Change management is the key to successful deployment!

On a beautiful Friday afternoon in Cape Town, some thoughts that have been bugging me this week.  I may be preaching to the choir....but here goes...

Business pressure continues to mount year in year out. It never eases off , but keeps morphing into a different shape all the time - that's the nature of the macro and micro trading environment.

The business owners and/or leaders are always searching for the best solution/s to manage the rate and intensity of these changes - for the survival and thriving of their organizations.

Organizations want a cutting-edge solution - service providers have the latest and greatest solution. Problem solved, right? Yes, not quite and it depends.

For the sake of this discussion - if the success of the said solution is heavily dependent on the users within the organization applying the solution as designed and intended, then there might be another consideration. For both the organization and the service provider to deem the solution successful - users must fully adopt it and use it. This doesn't magically. This is where change management comes in.

Change management is essential for any enterprise solution deployment, as it provides the necessary structure and process for successful implementation and adoption. It is the adhesive that holds everything together and makes sure the transition is less disruptive, users know what to do and the business gets to enjoy the returns.

A paradigm shift for smaller service providers (some not all) perhaps should be towards a concerted and deliberate effort to offer holistic, one-stop, adoption-proof solutions. This can be done through partnering/collaborating with others - this requires an openness and willingness to reach out to others outside of their zone of genius. 

Ultimately, change management is the glue that binds together a successful deployment - for both the service provider and the business. Technology, yes change management technology, has revolutionized the practice. It can be scaled to need - irrespective of the size of the deployment.

Empowered users adopt the change quicker, shorten operational disruption and help drive business results....