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Pac Man, The Siren's Song of Simplicity, and Consultants Continued...
If you don't have the technology expertise in-hand (or in-brain) then "rent it". Integrator- consultants have a vested interest in getting you both "up and running" as well as "satisfied". Where a vendor of a product or service might see you as a potential upgrade-sale every couple of years, the integrator-consultant will be interested in developing a long-term (and multi-project) relationship.
Technological agnosticism is a good thing in an integrator-consultant. If they are independent from the service they recommend or integrate then they potentially have less vested-interest in directing your choice. However, the recurring fees that that a service provider would have used to offset their salary now has to come out of your company's pocket. So the more projects that you have for them to integrate, identify, install, manage, the better the choice for an integrator-consultant.
The work's not over yet. Because after you "rent" the expertise you want to constantly check out your ROI, both return-on-investment as well as return-on-insight!
- What insights has your integrator-consultant had while they were preparing for your installation?
- Did they find other places that their talents might be well-utilized?
- Did they find other ways to reduce expenditures or provide better service to internal or external customers?
- Are they introducing new technological insights to your company
- Are they giving you "feedback", deliverables, briefings on their contribution to your goals (on their dime…not yours)
Use them for this "exploratory" work - and make sure that they get the contract or compensation to encourage more of it. You can then save your internal organization's resources for keeping up the steady-state and identifying how interdepartmental efficiencies (not obvious to an outsider) can be improved. Use your integrator-consultant to explore new worlds, boldly going where no technologist has gone before!
Simplicity is seductive, but the reality is this will require:
- Preparation
- Knowledge-exchange among departments
- Knowledge-gap analysis
- "Renting" needed expertise
- Follow-up with briefings
- Avoiding the Songs of Simplicity
Well, now that you have 'your' work cut out for you, I have some important work to do with some blue power dots and some old friends: Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde (or Sue. Who's got a quarter I can borrow???
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