| | December - January19E ERGYTech ReviewTechnology is an enabler. You've undoubtedly heard this phrase before, but what does it really mean? It's used by leaders across industries to champion new technology while recognizing that people-and-process is still king. It's an acknowledgment that things like culture and business strategy still play a leading role. And while those things are largely true, this mindset can lead to a limiting approach to technology management. It can lead to missing out on true process-redefining technology ­ the technology that brings the most significant benefit. Proponents of technology as an enabler believe the business process should drive technology, not the other way around. But when we look at the broad categories of technology, we can begin to see the limitations. For this framework, we're going to consider technology as fitting into four buckets:Forced: Perhaps a vendor killed a software or product; perhaps a regulatory shift requires a change. No matter the cause, a forced technology change is typically expensive and time-consuming and comes with minimal tangible benefit. There is little time or thought given to improving the business process here. Necessary: Perhaps because of a merger or acquisition; perhaps a specific software will be obsolete in a few years. Like a forced change, this is going to transition all aspects of the given technology. It requires similar time and budget but offers enough advance notice to provide some thought to process improvements.Enhancing: This is where we see the process start to drive technology. The first two categories are layering technology onto existing processes, but with enhancing (enabling) technology, you've identified a process improvement that would benefit from a technology upgrade. Or you're unlocking a piece of an existing technology that would enhance your current process. We tend to spend less time By Rusty Schulten, Director, Operations Technology, Eversource EnergyCXO INSIGHTSTIME AND MONEY: A FRAMEWORK FOR TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENTRusty Schulten
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