Traditionally, success in entrepreneurship was acquired through having the best ideas, a good team to pursue them and a steady source of capital. Computer Technology as a bearing factor joined the group and rose steadily within its ranks in the course of the second half of the 20 th century. By the advent of the 21 st century, the said technology had all but become the leading cause of success in entrepreneurship. In the contemporary global market, it would almost be impossible to consider entrepreneurship without technology as it has become an integral part thereof. Unfortunately, technology is one of the most dynamic concepts and one that keeps on changing as well as advancing at a very high rate (Spina, 2014) . There is both an influx of new products available in the market as well as new advancements and versions of the old product. With technology being an integral aspect of success in entrepreneurship, figuring out the best to pick and the bad to avoid has developed into a discipline by itself.
Strategic technology relates the nature and form of technology infrastructure that a company puts together to enable itself achieve its goals. Strategic technology management, therefore, refers to the area of entrepreneurship that is kindred with the aforesaid infrastructure. To better expound it, the said form of management entails what technology an organization has now and its efficacy as well as what the organization requires in future so as to achieve its goals and objectives (Spina, 2014) . This is crucial because of the important part that technology plays in today’s commerce. The reference to the future means by its very nature, the technology necessary will keep on changing. This is through upgrades of the present technology and introduction of new kinds. It is for this reason that finding, sharing and evaluating technology is an integral part of strategic technology management.
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A cardinal rule about technology is that something better will always come up but the fact that something is new, does not mean that it is better. This is an important lesson that many entrepreneurs have had to learn more so with new software applications. A new buzz about a product would come about and without proper consultation, a business moves to rid itself of the available technology so as to adopt the new one (Spina, 2014) . By the time the flaws are discovered, the business has lost time, money and in some cases, credibility. For a start, it is important to keep an eye out for new technology so as to establish a variety of choice. According to Spina, (2014), technology is like literature with new editions and new samples appearing all the time. It is therefore always important to keep an eye out for new technology.
The first test for new technology is suitability. The concept of suitability is relative in nature as it varies from situation to situation and also on the nature of use that technology is being put to. A software application may be ideal for one business and disastrous for another. To gauge suitability, there is the need to understand the specifications of the software then juxtapose them with the requirements that the technology is being put to. Over and above the suitability from a user perspective, lies suitability based on platforms. Only a start up business can be investing in technology for the first time. All active businesses have well-established platforms that have taken time and money to build in a manner that is tailor-made to the business (Spina, 2014). These platforms combine both software and hardware. An important test for new technology lies in whether it is compatible with the platforms already established. If they are not compatible, it is important to evaluate how much adjustments need to be made to accommodate the new technology. In this regard, having a variety helps in determining which suitable technology will require the least adjustment.
Another important consideration to make when evaluating technology is the price . In this regard, the price goes beyond just how much it cost to acquire hardware. This is because there are secondary kindred costs such as installation, maintenance, and upgrade. The issue of after sale service and vendor support are also crucial. Determination of price and a factor in the evaluation of technology is, therefore, a process. The product with the highest market price might be the cheapest option and vice versa. As a secondary perspective to cost comes the issue of user interphase and flexibility of the product. User interphase relates to the complexity or ease of use of a product. Further, in this day and age where marketing has dominated the market, preventability and ability to use are also crucial to user interphase (Spina, 2014). For example, Facebook runs on one of the most complex software applications in the world. This application undergoes very complicated processes when in function. Yet, its user interphase is so simple that a child can operate it. A good program may be complicated and also carrying out very sensitive activities. However, this complication doesn’t need to be reflected the user. Indeed, the user doesn’t need to have the high-level specialized training to use the application, a fact that will add to the cost. Instead, a good application is the one that is able to operate from an efficient and easy to operate user interphase. Flexibility, on the other hand, relates to the ability of a technological tool to be applied in different activities thus eliminating the need to have several sets of different uses. This is also a cost based factor.
The last aspect of the evaluation phase is the issue of security and privacy. As reliance on technology grows in the world, so does the propensity for crimes committed using computer platforms. Espionage has gradually moved away from the world of politics and into the world of commerce. A trendy new piece of technology can compromise an entire erstwhile secure system through the creation of a backdoor. Indeed, when evaluating technology, one should always be wary of free technology as their developers could be having ulterior motives . Even without ulterior motives, any computerized system is as secure as its weakest aspect. It is on this basis that a business must be careful when investing in new technology based on how the new technology contributes to the entire security situation of the entire system (Spina, 2014).
Finally, sharing is an integral aspect in the process of finding and evaluating new technology. With current technology advancing at a high rate as well as the continuous introduction of new technology, sharing is an important way of ensuring everyone gets information on the best products available in the market. Sharing, in this context, is a two-way activity that entails giving out available information while at the same time getting what the other party has. According to Spina, (2014), one of the best ways to share with regard to technology is to have an online platform with a well-established mode of communication. Since the particulars of technology are complex in nature, a system of evaluation understandable by the members within the platform is essential. The best approach to this would be a comparative analysis. For example, a scale of one to ten can be used to evaluate the different perspectives of technology with ten being best and one being worst. In this manner, different people in different places can be enjoined as one large research team to find and evaluate technology as a means of strategic technology management.
References
Spina, C. (2014). Finding, evaluating, and sharing new technology. Reference & User Services Quarterly , 53 (3), 217-220
