7 Timeless Tips for Technology Success
I may get paid to give advice about technology, but I've always considered myself to be a student, not a teacher.
Almost everything I know about how small businesses can get the most out of tech, I've learned from people who run small businesses, oftentimes, the ones who read my work and give me feedback about what I did and didn't get right. Almost everything they tell me, they've learned in the real world, where products that sound good often fail and "best practices" may or may not be right for the task at hand.
Their wisdom is remarkably durable. Strategies for success that worked well a couple of decades ago, when the typical business computer was a humongous 486 tower with Windows 3.1 and a dial-up connection, still pay off in the era of cloud computing and the iPad.
Herewith, seven tips gleaned from the advice I've gotten over the years. If you find any of them helpful, don't thank me, thank the entrepreneurs who have never been shy about sharing what's on their minds.
1. Keep products as long as long as you can, but no longer
Once you'd paid for something -- be it software or hardware -- it's sensible to just keep on getting value out of it. For absurdly long periods, in certain instances. (There are laser printers out there that are pushing 20 years old and still living useful lives.) But don't keep on using products when they're so rickety or outmoded that they interfere with your company's ability to be successful. If you grit your teeth every time you encounter something, it's a sign that it's time to replace it.
2. Find new uses for old equipment
Even when a product is no longer good at the job you bought it for, it may be good at something. The greenest recycling policy you can have is to be clever at repurposing products rather than getting rid of them. A desktop PC that's getting long in the tooth, for instance, might make a perfectly respectable print server, extending its useful life and rescuing it from landfill.
3. Don't put off change forever
I've occasionally run into business owners who delay hardware purchasing decisions because they know something better and cheaper will be available soon. They don't want to buy something that might be rendered obsolete soon. The problem is, better, cheaper products are always on their way, and always will be. You can't wait for them forever. Sooner or later, you need to spend your money on the best product you can get at the time.
4. Invest in service and support
I always wince when I see PC companies try to slash their costs by cutting back on warranties and tech support. The small businesses I know are smart enough to understand that the best values in computers and other tech equipment aren't the ones with the lowest price tags. They're the ones that are most likely to just keep working -- and if something does go wrong, to be backed by high-quality support. Paying a premium for those products up front makes perfect sense.
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5. If you've got a problem, fix it
If you're running a growing business, you're probably so busy growing that business that it can be tempting to let tech problems fester. Don't. If something is gnawing away at your productivity -- say, a creaky mail server that would be best replaced by a hosted system -- it will hurt your ability to operate your company every day. Find the time to address the underlying problem, even if you think you don't have the time.
6. Know when you need help
Lots of small-business owners are their own IT people. That can work; I do it myself for the most part, and I enjoy it. But when you lack the time or expertise, it makes sense to bring in a professional -- a consultant, assuming you're not ready to hire someone. How can you find a great one? That's easy: Ask other local folks who run companies.
7. Be incredibly skeptical
I'm not saying that tech companies fib, just that they have a funny way of providing advice that bolsters their bottom line, whether or not it helps yours. (Microsoft, oddly enough, consistently thinks you should upgrade to the current versions of Windows and Office the nanosecond they become available.) When a hardware or software company tells you to do something, listen politely, think it over, and then come to your own conclusion.
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