Some of the other technology that you use has been “customized” for you. It has been developed to meet specific needs, in terms of cost and performance, in order to improve your company’s work flow and customer service. A software development consulting firm built those tools. And again, if there’s ever a bug, it’s the consulting firm that has to step up.
Like all company leaders, you do your best to keep abreast of innovations within your industry. But here’s the catch: everything moves so quickly that staying on top of the latest changes is a daunting challenge. A day has only 24 hours, and yours are jam-packed. Not to mention that you may not really be all that interested in technology. What does get your attention are the number of orders on the books, your customers, the condition of your fleet and the health of the people you work with.
One of your drivers recently told you about an interesting innovation: a collision mitigation system. After hearing about all the ways it could benefit your company, you asked your IT provider for a quote for a customized solution.
That quote has been sitting on your desk for the past two weeks. After reading and rereading it, you still have some questions and doubts. And that’s to be expected because, except for the project budget and timeline, the proposal may as well be written in a foreign language. DevOps, scrum, Agile development (why a capital A?), sprint … none of it makes any sense. A proposal is supposed to help you make an informed business decision; the one you received has only left you scratching your head. There’s a good chance you won’t follow up on the quote and, as a result, perhaps miss out on a great opportunity to reduce your insurance premiums.
Too many good proposals end up collecting dust because they are poorly written. One of the characteristics of the IT industry is the amount of energy and talent put into churning out names, acronyms and abbreviations that no one understands, except insiders. And yet, clear communication is as much a business imperative as quality client relations. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that it’s even a strategic imperative: the better we communicate, the more competitive we are.
- Explain technical information;
- Use the appropriate level of language;
- Use vocabulary that our clients understand, whether they operate in the banking, transportation, health or public administration sector.
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