Insight 1 from Research Focus on technology - know your context
Jinfo Blog

By Robin Neidorf

Abstract

Read the first insight from our Research Focus, "The accidental technologist - where your expertise meets the new world". Find out which variables you need to weigh up when making decisions on new technology purchases and access our new report.

Item

"Should we be incorporating (name that technology) into our services?"

This question is posed regularly by nearly every information service we work with. Visualisation, machine learning and analytics are only the latest of the rising technologies we've had to contend with in our fast-changing environment. Yours might be anything from user personalisation systems to chatbots to auto-summarisation.

You must evaluate new technologies within the context in which they will be used. 

This is the first insight we've developed for the Research Focus, "The accidental technologist - where your expertise meets the new world".

Whether new technology represents a valuable opportunity, an unnecessary hassle or even a potential threat is a question that can only be answered within the full context of your organisation. There is no one right answer.

Amongst the variables you'll need to weigh up in order to develop YOUR right answer are these:

• What are your team's strengths and weaknesses?
• What is your one-year, two-year or five-year strategy for the service you provide?
• Where is your industry headed?
• What gap could this new technology fill for your team?
• Does this service perhaps belong in another department?

These are just some of the questions you need to grapple with in order to fully understand the context for new technologies.

What you can do

The resources in the Research Focus, "The accidental technologist - where your expertise meets the new world", take you back to these basics so that you can manage technology changes from a position of knowledge and strength, rather than simply reacting.

• Start with the Jinfo model - mapping technology readiness to evaluate your environment

• Compare your results with Jinfo's framework for understanding types of information-related technologies - Jinfo report on technology clusters

• If you have specific, urgent needs, you might find the insights in "Nine ways intranets are evolving" and "Why you need to get to know Office 365" useful.

The vendor part of the technology environment is another important variable. In addition to reviews and vendor Q&As, join our webinar, "Hone your user efficiency with workflow tools", on 21 February, featuring vendors who specialise in this capability. Be sure to register to hear how forward-thinking vendors work to make seamless technology part of your operations.

Access more insight to support your team's mastery of the fast-moving technology environment:

• Request your free copy of the Insights and Actions report for this Research Focus

• If you have a Jinfo Subscription, you have access to all resources in this Research Focus - simply sign in with your MyJinfo credentials.

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