Wow. That was my first response when I saw a computer. First, playing games; next, building locally installed applications transitioning to web usage. It sometimes felt like magic what the machine was doing.
This Wow-factor still plays an essential role as a decision-maker for Information Technology (IT)/Digital investments. IT sparks imagination on what the organization could be like in the future. But this Wow is often misused. IT is presented as an art form, focusing on how beautiful a dashboard is—or presented as a religion. Look, big tech is doing it, so we should follow them.
Information technology in the form of data has become part of everyday business operations for every business. It should be treated like this and measured on efficiency and the organization’s capability to manage and improve it. Accepting there is no magic and hard work is required to build, maintain and learn the best use of IT solutions.
We have seen too many opportunities transition from a Wow-effect into impossible business cases, leading to unclear ownership and poor usage of IT. Leading to frustrating debates on the best technology or best practice and politics on who owns which part of the business case.
This is the reason why we founded Abykys. We want organizations to keep the Wow-factor, be realistic about its value, and use the existing governance to realize sustainable change. We believe this is the way forward to enjoy the value of data.
