Tips For Succeeding At Tech Adoption

Today's competitive environment demands that truly progressive companies do more than simply embrace new technologies. What often differentiates organizations such as TransUnion Interactive is how they approach the overall process of technology adoption and how successful that process is in leading to tangible business benefits. TransUnion Interactive credits its pragmatic, measured process with its ability to reap maximum reward. Here's how we do it:

TransUnion always starts the process by establishing a concrete vision of near- to midterm needs. This is a crucial first step that will influence your evaluation methodology for a given solution and ultimate success criteria. Likewise, you need to be up front regarding the criteria with the vendor from the beginning of the process to maximize the potential for your objectives to be met.

Choosing to test technology that impacts multiple areas of a company during the testing phase can be difficult, but you'll reap the rewards of a broader and faster ROI.

Waiting for the next version of a product can cost you considerable competitive advantages, including the chance to influence the evolution of the product to meet your future needs, not just the short-term challenges.

Don't get tied into lengthy evaluation cycles. Being able to move on to the next test option in a timely fashion is key. So if it isn't working quickly, give it back and move on.

Push for an aggressive ROI. Emerging technologies need to pay off in less than a year. Make sure you determine the most relevant cost metrics and value-add analysis to be used in the evaluation and negotiation process. These results can then be easily shared across the enterprise and acted on.

Scott Metzger is CTO of TransUnion Interactive, a subsidiary of TransUnion, a credit and information management company with offices in more than 30 countries.

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The Allure Of New IT