Technology is only as good as the people using it

How would the world have managed to work, connect, and live without technology over the last year as countries shut down, and physical distancing became the norm? Today, its direct correlation to continuity, growth and development is evident and accepted. Most organizations across sectors are trying to accelerate their digital transformation journeys to meet the demands of the new post COVID era of work and business. But is just investing in tech enough to deliver the benefits of digital infrastructure? What elements must an organization consider for ensuring the best possible RoI?

Technology is evolving almost at the speed of light today. And organizations across sectors are recalibrating their digitalization strategies to include new trends that can help them meet their business objectives.  But most conversations about digital transformation tend to ignore the fact that technology is implemented, managed, and used by people. And even the most cutting-edge ones, if not deployed and managed at the optimum level, can prove to be ineffective in meeting business objectives. And for this, organizations need teams that are trained and well versed in the latest technologies.

Upskilling is critical to realizing the best value of any transformative digital investment. IT professionals need at least 10 hours of job role-related training per year to refresh their skills and stay updated with the changes in the sector. And when it comes to cloud migration, the training hours need to increase even more. The results of upskilling speak for themselves. Well-trained teams can meet nearly 90 percent of their business and project milestones, while averagely skilled teams achieve only about 50 percent of theirs. By upskilling teams, our client realized a 350 percent ROI over 3 years, 33 percent decrease in downtime and 28 percent increase in productivity. Training and upskilling are also key motivators for employees as they look at long-term career growth and job security especially in the wake of the pandemic. A recent survey by LinkedIn revealed that 64 percent of Indian professionals plan to increase their focus on learning to meet the unique challenges thrown up by the current situation.

How can organizations embark on this crucial upskilling journey for their employees? There are, of course, multiple routes available. They can develop their own training material, but this may prove to be a time-consuming, and effort-intensive initiative. Choosing from the plethora of courses available in the market may not provide the best fit for the organization’s long-term strategic roadmap. In a business environment, the benefits, use cases, processes associated with that solution must be communicated well for new teams to fully understand it and use it.

And who better to train on a specific solution than the innovators who developed the solution being deployed. After all, companies that build world-class technology products are the best equipped when it comes to training other teams on how to use them. When solution providers also focus on training customer teams, they can help ensure increased proficiency in a shorter period of time. They can help drive faster adoption of a product by being able to explain and demonstrate its benefits better. In the long run, they help deliver better ROI and improved business outcomes. CIOs must view training as a critical component of the overall offering.

There is no denying the power of technology, but it is important to remember that it is a tool that has to be used right by people to have the maximum effect. As we prepare for a future marked by disruption and innovation in equal measures, upskilling people to get the most out of tech investments must be a key consideration. Only well-thought-out training programs can help teams learn to effectively use deployed solutions because investing in technology is not a one-step process. It is the first step.

By  Supriya Menon, Director- Education, VMware