3 TECHNOLOGICAL REQUEST DEFINITION
3.1 Sectorial Technological Map definition
The strategic formulation has to be supported by a group of specific managing
processes that allow you to identify, evaluate, acquire, absorb, and efficiently use
the technologic resources. Here we are going to use the Sectors Technological Map
tool.
The Sectors Technological Map is a tool that gathers the available technological
resources in the start-up sector. Depending on their application it classifies them
into the different activities and processes of the business. With this tool you can
better choose the resources in order to support the available competitive
advantages.
Constructing a technological map entails the following steps:
3.1.1 Value Chain Work Out
To define your own value chain you have to:
-
Generally identify which are the main activities in your sector to develop and
classify them depending on if they are basic or supporting activities.
Organize the activities selected before depending on the groups they belong
to: production, logistics, business, merchandising and sales, etc.
Define the relation between the different groups.
Represent them in a graphic.
You can use as a reference the Value Chain general model defined by the Professor
Michael E. Porter and adapt it to your own sector. Stated below is the value chain of
the Retail Commerce sector:
Figure 6
3.1.2 Identify the critical technology impact areas in the business process.
1 of 8
Technology presence can be found in all the activities of the Value Chain: From the
extraction or obtaining of the raw material to the finished product sales and the
supporting activities.
All of the main and supporting activities of the enterprise have to generate a value.
The technology has a main role in the generation of the value in the entire Value
Chain.
Although, there are some activities and processes in wich integrating the
technology needs a higher strategic level in the business. These are the technologic
critical areas.
To identify the critical areas of your Start-up, analyze in which processes you have
to have more technologic advantages than your competitors to generate the
competitive advantages that you have identified in your Business Plan and that you
have reflected in your technological strategy (strategic aims and action lines).
3.1.3 Identification of the technological resources
In the next step you have to list the different available technologies groups that
are usefulin of the development and execution of the processes and the identified
tasks critical areas of your Start-up.
Now you have to take a step back and identify the specific technological
resources of each of the sectors statted before.
For the rest of the not critical areas we advise you to identify and introduce the
better practices used in the sector, because they are processes that do not
provide a clear differentiation advantages to your business Project.
3.2 Techonological Request clasification and definition
Not all of the technological resources even though the critical area ones, have the
same role and importance in the frame of the business project. They have to be
clasify to know which are the most relevant in each case. We are going to classified
them following these different criteria:
3.2.1 Classify according to the technological maturity degree.
Due to the fast evolution of the technology, at the moment of implanting a
technological resource is good to take into account the stage of its development to
know and valorize the useful life that the resource has left. Representing the
evolution of the obtained output we will obtain a curve with an “S” shape, in which
these different stages can be seen.
-
-
Emerging: the technology seems very useful, but its use is restricted to
those organizations that generate them (usually public research centers or
very innovative enterprises)
Growth: the technology acquires a higher maturity degree so it is gradually
more useful in wider fields distant to its first activity group.
Maturity: the technology shows satisfactory output levels and globalizes its
use.
Saturation: It is impossible to improve its output. The technology starts its
“hibernation” until new technology appears and replaces it.
2 of 8
-
Obsolescence: after staying for a while in the saturation stage, the
technology becomes obsolete due to its output levels that are lower that
other alternative technologies.
Figure 7
This first classification should help you to outline those technological resources that
are either in a very advanced saturation or in the obsolescence stage. The
formulation of a defensive strategy would reject the use of emerging or very new
technologies.
For the first technological resources selection, take into account that the evolution
time of each technology needs different strategic implications:
-
-
-
The first maturity stages of the technologies usually show frequent
and important innovations of the product. In general they come out in
small groups of entrepreneurs and are usually linked to the needs of
technological advanced users. Usually they are appropriated resources
for technological leaders.
The second stage usually shows a large number of innovations in the
process (not in the product), constant changes in the product and a higher
number of competitors. These are resources that, in general, have a better
adaptation in technological pursuers.
The last step presents very few innovations in the product and in the
process. The innovations are usually made in enterprises whose main aim is
focused in cost reductions and quality improvement. It adapts better to a
conservative strategy.
3 of 8
Figure 8
3.2.2. Classification due to the role of the technological resources in the
Start-up
-
-
Basics: without them the business project does not work. They are
resources that have to be taken into account and know necessarily.
Convenience:
the development of the business would have better
conditions due to the introduction of execution improvements and the
results of different activities.
Auxiliary: are not basic technological resources because their
improvements do not affect the obtained results of the products and
services.
3.2.3 Classification due to the absorbing level of the Business Plan
Each resource can be totally unknown, known or you can be an expert on it.
This is an important point in order to detect the necessary proceedings in relation
with the staff training, the maintenance of the technology and the inner
proceedings in the organization.
You can represent the result of this classification in a matrix. It is very helpful to
analyze and to obtain conclusions in relation with the opportunities of your
particular case it also helps you to decide how should you act to develop your
definitive Technological Request.
Take as a standard that you have to have and to dominate all the technologies that
are essential for your Start-up. You do not have to pay so much interest in
investing in those that play an auxiliary role because they are not going to be very
helpful for your business incomes.
4 of 8
You have to reflect about the real contribution of the selected convenient resources
in order to create a competitive advantage. In the last selection you have to pay
close attention to those were you are an expert or to those that you can easily
manage.
Figure 9
3.2.4. Technological Request Work Out
Now you have to select the most appropriated technological resources for
your start out (making the Technological Request). Support you in the
classifications and criteria mentioned before.
