Technology Roadmapping

Technology roadmapping begins with mapping the technology landscape, a fundamental step that requires a comprehensive inventory of all existing technologies in the organisation. This involves identifying and cataloguing all hardware, software and systems that are currently in use, as well as all technologies that are in development or planned.

This process enables the organisation to obtain a clear and complete picture of its current technology landscape. Each system, platform and tool is documented, including details of its function, area of application, performance and any problems that may arise.

The identification of interfaces and interdependencies is another key step in technology roadmapping. In this phase, a thorough analysis of the various systems and technologies is carried out in order to understand how they interact and communicate with each other and with external systems.

Interdependencies refer to the mutual dependency between different systems and technologies. This means that a change in one system can have an impact on other systems. A deep understanding of these connections is crucial to avoid failures and improve efficiency. It also helps to plan the scope of system change or implementation projects more accurately and minimise risks.

On the other hand, interfaces are the points at which systems and technologies communicate with each other or exchange data. They can exist both within the company (between internal systems) and between the company and external systems (such as suppliers, customers or cloud services). Identifying and understanding these interfaces is crucial to ensuring efficient data communication and integration.

In this phase, potential new technologies are identified and evaluated to determine whether and how they can contribute to achieving the company’s strategic goals.

This involves not only examining the potential benefits and capabilities of the new technologies, but also thoroughly analysing how these technologies can be integrated into the company’s existing technology landscape. This assessment must consider many aspects, including technical features, costs, interoperability with existing systems, potential risks and vendor support.

The development of an integration strategy or technology roadmap is a key element in the technology roadmapping process. Based on the assessments and analyses carried out previously, a detailed strategy is drawn up that outlines how different technologies and systems can interact and be integrated to create an effective and efficient technology landscape.

In this phase, priorities are set and concrete plans are drawn up for the implementation, migration and integration of new technologies into the company’s existing infrastructure. These plans define exactly which technologies should be introduced or updated, when this should be done and what resources are required.

Key components of an effective integration strategy include considering interdependencies between different technologies, ensuring scalability to support business growth and change, addressing security issues and complying with industry standards and regulations.

This integration strategy is presented in the form of a technology roadmap, which serves as a strategic document that shows the path to achieving the organisation’s technology goals. It is a dynamic tool that is regularly updated and reviewed to ensure that it takes account of constantly changing business conditions and technology landscapes.