cost prohibitive.

Once you decide on the new technology, you then need to work on implementation for your business. The implementation process is key to the success of the product. You want the implementation to go as seamlessly as possible, so you can start reaping the benefits of the new technology. McNurlin Hitchcock & Associates, PC can help make the implementation process easier for you.

Steps for Implementing New Technology

Very few technology products are designed as “open box” ready. You may find more problems than expected if you have guidance and a plan for the new technology product. It’s almost always beneficial for you to take a few steps before implementing your new technology.

While there are established steps for most technology implementation processes, there could be a few that are time intensive, and there could also be a few that may not be necessary. It is important to build your plan using a step by step process.

What Are the Needs Required by the New Technology?

In some cases, you already have everything you need to set up and run the new technology that you want for your business. When this isn’t the case, you might need to make additional purchases to ensure that you can use your new software or hardware.

It might be something as simple as updating the operating system on your computers, or you might need to purchase new devices, such as cameras, phones, or tablets to be able to operate the new technology. It’s essential that you carefully review any requirements as part of the selection process.

By reviewing the needs and ensuring that you have them in place, the new product launch will run much better. The goal is to avoid delays caused by supply chain issues if you have to wait and purchase additional items to run your new tech.

What Exactly Is the New Technology?

New technology comes in all shapes and sizes. It might be a robotic arm to help your assembly line, or software to aid in finance tracking and accounting. Some of the most common types of technology that companies adopt include:

Accounting software
Billing software
Website
Email tool
POS system
Inventory tools

The possibilities around new technology to help your business can be almost endless. McNurlin Hitchcock can help you choose and implement the tech that helps with your financial health.

Before you implement your new technology, you need to know exactly what it is and what it does. You want to have realistic expectations of how this new technology will function within your company and the people involved in its use.

Who Will Be Using the New Technology?

Some technology is meant to be used company-wide, such as new email tools, while other items are meant for a specific task and used by a limited number of people, such as payroll software. It is important to ask the vendor how they invoice as many software packages will be priced based on the number of users and/or licenses.

Before you buy and implement new technology for your business, you need to take a look at who you think will benefit from it and use it most often within your company. Some companies will adopt new technology and try to make all departments use it when it’s really only meant to be used by a specific team.

If it’s new software, you need to ensure that it will cooperate with the other programs that you most often use around the office. Knowing who will use the new tech will make the next step easier.

Develop a Training Schedule for the New Technology

Even if the new tech is only meant to be used by one department, you probably can’t afford for the entire team to stop working and spend a few hours or days training on the new technology. This means that you need to set up a schedule for training.

Do you want to train the manager and then let them train the others? Is it better to train only the people who will use the new technology? Or do you want additional people with the knowledge to use it?

Once you determine the overall training plan, the next step is to define the length of time it will take for training. When creating your training schedule, keep in mind that some employees will learn faster than others, and schedule enough time for everyone to learn it.

Start a Beta Test of the New Technology

With a little training under their belt, it’s time to let a few people who will be using the new technology beta test. Essentially, you let a few people use it while others continue to utilize the old software or tools.

The beta testers will help you locate any bugs or unexpected challenges with the new technology before everyone in the office is using it. This gives you the chance to work out any issues before rolling it out to everyone.

Select McNurlin Hitchcock for a Smooth Integration of New Technology

After researching and choosing a new form of technology to help improve your company in some way, you want the implementation to run seamlessly, so you can begin reaping the benefits sooner. This requires taking the right steps as you adopt the new technology.

At McNurlin Hitchcock & Associates, PC, our team can work with you and your employees to ensure the adoption of new technology runs smoothly and helps you realize the benefits more quickly. We have the skills and experience you need. Reach out to us today to learn more or with any questions you have.