From AI and edge computing to programming languages and the latest libraries – there is hardly any other industry where new trends and hypes are shaking up the market as much as in IT. In many companies, there is a growing fear of missing out on new technologies and slipping into insignificance. The IT service provider Avision advises more composure and less actionism.
Where for a long time the question was which technology could best solve their own problems, companies today too often try the opposite approach – they look for use cases for new technologies. The urge to implement the hottest solutions as quickly as possible is also reinforced by the direct comparison with tech giants and the competition on the market – whether their technology portfolio fits your own requirements or not. The FOMO phenomenon (Fear Of Missing Out), i.e. the fear of missing out on something important, often overrides rational decisions. However, practice shows that the reflexive adaptation of new technologies not only rarely offers added value, but can also have negative consequences for companies. With the right background knowledge, however, technology FOMO can quickly be put into perspective:
Early adopters pay a lot of tuition fees. Those who are the first to use new solutions invest financial resources and time in technologies that are not yet fully developed. The competition, on the other hand, learns from their own mistakes and can later fall back on best practices and experience already gained. For example, more patient companies have benefited from the first users in the cloud and have not only been able to use more mature solutions, but have also been able to avoid mistakes made in the beginning.
Many hypes turn out to be misguided. Even if manufacturers’ marketing campaigns praise their new technologies to the skies, not every solution can deliver on its promise and market relevance. Microsoft, for example, scrapped its Xamarin cross-platform framework for developing mobile applications because it had already been overtaken by the successor technology. It is therefore worth waiting for future-proof solutions instead of focusing on short-term trends for the sake of innovation. Sustainable solutions with added value survive the hype and last much longer on the market.
Technology does not meet expectations. If a new technology achieves a decisive breakthrough, this is often followed by exaggerated expectations – and disappointment. The market research company Gartner first outlined this process in the so-called hype cycle, which ends with the onset of realistic expectations and the ultimate acceptance of the technology. Blockchain illustrates the principle: after initial euphoria for blockchain-based solutions, large financing rounds and the founding of start-ups, enthusiasm quickly waned. High costs, implementation problems and a lack of results led to disillusionment. Today, companies use blockchain for specific applications, can fall back on practicable best practices and have realistic expectations of the technology.
There is strength in calm. Rash, knee-jerk decisions are never advisable – why should adapting new technologies make a difference? Even if the fast-moving IT industry gives a different impression, there is enough time to analyze trends and compare them with your own requirements. It therefore usually pays to wait for a more mature version of the solution and not throw money out the window unnecessarily on experiments.
“It makes absolutely no sense to mirror the technology portfolio of other companies or competitors in order to ensure your own competitiveness,” explains Nadine Riederer, CEO at Avision. “To counteract the FOMO phenomenon, companies should therefore look inwards and ask themselves: What technologies do we really need to solve our problems? That way, they don’t lose sight of their actual goals and strategies.”
This press release is also available at www.pr-com.de/de/avision.
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Christina Karl
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D-82041 Oberhaching
Phone +49-89-623037-967
christina.karl@avision-it.de
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