[/caption]
Why is it that, as we grow older, we are so reluctant to change it is not so much that new ideas are painful, for they are not. It is that old ideas are seldom entirely false, but have truth, great truth in them. The justification for conservatism is the desire to preserve the truths and standards of the past its dangers, of which we are seldom aware, is that in preserving those values, we may miss the infinitely greater riches that lie in the future. – Dr. Dale E. Turner
In a prior post I discussed the inflection point that organizations go though. In this post I would like to explore with you the IT side of the inflection point.
When companies are young, there is often abundant enthusiasm, and a scarcity of funds. From an IT perspective your decision horizon is also not too far out. You will typically have comparatively few users for the systems you have to build (or buy, or rent, or…). The criteria that you have to work with will typically be very basic functionality, low volume, and little interaction between functions. Given that the expectation that you will pull off minor miracles with two quarters and a dime, the best and easiest answer is to develop point solutions with minimal investment in the software platform. If you have enough foresight to the types of applications required ahead of time you may even invest time in an application and system architecture. Congratulate yourself if were able to pull this off in the typical start-up organization. I would bet that in most cases the question the talented IT people ask is “what happens when our volume goes to x?”, the answer invariably comes back as “That will be a good problem to have. We’ll worry about it then!”
If your business is fortunate, and wise investments are made to drive growth, you will pass an inflection point and be profitable. Sales and marketing functions will have received the needed attention, front line operations and customer service will typically be addressed. At the same time it will be necessary to decrease expenses through continuous improvement and refinements to the applications that were built in the early stages. Unfortunately, IT typically will not receive the investment required to keep up with the other functions. What IT investment is made will be of the “tweaking” variety. Almost by definition you will have created not only a much greater number of people who will use the applications, but will have matured the business processes to the point where they may not resemble those for which the original applications were designed. The point solutions may work, but they were intended and designed for a different world.
At some point, you will cross an IT inflection point. This is the point that the systems created in the early days no longer function as expected in the new reality, with the current and project volumes, larger number of users, more complex processing logic, greater inter-system interaction. This inflection point is not obvious. Problems will occur more frequently. Problems will be more impactful. Problems will be more difficult to diagnose. Problems will be multivariate in cause. It is not easy to point to a single cause and find the silver bullet to put an end to your problems. The off-hand comment of “That will be a good problem to have…” doesn’t feel like a good problem any more. You may have outgrown your technology. You may have move review and reposition all your applications to address the new world you are now in and the growth in your forecast.
This could be costly – to say the least. The longer it takes to realize the situation you have found yourself in, the more expensive it will be. That concept of profitability, as alluring as it is, may be short lasting. Can you afford to take an emotional step back from profitability to go back in the red (maybe significantly so). Looked at another way, can you afford not to?
thanks !! very helpful post!