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OPINION
T hroughout 25 years in business, my company, Eclipse Engineering, has seen digital technology incorporated into every aspect of firm management. With the array of options on the market and complicated internal needs to address, a starting point can be difficult to find. Technology evolves quickly and it is imperative that AEC firms make smart decisions when selecting the software that powers project files, data storage, and financials. Steps for effective technology upgrades
Jesse Fortune, P.E.
The leadership team at Eclipse believes these seven key steps are critical to making effective technology decisions: 1. Identify the problem. Having a detailed summary of the problem is essential, otherwise, it is easy to be distracted by solutions to irrelevant problems. When you go to the grocery store hungry, you may buy more than you need, but when you have a specific recipe, you can make a shopping list and shop more efficiently. Example: In 2018, our firm had a key technology decision to make: the project management/ accounting software that had once been a positive step forward was now posing problems. The software provider had been sold to a larger conglomerate and customer service plummeted
which made it difficult and expensive to access the financial information we needed to make business decisions. We formally identified many problems, including poor customer service, increased software subscription costs, accounting modules that required special training, and the lack of free access to our data within their program. 2. Engage the creative brain. Engage in a classic brainstorming session to discover useful ideas. Be in a positive environment with no time constraints and ask lots of questions. Can the problem be solved internally? Do current staff have skill sets that could contribute? What are external solutions?
See JESSE FORTUNE, page 8
THE ZWEIG LETTER DECEMBER 18, 2023, ISSUE 1517
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