Telescope: Should IT be the cash cow or the dog?

MUMBAI, INDIA: In the penultimate scene of the Hugh Jackman starrer ‘Kate& Leopold’, Meg Ryan utters some magic words that every marketer and researcher worth his salt instantly identifies with. What if we do not ask customers what they want? What if we can listen to their deepest desires and give them something that they have never even thought of in words before? Something that delights them in the truest sense.

Talking to Biswajeet Mahapatra, Research Director at Gartner gives you that déjà vu jolt. Your mind gets all confused pushed into thinking of Ryan’s lines out of the blue while discussing grave IT questions. Intriguingly enough his words make sense and hit a chord. “Sometimes we ourselves don’t know what we want.”

Technology breakthrough is a glamorous word. But how long is the actual distance from bathtubs, to labs, to vendors and to CIOs today?

Some companies push themselves ahead of their times sometimes. SCM or ERP happened in the 90s too. So did barcodes or e-catalogues earlier. But they were too early. Market was not ready. Technology often takes advanced steps, wherein you have to gauge the readiness factor properly before you bring in something ‘breakthrough’. At the same time, it’s an interesting dilemma. Some times we ourselves don’t know what we want. Did we ever want that entire thingamajig that Apple gave? But now we do.

Is that not a contradiction?

It depends on the kind of technology, the kind of applications and very much on the kind of ecosystem. Those times when ERP came and vanished, was because the back-end was not ready enough. Flanking technologies are equally important for something new to take off.

That brings me to the subject of lighthouse customers? Does it pay to be an early adopter in the world of technology?

Some organizations, by genes, always pick the latest stuff. Some are by habit, more of the laggards. It depends on the kind of business you are in. In my personal opinion, wait and watch approach works better. For instance, Net books were a rage a while back, but the moment iPad came, the hype fizzled. So let a technology mature, let it evolve with good use cases, before you decide.

How much does the formula of economies of scale work?

Yes it does. The entire cloud computing concept becomes cheaper only when economies of scale are in place. We always think IT is different but fundamentals remain the same. Economic viability in automation makes it work.

Is there a new formula to cracking IT better?

Just do not invest blindly in technologies. Understand business needs for the next five to ten years and then map your investments. Look at ROI. Do not jump in too soon because problems are business ones and IT is always an enabler. So propose a business solution.

Talking of IT from an investment lens, do we have more cash cows (BCG Matrix) today? Or more dogs or question marks?

IT is definitely not in the dog quadrant. May be a question mark but I would suggest it should not be thought of as a cash cow. Maintenance costs should be considered. Why to invest in something if it is not breaking even. Think of long-term support costs.