Episode 81
When we use the term ‘debt’, we’re not just talking about money. We’re talking about other very real forms of debt that most businesses are subject to: technical and operational debt.
As it’s the start of the new financial year, it’s important to check in and takes note of how you’re managing everything. Although a busy time of year, this is a perfect opportunity to see how efficient and effective your technical and operational processes are.
Is everything 100% running smoothly? Chances are, there’s room for improvement where your systems may be holding you back.
In this week’s WineDown episode we discuss:
Technical debt is something “quick and dirty”.
It’s the cost of having to rework your applications because the organisation chose a quick and easy “fix” to a problem rather than choosing a more time-consuming yet far better and more effective long-term solution. Initially, it may be great business value upfront (problem solved!), however, quick fixes often keep coming back to bite you in the long run.
In times of chaos, especially EOFY, many businesses find themselves choosing the first option in order to move forwards. There’s the common thinking of “let’s just do things this way for now and we’ll come back later and fix it”. Before you know it, time goes by, the problem wasn’t fixed and there are more problems popping up because of these decisions – with the ‘quick fix’ becoming part of the normal way of working.
Imagine paying to maintain the cost of a set of legacy applications that don’t even talk to one another. At first, things may seem fine, but once you need to transfer data over from App A to App B and find out they can’t integrate, problems are quick to arise.
You’ll be spending time trying to transfer data which takes time away from you actually running your business.
It’s costing you time, money, and productivity to try to resolve this problem and decide on how to move forward and resume operations.
If you decide to stick with your legacy app and choose to pay to maintain it, these costs add up quickly over time.
Technical debt is generally the problem that comes before operational debt.
If your processes aren’t working well and your employees are spending too much time performing work that isn’t really valuable to the business, you’re in operational debt. With limited resources, you need to work with what you have and use everything wisely.
At first, it may seem costly to address processes and system inefficiencies by hiring a business analyst or project manager, however, it’s well worth it in the long run. This episode touches on a shocking recent statistic that will open your eyes to how many resources you’re actually expending on inefficient processes.
Start by reviewing your processes and see what and where you can automate or modernise. Then, incorporate modern tools and SaaS applications that are cheaper, better, faster and require little to no maintenance. Once everything’s in place you’ll become effective, because when you have solid foundations, you can plan how to become efficient using your new toolbox.
Talk to us today to discuss your options and let’s get your business working smarter, not harder.
This week there are two wines of the week! Scott's recommendation is a 2010 Contentious Character bottle of Shiraz, a light but delectable drop with a kick of pepper and cherry.
⭐𝟯.𝟱/𝟱⭐
Nick's pick is a 2018 Cambridge Crossing Cabernet Sauvignon, lighter than a regular Cab Sav, it is smooth, woody and very easy to drink.
⭐𝟯.𝟴/𝟱⭐