Rick Demko

Why the Technobabble?

I love the field I work in.

I hate the stereotype I seem to be getting because other firms cannot communicate to humans.

Computers can be frustrating enough as they are.  I have talked about the need for a translator for small business owners to understand their technology.  What does not help is when multiple firms try to attack each other and discredit each other in order to try and close a deal.  I can not think of any business owner that would feel good about engaging an IT consulting firm because they out powered another during the sales process only to find out later that they did not possess the skill set to achieve the goals they set out to accomplish.  And do not think you can tell me that does not happen, I have seen it!

Just the other week at the St. Louis Business Expo in St. Charles Missouri (anyone else think it is funny that the St. Louis Expo is actually in St. Charles?) I ran into a business owner that I had originally met a year ago and asked how their technology needs were being handled by the IT firm they decided to go with.  I got a response that looked something like this: (see picture below)



They were so frustrated with the Technobabble they have had to deal with over the last six months that an effort was beginning to develop in search for a third IT firm.  With out going into the specifics of the situation. ... Their current provider insisted they would provide a certain level of support, customer support being the predominate apparent focus of their proposal.  When the business owner called the IT firm, disapproving of the level of service they had received, the response was an assortment of technobabble the IT firm used to defend themselves and to defend the service contract that was entered.  I listened to this President, for easily half an hour, rant about the problems in communication.

All the business owner wanted was for their network to work as fluidly as promised without the technobabble, and if there were problems to explain what those problems meant.  This seams very simple to me.. but what do I know?

As I am sure a number of you are familiar with my use of technical terms. ... Technobabble as defined by Wikipedia: Technobabble, a form of prose using jargon, buzzwords and highly esoteric language to give an impression of plausibility through mystification, misdirection, and obfuscation. This is not to be confused with jargon itself, but rather technobabble is a conscious attempt to deliver jargon to outsiders, without insight or comprehensive explanation, to make unsound or unprovable arguments appear to have merit.

Why don't we all make an effort within our own field to bring the People focus back to technology consulting.

What happened to the customer is always right?  My focus, and I really believe all IT firms should have their focus, is on the business, the people specifically, and what their needs are instead of my own.  They do not care about my knowledge, they have goals and objectives that are far greater than mine.  The people, and the solutions to their goals, are the focus of my attention as a consultant.  It is never the technology that is the problem.  It's the technobabble and the communication of that babble.  Simple solution to that problem..  Communicate like a human!

One more definition of technobabble:
The Oxford Companion to the English Language states: "An informal term for the use or overuse of technical jargon. John A. Barry in the introduction to Technobabble (MIT Press, 1991) says that 'the word connotes meaningless chatter about technology' but 'is also a form of communication among people in the rapidly advancing computer and other high-technology industries.'"

Happy Monday everyone and have a great week!

IT as a Foreign Language?

It's true, I have been around computers for the majority of my life..  I've been in and out of sales, programming, and support for 12 years..  Sure, programming languages should sound foreign to the average user, but why does it still have to be so complicated for a small business owner who feels handcuffed by their IT provider due to lack of understanding 'the language'?

I suppose I should have noticed this first in 1996 while selling computers for a small retail outlet in West County, St. Louis.  The knowledge of some customers that came in our store was (to stick with the language theme) probably at a third grade level.  Why should I have expected any different?  When a customer knows what they want to do with a computer, it is the position of the sales person/consultant to help them make the best choice, within their parameters, what hardware will suit their needs.  The customer just wants their computer to work the way they want.. all the time.

Let's take that thought and apply it to the small business owner:

Just like the customer above in the retail store.. the business owner should not be expected to know what they really want nor should they be expected to know the language or frankly anything about computers besides how to use them.  A business owner should only be concerned with the tasks of running their business (unfortunately that also includes everything from finance, human resources, managing staff, and driving sales) and not understanding fluent computer lingo.

What is a business owner really supposed to do even after they decided it's time to outsource or hire someone to translate the world of technology for them?

When a business owner takes the risk and relies on either another individual or perhaps an outsourced firm to handle their network infrastructure how can they be sure that they sill aren't being taken advantage of or being provided with false information?

I recently had an experience with a client where they were completely happy with the 'professional' IT firm they were using to manage their corporate network.  Luckily the company agreed to let one of my engineers take a quick look at their system as either a second pair of eyes or a piece of mind comb through with a few possible recommendations at the end or our review.  Several critical issues, including not one single data backup for several months, were found during our review.  The prospective client decided he still had faith in their current firm and wanted to have them fix the line items we found, which we agreed too.  After the issues were apparently fixed we offered a second look at the system, again just to check and make sure they were indeed secure.  Again, the problems still existed..  Long story short, my firm and the competing firm were saying, as far as the client was concerned, two completely different things.  The client thought it would be sensible to have a third firm come in and do the same audit and make their own recommendations (after the client showed this third firm our recommendations).  The result as you could image was yet a third version of the story!!

Well, who do you believe??  This is a foreign language for the client and they just want their system to function the way they envisioned and to have someone ensure they are protected from everything bad in cyberspace.

Who can they trust and how do they know that they aren't being lied to by another sales person saying that whatever service model they have is going to take away all of their pain and is a perfect fit for the client?

How can one IT firm have the perfect solution, simply a boxed solution at times, that is perfect for this or any other unique potential client?

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great solutions out there.. but not everyone or anyone for that matter is perfect for every prospect.

So now what?

Give me a call and I will act as your translator.  We will begin by assesing what your needs are and help you find the firm with which you naturally belong.