Technology upgrades often miss the mark when organizations chase the newest features rather than solving actual business problems. The disconnect between shiny new systems and real user needs creates expensive deployments that nobody wants to use. Adrian Vazquez, with years of experience leading complex technology transformations, has developed a practical approach that prioritizes business value and user experience over technological novelty.
Focusing Technology on Real Business Needs
Vazquez has observed a recurring pattern across organizations. “The most common issue that I have seen is that sometimes technology is seen as the new shiny object instead of having a particular purpose for a particular business need,” he explains. “When having the latest and the greatest is the factor that is used to perform any technology improvement, usually that ends badly.” This misalignment creates systems that look impressive on paper but fail to deliver meaningful results. Organizations invest significant resources into implementations that don’t address core operational challenges. The consequences extend beyond wasted budgets to include frustrated users and missed opportunities for genuine improvement.
System performance directly impacts whether people actually use the technology deployed for them. “If you have a system that is clunky or slow, or it takes a while to work, or it involves a lot of steps to perform a simple task, unless the system is mandated to be used, people don’t use it,” Vazquez notes. “And then you lose the possible benefit for the organization on having the technology.” User experience determines success or failure regardless of how advanced the underlying technology might be. A sophisticated system that nobody wants to touch delivers zero value. Performance encompasses not just speed but also simplicity and alignment with how people actually work.
Three Principles for Successful Implementation
Through leading numerous technology deployments, Vazquez has identified three core principles that separate successful projects from failed ones.
- Business Needs Must Drive Technology Decisions – “Any technology that is deployed must have a business use. It has to be related to a particular need that the organization has that can be managed and improved by the technology, not the other way around,” he states. The IT department shouldn’t be making isolated decisions about what tools to implement.
- Involve Actual Users In The Design Process – “You need to get people involved, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be the decision makers because decision making needs to be part of the process, but you must have real users participate in the design of the system so that it can reflect the actual use that the user community has in mind for the technology,” Vazquez emphasizes. The people who will use the system daily understand requirements that executives might miss.
- Evaluate Multiple Options With User Input – “You need to have options first and get the user community involved in selecting the actual system that is going to be deployed,” he adds. This collaborative selection process increases buy-in and ensures the chosen solution matches real workflows.
Preparing for an AI-Driven Future
Looking ahead, Vazquez sees artificial intelligence reshaping every organizational function. “AI is here to stay. There’s nothing we can do about it,” he observes. “What we have to do is to evolve and adapt to the possible scenarios that are going to be impacted by AI.” He expects AI to touch every department from sales to quality to human resources. Organizations need to understand current AI capabilities while anticipating future developments. “At first they’re going to be simple tasks and with time the AI systems are going to evolve and they’re going to tackle even more complex situations. So you have to be prepared for that,” Vazquez notes. His advice is straightforward: embrace the technology rather than resist it. “There’s nothing we can do about it. We have to embrace it and run with it.”
Vazquez returns to a fundamental principle when concluding his thoughts on technology implementation. “The usability of the system has to be paramount when selecting systems for solving any business use,” he emphasizes. “It’s going to be about performance, it’s going to be about usability, and it has to be about how the life of the end user can be better with the implementation of the system.” This user-centered approach, combined with business-driven decision making and collaborative selection processes, creates technology solutions that people actually want to use and that deliver measurable business value.
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