Standalone Technology Strategy Is Dead. Long Live Stand Alone Tech Strategy

Every now and then I read something which sends me in a time machine chuckle.  I think to myself, "Self, haven't you read this already, like 20 years ago?"

"The days of building a standalone technology strategy are over."

This is the final line in a post on Outsource Magazine.  The idea is some orgs have moved all of their tech to the cloud, so there are no systems in house requiring tech support. SO hey, we don't need no stinking standalone tech strategy. Let's just completely integrate our tech plan into other areas.  It'll be great, THEY say. Everyone will help drive tech strategy and it will rock, THEY say.

I say get over it. The need for a standalone tech strategy still exists even if all of the systems are in the cloud.
If you have more than one system, who will think about integration?
If you have devices to access the cloud, who will think about those?
If you have staff using the technology, who will think about support and training?
If you want to re-engineer processes, who will do the mapping, solution planning, etc?
If you have new features released, who will think about how to use them?

I could go on and on. Not to mention, the need for someone to step back and have a vision for technology across the org.

Let's jump back to 1993. This model about Strategic Alignment from Venkatraman summarizes things for me.  We will always need technology thinking to happen from four different perspectives.

You can read about the model, but in essence it shows a need for technology strategy to:

1. Start with Business Strategy, drive process, end with tech implementation 
2. Start with Business Strategy, involves IT in definition, end with tech implementation
3. Start with IT Strategy, suggest Business Strategy change, end with change process
4. Start with IT Strategy, implement tech, end with change process

There are real needs for each of these types of strategy and without a standalone tech strategy to harness, drive and push these, how well do you think things will end? I picture a skyline consisting of a city of half built buildings without a tech strategy.  As long as you are in the middle of the city with your eyes down, getting the daily work done, you never notice the buildings don't get finished. But someone stepping back to view the horizon can see it clearly.

Where will we be tomorrow? (Part 11 of 11 on Managing Tech 2 Meet Mission)

Where are we today is usually what I answer when someone asks me about tomorrow. I figure if someone asks an obscure question that has limitless answers, that will probably only be proven wrong somehow, just answer with another question. ;-0  Just kidding of course.  But there is some truth to the idea that knowing where you are today is key to knowing about tomorrow, although that isnt what I want to talk about in this blog post.

Where will we be tomorrow?

Nonprofits will continue to push the edge of what technology can do to meet their mission while simultaneously allowing their infrastructure, process and core technology idle or fade.

What does that even mean?

Funding. We are able to get funding and a budget for technology or projects that are new and exciting, but can we get the same approval for more bandwidth, replacing PCs, tech support, training, process improvement, etc? This is not a new problem, nor am I the first to mention it. The nonprofit sector will become even more innovative and use technology in ways that gets the attention of the world. While at the same time using an unsupported software, under trained staff and outdated PCs.

As nonprofit techies we are pros at making due with what we have.  We will continue to do this and be proud of it.

Staff. Our staff use, understanding and requests for technology will rapidly change. Technology isnt really just the role of the technology department anymore, more staff are tech savy, have an element of tech in their job description and can be effective at rolling out new technology. Yet at the same time, many of our staff will not get the training they need on the software we use, our internal process and how to work more efficiently with the tech we have. New staff coming in will no longer just expect a desk with a working computer, they will need a mobile phone, faster internet access, video editing capability, access to everything from anywhere, permission to use whatever open source tool they find and more freedom to make their own technology choices.  Are we ready for that? I would imagine that many of us are not, we have rigid technology policies, adequate infrastructure and centralized decision making.

Well anyway, those are the two that I wanted to talk about.  I really didnt do them the justice that I wanted to, but my life has been super busy with a new online registration system, rolling out an intranet, etc, not to mention that whole life at home.

I was finally able to finish this 11 post series in just under 6 months, YIKES. But I really enjoyed it, I will need to help write another book for NTEN so that I have something else to write about on my blog.  I Love NTEN and cant wait for the upcoming Nonprofit Technology Conference on April 8-11 in Atlanta! I will be there with my partner in crime, John Merritt from the San Diego YMCA to present a session called Forget the Tech, Lets talk Mission! It is going to rock!

Over the last 11 weeks I did a themed series of blog posts. Each week I wrote about a chapter of the book called Managing Technology to meet your Mission. This week is on the 11th chapter by By Edward Granger Happ called Where Will we be Tomorrow. You should totally buy the book. (In case you are wondering, I am volunteering to do this, I am not getting paid or in any other way reimbursed for this. I just love NTEN and their events.)

Tool Trends or People Trends? (Part 8 of 11 on Managing Tech 2 Meet Mission)

"Where should you focus your efforts to find out where your stakeholders are and what they are doing online with and for your organization."

"What data is meaningful?"

"What is trend, and what is simply trendy?"






I was reading this book to get answers not more questions. But Michael Cervino decides to start his Chapter in the NTEN with questions. And not just questions, but questions that I dont hear my organization asking themselves.  It is like Dr Seuss once said "One Tweet, two tweet, red tweet, blue tweet." Oh no that isnt the right quote. Sorry, it is like Dr Seuss once said "Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple."

I am not exactly sure what the quote from Dr. Seuss means, but here is my interpretation. Sometimes it is harder to find the right question to be asking than to find the answer.  The question isnt "should we have a facebook page?", it could be "what is our goal in communicating online?" The question isnt "how do we fundraise on Twitter?", it could be is "where are our potential donors online?"

RFPs (Requests for Proposals) are a great example of making sure to ask the right question. If you ask a vendor, "can your product handle multiple integrations?" They will answer yes. But what does that question even mean? And of course they say yes, because anything can be done with extra customization, you didnt ask if it exists now, you just said can it...

I learned a lot in this chapter. Michael does a great job of outlining how to create SMART objectives, gather data, analyze data and identifying trends in order to understand your constituents better. Michael keeps all of this online activity in perspective by focusing on the organizations goals and then find the correct audience match.  This should not be about the tools or the trends in technology, rather it is tracking your audience and their engagement with you.

But the questions and the tracking cant just happen at the beginning of the online presence rollout. Back to the RFP example, how many times do we actually go back a year later after we select the vendor and compare the progress to what the vendor said we would have in the RFP? Or do we simply forget the questions we asked and only examine the current reality? You dont have to continually ask new questions, sometimes it is best to go back and ask the same question again to see if you did answer it or if it was the right question.

I have picked up on one thing from Judith here at work as a part of our online registration system rollout.  And that is to document the questions and decisions that have to be made, then include the answer (with the reasoning). Because inevitably someone will ask the question again or will change their mind.  This isnt about just saying, told you so or saying we already did that. It is to avoid asking the wrong questions and making the same mistakes.

Anyway, nicely done chapter Michael!

Over 11 weeks I am doing a themed series of blog posts. Each week I will write about a chapter of the book called Managing Technology to meet your Mission. This week is on the 8th chapter by By Michael Cervino called Where are your stakeholders and what are they doing online? You should totally buy the book. (In case you are wondering, I am volunteering to do this, I am not getting paid or in any other way reimbursed for this. I just love NTEN and their events.)

Flickr photos by Travelin' Librarian and by Thomas Hawk