When selecting the resources, take into account:
-
The use or set up of emerging technologies that are not very developed
demands a high technological knowledge and you have to have an
appropriated strategy of risk management, but it also can retrieve
much higher incomes.
-
The opposite happens when you work with consolidated or obsolete
technologies. Less risks, less competitive advantages, and less retrievals.
-
Think about using different technological resources that have different
maturity levels. This can help in diversifying the technological risks. One of
the keys of the current market is the capacity to integrate different
technologies.
-
It is necessary to dominate those technological resources that are basic and
those that contribute in the maintenance or support of the competitive
advantage.
-
It is interesting, at least, to know the existence of emerging resources,
to be prepared to face a future technological change.
3.3 Technological Request evaluation
5 of 8
Now we are going to analyze the previously selected resources and your capability
as an entrepreneur to put into practice the Technological Request. The most
important thing is to guarantee a good connection between what you know, your
available resources and your plan.
The capacities and competencies do not have to be included in your Business Plan
because you can use as a basis external competencies. In this case you have to
develop the necessary relations to access to the complementary knowledge, to the
necessary equipment, etc.
The evaluation of the selected technological resources needs the following steps.
3.3.1 Description of the Technological Resource
The first step to evaluate the selected technological resources is to define for to
each one, which are the requirements to adapt yourself to the needs derived from
your business project. They can be grouped depending on their typology in:
1. Functional requirements: description of the main processes that the
selected resource has to support and manage.
2. Technical requirements: technical description of the given solution: needs
of installation, security and control requirements, output, ease implentation,
maintenance, etc.
3. User Facilities: ease to learn, adapt and use it.
4. Qualification of the Supplier: requirements related with the guarantees of
the supplier services and his/hers experience with other customers.
5. Now you have to select the concrete available products that exist in the
market for each technological resource. You will follow these steps:
1. Identification of the Testing products
Identify the available products in the market that, a priori, have the functional
requirements. To choose which products are you going to evaluate. You have to
define some basic requirements to fulfill. For example:
-
Market high diffusion
The use of the product in enterprises of similar size of your future
udertaking
Fulfillment of the minimum number of functional requirements demanded.
Have a service that acts after the acquisition and internal introduction of the
product
A maintenance service that contributes to guarantee the correct use and tha
updates of its products
2. Definition of the evaluation criteria
Once the identification of the products is done, settle the criteria that you are going
to consider to evaluate the products and to establish a priority procedure for each
one. If you use more criteria you will have a wider objectivity degree.
The criteria should help when measuring the needed fulfillment degree.
Each criterion has to have a weight related to their importance. For example:
6 of 8
Figure 10
We recommend you to define the criteria not subjectively, do it in a way that can
be measured to have an easy and objective evaluation process.
3. Obtain Information about the products.
Now you have the information required to analyze the selected solutions/products.
You can do it with a direct contact with the providers or through intermediary
advisories.
4. Evaluate and Select the products.
Finally, you have to do a functional, a technical and an economic evaluation of the
products from the obtained information using the evaluation criteria defined and
passed. This evaluation should finish with a ranking of products in priority order
under the accorded evaluation criteria.
(Ex. Punctuate the criteria from 1 to 10 depending on their importance)
Figure 11
3.3.2 Analysis of the capacity to face and manage the Technological
Request
To evaluate your capacity to face risks in the development of the defined
Technological Request you have to identify which are the requirements of the
selected products.
Identify the needed human and technological means to develop and introduce the
selected products.
-
Human means:
7 of 8
You have to evaluate if the implantation of the Technological Request with the
selected products is going to impact in the organization of your future
enterprise, in its defined structure well as in the need of adding staff. For
example, when is needed maintenance responsible for the computer system In
this case, define the new profiles that are going to be incorporated, the duties
that they would have, the need of staff to solve the lack of it and the estimated
wages.
You also have to identify the tasks that you have to subcontract; they
not take partvin the critical processes of the business. Usual tasks that do
have an added value to the organization staff. In this case describe
functions, the profile required for its fulfillment and possible providers of
services and the initial costs previewed.
can
not
the
the
Another possibility to take into account is to hire punctual external services
to reinforce certain activities or critical implememtation tasks. This is convenient
when the tasks are highly specialized and critic in the implantation of a product.
For example, with consultancy, services it is convenient to apply value criteria in
these types of services.
-
Technical means:
It is possible that the incorporation of the requested products require the
incorporation of additional infrastructures (telecommunication nets). It
must be correctly planned.
2. Identification of the required knowledge: you have to define the required
knowledge to implant the technological resources to do the better use and
exploitation of them.
Now identify which are yourself and your staft additional training necessities that
have to be satisfied and describe the acquisition possibilities: available courses,
specialized staff, providers, dates, cost, etc.
3. Evaluation of the risks to face: though in many cases there are aspects
impossible to know a priori, it is necessary a reflection that can let you quantify and
valuate some of the points to face the Technological Request:
-
Knowledge of the maintenance needs: costs, suppliers, own business
resources, etc.
-
Obsolescence of the technology: valuate the technological maturity
degree of the products to appraise its exploitation during an appropriated
use time.
-
Ranking of the selected solutions: preview the future growth and if it is
needed an easy adaptation, etc.
-
External resources: as much as possible, try to depend on minimal few
external help. If it is need should be just because are specialized staff.
To analyze the technological resources, you can use the Auditory of abilities,
technologies, and innovation tool.
8 of 8