8 Common Myths Of New Technology

New technology is often surrounded by hype and misperceptions that make it harder for us to use effortlessly. I know this from experience. I've spent the better part of 2011 helping our business team implement a new Web content management system. The entire process has been so long and drawn out it has tested my patience and mettle, but the vast majority of it has been rewarding. Ultimately, we hope to provide you with richer, more relevant content on our Web sites, while at the same time improve our editorial workflow.

As we approached the finish line on the project, I started to reflect on the unexpected challenges we encountered with the new technology. In fact, I've learned some things that were completely contrary to what I had always thought regarding a system upgrade of this magnitude. I've listed the top eight misconceptions in this column for your benefit. Hopefully, you can learn from it when adopting new technology in your business.

Myth No. 1: Cutting edge technology is unproven. When technology is so new, cutting edge implies that not many companies would have bought and used it. In this case, the burden of proof rests on both the vendor AND the customer. The vendor will attempt to back up its claim about its new technology by describing it in as narrow a scope as possible to avoid extra liability, while at the same time aggressively promising benefits to lure the customer. This means that most of the burden of proof needs to lie with the customer. I believe this is where many companies fail. Often, they do not have clear specifications of the intended use. And sometimes they do not even agree among themselves what the intended use is supposed to be.

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