Every New Tool Joins The Queue

Nobody buys a new tool because they want another tool. Usually, it’s solving a problem that’s in front of you.

A product fits the requirement, everybody agrees it’s the right move, and before long it’s become another part of the environment. What doesn’t get discussed as much is what the tool looks like once the project has finished. Once it’s in place, it becomes another platform that’s part of the day-to-day operation. Somebody needs to know how it works, keep it healthy, and be there when the business has questions about it. Eventually, those jobs become part of the week.

After a few years, you realize how many platforms you’re responsible for keeping healthy. The environment has grown one requirement at a time. The conversations around new products become very different once you’ve lived with them for a while. The first discussion is usually about capability. The conversation three years later is about whether anyone still gets enough value from it to justify the effort of looking after it.

Sometimes the answer is obvious. Sometimes it isn’t. There are platforms that still do exactly what they were brought in to do. And others where another product has gradually introduced similar functionality, but nobody has had the time to step back and decide whether both are still needed. Reviewing the environment doesn’t feel as urgent as dealing with whatever landed in your inbox this morning.

So it gets pushed back another week. Then another. Eventually the environment reflects years of sensible decisions that were never revisited because something else always came first. We think it’s worth looking at new tools a little differently.

Of course, you need to know whether they solve today’s problem. But you also need to know whether you’ll still be happy supporting them a few years from now, alongside everything else that already needs your attention. Finding time for that kind of thinking isn’t easy.

That’s where co-managed support can make a big difference. When more of the operational workload is shared, there’s more opportunity to review the environment properly and decide what still deserves its place. New technology can then be introduced because it improves the environment, not because another requirement has appeared. Every tool asks for a little of your attention. The question is whether it’s still giving enough back to earn it.

If you’d like to talk about how co-managed support could create more time for that kind of work, get in touch.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.