Modern business requires a wide variety of technologies in order to operate efficiently and stay competitive. Companies that do not utilize the latest technology risk falling behind their competitors and losing market share.
Effectively managing these technology systems requires a combination of management and technical skills. This is the basis of technology management, which focuses on using technological assets to achieve business goals and objectives. Technology management also helps to ensure that technological investments are aligned with strategic business needs.
As a multidisciplinary field, the scope of technology management includes everything from supervision of technical personnel and design and deployment of computer or other technological systems to project management, production, and operations management, and evaluation of technology value. This multifaceted approach to business management is essential to any technology-based company, whether it's an engineering or hardware company or a software firm.
Some of the benefits of technology management include cost reduction and increased efficiency. For example, many new technological systems automate tasks that would otherwise require manual intervention by humans. As a result, businesses can increase productivity and reduce labor costs by eliminating repetitive, low-level tasks. New technology may also offer improved security by preventing or detecting cyberattacks and other threats to data integrity.
The most important aspect of technology management is identifying, assessing, and developing technological opportunities that will improve a business's value proposition. It's a challenging task, but it is an important part of creating a competitive advantage for a business. As noted by Michael Bigwood in Research-Technology Management, one of the challenges is to find the right balance between R&D and new product development efforts.
