Most companies have limited tech budgets, so it’s essential not to waste money on technology that’s not going to deliver ROI. Below, 11 members of Forbes Technology Council share tech investments and innovations that most companies might be better served to pass up.
1. Servers
Servers are a waste of money, and they cost more money the longer they stay in your data center. Infrastructure as a service providers can do a better job of keeping those “boxes” running at a much more reasonable cost. – Peter Karlson, NeuEon, Inc.
2. New Technology Builds
Building a new technology is time-consuming and resource-intensive, and it can be expensive. Many times, the insistence on doing it in house costs companies a lot of human hours and millions of dollars when there are expert vendors that offer customization, cost-effectiveness, easy transition and continuous support. A careful evaluation is a must before deciding to build a new tech solution in house. – Vasudeva Akula, VOZIQ
3. Blockchain
Tech hype can lull us into a false sense of security, so we neglect to read the small print. Not every “next big thing” technology can be applied to every market. Blockchain is a case in point. It’s a valuable tool, but the sheer weight of data in the Ag 4.0 supply chain means its applications are limited. So, before investing in any tech, ask yourself, “How exactly can it be used to meet my needs?” – Graeme McCracken, Proagrica
4. Virtual Reality For Meetings And Research
Some say virtual reality will improve business efficiency by replacing physical interactions and facilitating research. As a hardware technologist, I find VR at its current stage cannot yet support that claim. I would not invest in it just yet for my company. However, I do agree that this technology might offer different and substantial benefits for retail consumers. – Jun Pei, Cepton
5. Blockchain
Tech hype can lull us into a false sense of security, so we neglect to read the small print. Not every “next big thing” technology can be applied to every market. Blockchain is a case in point. It’s a valuable tool, but the sheer weight of data in the Ag 4.0 supply chain means its applications are limited. So, before investing in any tech, ask yourself, “How exactly can it be used to meet my needs?” – Graeme McCracken, Proagrica
6. Unfocused Artificial Intelligence
AI has been a source of waste, driven by a board-level demand to “add AI” without understanding some of the challenges you need to overcome to build meaningful AI into software products and projects. Like any other feature of a product, building a business case for AI, understanding the benefits, SWOT analysis and market mapping, and so on all still apply—there are rarely shortcuts. – Murray Foxcroft, ProArch
7. On-Premises Email Systems
It’s not worth investing in the development and maintenance of an on-premises email system. Organizations should outsource a SaaS email solution, which is cost-effective and eliminates the burden of maintaining the computing infrastructure. No traditional licensing management, installation or equipment management is required. – Roman Taranov, Ruby Labs
8. Long-Term Maintenance Agreements
Maintenance agreements longer than two years are a waste of money. It’s necessary to have a service level agreement in place for maintenance and performance; however, once you surpass the two-year mark, your platform starts to get outdated and you’re just paying for the status quo. To stay relevant and top of mind we need to innovate, and we cannot do that with the five- to 10-year commitments we used to be accustomed to. – Amanda Dorenberg, COMMB
