5 Tips To Drive User Adoption And Maximize The Value of IT investments

IT organizations are aiding a bewildering array of complex initiatives more than ever before. Cloud computing, virtualization, tackling Big Data, supporting BYOD – all while delivering on the day-to-day needs of multiple lines of business.

To complicate matters further, IT is being asked to do more with the same amount of resources. Budgets are continuing to make a retrieval, but most organizations report that their IT spend for 2014 remained comparatively flat, and 65% report that containing costs is their no. 1 business priority. In addition, while more IT jobs are emerging, those positions are kerbed to a few select areas, and the pace of hiring continues to be sluggish.

So, how do you poise costs, insufficiency of resources, and go ahead with these strategic IT initiatives? For starters, you must get every benefit from the technology investments you have already made. More definitely, you should make sure those investments are adopted and fully leveraged by your IT staff and other anticipated user groups.

Read further for the five critical success factors for any solution adoption strategy.


1. Sustain executive sponsorship and ongoing business orientation
It probably won’t be one for your IT staff or your end users if leveraging your newly adopted solution isn’t a priority for key management stakeholders. Therefore, make sure the IT leaders or business owners who advocated the solution’s purchase continue to make its use a primacy if and when adoption is met with some opposition. Arm them with compelling stories centred on business cases and successes that plainly convey the solution’s significance as it relates to both the business and the users’ jobs.

2. Ripen an organizational change management driver
Shifting priorities and full plates will impact your staff’s affinities to leverage new solutions out of the window. Chances are that if the solution is perceived as complicated it won’t be preferred. The aim at this point is to moderate that perception by clearly demonstrating the solution’s value time. And how? Address concerns while proving a solution’s value through an organizational change management (OCM) program.

A McKinsey study, which was done a few years ago, showed that organizations with a remarkable OCM program had an average project ROI of 143%. On the flip, organizations with a poor or no OCM program experienced only a 35% ROI.

3. Focus more on post-deployment training and support
Users forget 70% of what they learned within two weeks, and 87% within one month, researchers say. Therefore, although it is important for your organization to communicate the value of to-be-deployed solutions and deliver some upfront enablement, it is more imperative that you bolster your post-deployment training and support initiatives. Make every effort to deliver it to your technology users.

Lastly, be sure your IT staff champions the critical feature sets that have the largest impact on performance objectives. Have a system of checks and balances in place that certifies your technology users are using the solution as intended.

4. Throughout the solution’s lifecycle, embolden, gather and practice feedback
Offer consistent surveys to make sure the solution’s capabilities are operative as designed and to your staff’s satisfaction. Gather feature enhancement needs via meetings or forums. And essentially, communicate these findings to your vendors. Keep the lines of communication wide open, confirm that your users’ voices are being heard, and give them an equal part in shaping the success.

5. Craft and distribute adoption and performance dashboards
Performance and adoption dashboards arm you with powerful data to let you react quickly. Recognising KPIs for performance is no rocket science. Ensure that performance metrics link back to your overall business objectives.

In an IT landscape where budgets are still stringent and resources are oftentimes scarce, it’s never been more vital to ensure you are getting the intended value from your technology investments.

Author: Bill Ting, Market Evangelist, Riverbed Technology

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