IT Implementation Beyond the Hype

There are five clear stages in the evolution of any technology or solution. In the first stage, the technology gets defined. There is no product yet, and at best some prototypes may be available. Stage two is when products become commercially available.

a: The technology is getting defined b: The first products are out; vendors jostle for position c:  Hype machine at full blast; early adopters implement; too early for business to profit from implementation d:  Hype dies down as the industry goes on to the ‘next big thing’ e:  Hype has died; the technology has stabilized; the rest of the world starts implementing it, and profit from it

There is an intense jostling for positioning by different vendors, and the hype starts. Stage three is when some early adopters start using the product. The hype machine is in full blast now, recounting the wonders that the products did for the early adopters. What they do not tell you is about those extra miles they had to go to make those adoptions happen. This is possibly the stage when most of you seriously consider implementing it. But most businesses will still not benefit from an implementation, and if you do implement, better be ready to go for a rough ride as specs and technologies change rapidly.

In stage four, the hype starts slowing down, as the IT industry shifts its focus to the ‘next big thing’ and starts jostling for positioning there. This is the time when the technology and the associated products either mature or die off. If they mature, then we move on to stage five, when the rest of us can implement it, and reap business benefits.

How long do these stages last? Wish I had a crystal ball to predict that. That said, there are a number of areas where the technologies have matured enough for you to implement them and reap business

benefits.

In this issue we give a basic guide to many of the matured technologies and processes that you can implement, and get real business benefits out of.

Krishna Kumar