All small to mid-sized company owners want to know where their dollar is being spent when it comes to computer technology in their organization. The challenge is for them to get the information they need to make the right purchasing decisions. ‘Tell me in English why you think we need this technology in our company?’ That question goes through every company owner’s mind and mouth. Getting the answer that makes sense to them is another story. How can the people in charge of your company understand what the value is of specific technology if their computer support people cannot articulate why it is so important?

This guide will assist every company owner in understanding how to communicate with your technical consultant so technical recommendations are applied, understood and the full potential of technology is realized throughout the company. After all, your technical consultant wants you to appreciate what they do. And you will not be able to appreciate it until you understand how it effectively applies to you.

Company Objectives- Understanding your company objectives is not a one way street. This information cannot be kept with upper management. Share it with your technical consultant. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Big picture- Your technical consultant must understand how the company functions as a whole. They must understand the duties of the different departments. How else will the company be able to apply technology to the business’s everyday processes if those processes are never articulated?

Changing with the times- Just because a technical consultant has worked in an environment for ‘a couple years’ does not automatically mean they are aware of changes to the intricacies of the company’s business functions. Just like technology, business strategies change. It’s important to consistently keep them in the know when these changes occur at the business level.

A picture is worth a thousand words- Tell you’re technical consultant to chart out why they recommend a specific technology. Managers love colors and charts. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Define; Measure; Analyze; Improve; Control. As long as every project is measurably articulated in the following order, upper management will have no issues understanding what is being recommended and how to proceed in the future. None of the steps above should be skipped. This is very important. The clearer the projects are defined quantitatively, the easier it will be to control processes going forward.

Anthony Licate is the President of Spidernet Technical Consulting, LLC (http://www.spidernetconsulting.com). The company provides technical computer network, ecommerce and wireless enterprise data services in and around the Philadelphia area. He has worked with multiple types of businesses to strategize, re-align and implement technology. He can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 215.508.1036.

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