Migrating to new technologies can be difficult. At CS3, an essential part of our role is to help our clients successfully make the transition to a new release of product. We identify product changes and guide the client in understanding how/what needs to be done to ensure a quality implementation. But I’ll say it again: change is difficult, and at times frustrating.
I compare the process to what I felt when I transitioned from a standard desk phone, to a flip phone, and ultimately to a smartphone. With smart watches and eye glasses already in our future, who knows what will be next! There were more than a few times when I looked back longingly to the simpler days of telephonic communications when, rudimentary as it was, it did the job – one job. Now I have more processes that I can do from my phone. It notifies me when I forgot to do something, it gives me more information than ever before, I can virtually replace other systems with it, and I am no longer limited to voice communications. Sometimes the change came slowly, and other times it washed over me leaving me frustrated and annoyed.
Just as we gradually adapt to the tools available to us on new smartphone technology, so our clients adapt to new workflows, reporting capabilities, integration options, and data capture options with system upgrades.
The following image helps to show the value derived from new/enhanced product implementations over time. While the workload temporarily increases during roll-out and confidence in our knowledge of how things work temporarily decreases, we can be assured that in time this new technology will become our new norm. It doesn’t usually happen right away at go-live and may not even happen for some weeks or months afterward, but rest assured that eventually our clients look back on the old systems and methodologies and realize that the change was good.
So, go ahead, make the change. Not for change sake, but because it opens up the possibilities of improving efficiencies, addressing deficiencies, and developing proficiencies.
