In the highly digitized world in which we live in, every company needs a technology roadmap. The organization that identifies the gaps between their business objectives and technology capabilities and effectively fills the gaps rises to the top. This is why having a technology roadmap is not just beneficial but necessary whether you are an established business or a start-up, and whether you are a large, global organization or an SMB.
What is a technology roadmap?
A technology roadmap is a long-term vision of the company’s technology needs, and it provides clarity on how to best invest in new technology solutions. By planning for future business growth from the beginning, you can avoid wasted time and resources by investing in solutions that won’t be needed or will soon become outmoded.
An effective technology roadmap helps an organization align their IT and system capabilities to business needs. It presents the strategic approach statement to implementing new technology in a timely and cost effective manner.
Humans are visual beings. CEOs and their executive teams find it most helpful when a technology roadmap is a visual representation of the technology required to meet their business needs and advance their mission.
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Why do companies need a technology roadmap?
The main benefit of having a good technology roadmap is how it helps CEOs and their functional executive teams identify gaps between their IT and technology capabilities and their business growth objectives. Identifying the gaps and creating a plan to close the gaps allows the business to make informed and smart technology investment decisions. Redundancy, overspend, lack of data hygiene caused by unintegrated technologies, and lack of ROI are common challenges that can be avoided when organizations effectively utilize a strategic technology roadmap.
How to start creating a successful technology roadmap that actually adds value
We recommend organizations take a holistic approach to a technology roadmap to realize the full business value it brings. A holistic technology roadmap should look at the following seven areas: insights and automation, brand experience, productivity, core business applications, departmental business applications, infrastructure, and security. To read details on each of the seven elements and why it is important to include all seven of them in your technology roadmap, take a look at this blog: The CEO's Technology Strategy Framework.
Based on the evaluation of the seven aspects of your technology framework, the next step is to create must do, should do, and could do lists. Just the way homeowners would like to renovate one or a few areas of their house to maintain some normalcy with their life during renovation, it is recommended to create three different lists and take on a few projects at a time rather than being too ambitious.
When you are ready to take a leap to create a comprehensive technology roadmap to accelerate the growth of your organization, contact us to get right on it.
Workshop to help you understand more about the Technology Strategy Framework
Storytelling and a demo are usually the best ways to learn about a concept, aren't they? Run by our CTO, a Technology Roadmap Workshop for CEOs is a great way to learn more about the Technology Strategy Framework and how to create your own.
It is a monthly workshop. Pick a date that works best with your schedule and join us. Click the image below to grab your spot.
