When to Say No to New Technology

Feel overwhelmed by technology and changing business practices? Join the club.

Technology is moving fast, and one of the new skills in business is being able to decide which technologies to adopt and which to ignore. It is impossible to embrace every new technological trend that captures headlines, and it can lead businesses to distraction. So practicing discernment is vitally important.

Two keys for staying focused and not getting overwhelmed by the options are disciple and clarity of purpose.

While it is fun to try every new technology that draws attention and be bleeding-edge with our gadget adoption, it just isn’t smart. Better to wait for the technology to catch fire and prove itself a bit before adoption. Digital paper, for instance, has been around for more than a decade but it wasn’t a good idea to focus on the technology until Apple got it right with the iPad and started the real craze. Jumping in before the iPad would have just been a distraction.

Other technologies that were distractions before they became essential include social media and the virtual PBX. The technologies have obviously proven themselves now and should be adopted, but there was a time when it was too early to adopt.

Clarity of purpose also is important. Does the technology scratch an itch that needs to be scratched for your business, or is it just fun or hot technology? As any business school will tell you, it is important to keep to your core competencies. Some technology is great but just not right for everyone.

3D printers are one great example of a hot technology that most businesses should nevertheless avoid. Unless your business needs to regularly create custom parts, 3D printing does not make sense. Better to buy from a supplier, even though the thought of custom-printing parts instead of buying from a supplier sounds insanely cool.

A recent blog post by Nextiva mentions several other technologies that are cool but should probably be avoided, too.

This includes smart watches and Google Glass, both cool technologies but not ready for prime time in most cases, and Bitcoin, the controversial currency that remains a fascinating idea and perhaps even the future of money but is not today anything more than a potential business distraction.

The post also notes a few technologies that are more established but should be avoided. One is big data, which is a great technology but inappropriate for smaller businesses that haven’t even begun using the data they already can easily process, let alone the unstructured data that big data tackles. For now, leave big data to big firms. Businesses must discern what to adopt and what to ignore.

QR codes all into the ignore category, too. A cool technology, absolutely. But do you actually use QR codes? Does your family use them? You may have a QR code reader on your phone, but chances are that you probably don’t use it. Stick to what works: short web links and social media addresses on promotional material, not QR codes that look cool but are rarely used.

Avoiding that overwhelmed feeling when it comes to the pace of technology and business change starts with discipline and clarity. It is important to know when to say no to technology.

Edited by Alisen Downey