In order to remain competitive in a global economy, companies need to look at how business gets done, adapt to the changing needs of their customers and maintain competitive edge by integrating new technology. We for example, have developed an enterprise-wide change management software solution.

To maintain competitiveness, businesses need to continuously make changes in both processes and technology. Before any change can be implemented, motivation behind such change needs to be clear, understood and aligned to the improvement of operations, revenue growth and overall company goals.

Every change, be it process or technology, presents some challenges. When planning for integrating new technology, businesses need to identify challenges that those impacted by the change may experience, as they adjust and adopt the change. Companies need to look into why they are integrating the new technology to better understand how it will ultimately help those impacted.

Below, are some of the biggest challenges businesses face with new technological integration:

1. Lack of an effective digital transformation strategy: Without a detailed strategy that addresses the ‘What’, the ‘Why’, the ‘When’ and the ‘How’, implementation will only serve to frustrate those affected. It is important to create a compelling vision for what the technology is and what it’s going to do. The audience will need to know how the new technology will improve their lives and how it will positively disrupt their routine. All the benefits and impacts of the change will need to be presented in a detailed strategy program, which should also consider the impact on the business, it’s employees, suppliers and customers.
2. The rapid advancement of technology: The economy is increasingly driven by rapid technological change. In order to keep the competitive edge and access new opportunities, businesses need to stay abreast of latest trends and innovations in technology so that they can keep up with the rate of advancements. This requires an effective and skilful technical team to constantly re-define technological requirements.
3. Lack of communication and involvement: In order to increase early and rapid adoption, it is beneficial to get everyone aware of the upcoming integration. Being transparent with the new integration and sharing the transformation strategy and objectives will go a long way in making the audience feel part of the change. It might be ideal to demonstrate the new service offerings and the economic and rational benefits for the organisation and the individual. Get everyone to understand why the new technology is an improvement from what they had before. It is considerate to bear the users’ interest in mind, as functionality and user-friendliness will be critical to them.
4. The absence of Change Champions: It is critical to get a team of technology endorsers, early in the implementation stage, who will talk positively about the new technology and create excitement. Once the change is communicated, the team can further deal with concerns or uncertainties, and communicate benefits to those impacted, on a one-on-one basis.
5. Lack of training and upskilling: It is vital to identify, manage, train and upskill those impacted by the new technology. For those who are not tech-savvy, training maybe seen as a challenge, so it is advisable to run comparative pilots and encourage them to do trials and get feedback. This will help guide the type, method and intensity of training required.
6. Instability: Before any new technology can be integrated or implemented, those in charge must first spend time researching and identifying possible risks that might result in inability and ineffectiveness of the new technology. To avoid such, a pilot operation to serve as experiment and prove technical feasibility, will be required.
7. Lack of a contingency plan: With every new technology comes risks and vulnerabilities. Before any technology is implemented, a detailed implementation strategy with a contingency plan to minimise disruptions, needs to be in place.

In conclusion, expectations on the new technology should be realistic, the impact understood, and barriers and risks investigated and identified in order to ensure that the integration of the new technology is delivered and adopted.