One way that a company can innovate is by investing in unique emerging technologies. Although there may not be any exclusivity in adopting the technology, the idea behind it could be that the company is the “first to market” in terms of using the technology. In order to invest in this type of innovation, companies need to justify that investment. In Betsy Burton’s article, Toolkit Best Practices:  Seven Factors to Evaluate when Justifying Investments in Emerging Technologies, she discusses considerations that need to be made when evaluating emerging tech. Having this approach for evaluating and justifying investments in emerging tech really excites me because it is easy to understand and can potentially be easy to implement. While all seven factors for justification are useful, I found the following to be rather interesting:

Evaluate IT’s Strategic Opportunities and Risks

Determining a company’s future state has often been talked about in EA. The idea of getting a company to its future state is a common topic but I cannot recall discussing a real method for determining the future state. Burton brings up a great point in that developing the future state should start with the creation of different future business scenarios. By creating multiple different versions of what the future state of the business will look like, the company can reflect and decide on the best potential direction for the evolution of the business, opportunities, and costs of the potential future state.

Evaluate the Technology’s Role in the IT Portfolio

While bringing on an emerging tech can garner buzz and excitement, it can be easy to overlook the reality of investing in the technology. Will the tech fit into all of what the company currently has going on? Additionally, Burton makes an excellent point in that if the company is going to take on the emerging tech from a small business vendor then it need to do some research. Is the vendor in the market to be acquired? If so, how does the company feel about being in partnership with this perspective new company? All valid and necessary questions that should be answered before taking the step to invest.

Source:

Burton, B. (2008, February 11). Toolkit Best Practice: Seven Factors to Evaluate When Justifying Investments in Emerging Technologies. Retrieved November 12, 2017, from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1868073/files/84120180/download?wrap=1