Technology evaluation is a process that involves the assessment of a company’s current use of various forms of technology, as well as a process that can provide suggestions on how to improve the efficiency of that usage. In many cases, this type of evaluation is done by an independent provider who is able to understand the current business model, compared that to the goals of the business, and identify both the strengths and weaknesses of the current use of technology. Typically, the technology evaluation will also include suggestions on how to enhance the use of technology in ways that will benefit the client and improve the fortunes of the business operation.
While the process will vary based on the type of company involved and the approaches used by the entity performing the technology evaluation, the general strategy will usually begin by assessing both the hardware and software that the client currently utilizes as part of the business operation. All forms of technology are included in the assessment, ranging from current phone systems to network servers and all the way to the computers at individual workstations and the software used to manage different processes. The idea is to determine how efficiently each component in the overall technological setup is functioning for the business in terms of adding value to the operation.
When and as certain components are found to be less than efficient for the company model, the technology evaluation will move on to providing some suggestions on how to improve the company’s use of available technology. In some cases, this will mean making use of resources inherent in the hardware and software that are currently not being used to best advantage. For example, the company may not be using the full capacity of the network server in a manner that makes it possible to connect all the work stations into the server and share data more efficiently. This could also involve finding ways to easily integrate functions in certain software packages so that data is exchanged between databases rather than requiring the same data to be entered multiple times in different programs.
It is not unusual for a technology evaluation to also make suggestions for replacing older hardware and software with newer counterparts. This means that while a phone system may have been fine a few years back, that system has reached its capabilities in terms of expansion, and is no longer functional for a growing business enterprise. In like manner, work stations that are newer and have greater capacity could help speed up certain important functions and allow employees to be more productive. When this is the case, the evaluation will often make recommendations for certain types of equipment and software that are relevant to the present operation of the company as well as any plans for expansion and growth that are projected for the next several years.