Major Solution-Development Problem for 2009: Companies Fail to Embrace Risk

Bob Weinstein is a journalist who covers technology, project management, the workplace and career development.

 

One thing is certain: New technologies never stop coming, no matter what shape the economy is in.  They’re like a water faucet that can’t be turned off. The quality of new releases usually has a lot to do with IT budgets, which expand and contract with market fluctuations. But even if budgets are slashed, companies find ways to recycle or update older releases so they appear new and better. Often they are.

Despite shaky market conditions, most companies fail to consider the risks involved in implementing new technologies, asserts Ken Zivic, director of integrated solutions at Skokie, IL-based IT consulting firm Forsythe Solutions. “Risks come in many forms, and there are catalysts for all of them,” he says. They include the following:

The pace at which new technologies are implemented
There is a serious disconnect between the people creating technology and the people implementing it. Under the best conditions, it’s not possible to send software straight from the drawing board to production. Perfecting a software solution is a lengthy process. First, it has to be thoroughly understood, and not just from a theoretical standpoint. Then it has to be tested in order to get the bugs out. That can take weeks, months, even years. But if pressure is exerted from the top to get new technology on the market before the competition gets there first, …

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