Technology developed by leading hardware and software companies is pushed out to the end users through what is known as “the channel”. Channel vendors (Value added Resellers and Value added Distributors) are critical to a product reaching critical mass. As end users, we think we always want to be using the best technology available. That’s not always so. What we really want are solutions that will meet our business needs, be easily understood by our staff as it makes them more productive, won’t “break the bank” and most importantly, solutions that are going to keep up and be here tomorrow.
I started working with computers back when they were in special temperature controlled rooms with raised floors and a hard drive was larger than an industrial washing machine. Inside the “machine room” was a special office for our IBM CE (Certified Engineer). Although “third-party vendors” could demonstrate superior technology, the old adage that “nobody ever got fired for buying IBM” kept the CE comfortable in his little office.
When I owned a home infusion software company and would try to get our team to think like a “big company” I would tell them, “If it is good enough for Microsoft, it’s good enough for us”. It’s not that I thought everything Microsoft did was superior (in fact it is often inferior). Rather, I knew that Microsoft was going to be around and there is a lot our little company could learn from them. They were a company we could use as a cornerstone to ours.
The 2010 prediction season is upon us as people reflect on the year gone by and do their best to predict what will be important for the year ahead. From a technology perspective, a good place to listen and learn from are the technology channel vendors. A recent slide show on a site for technology channel vendors gives their Top 10 Microsoft Predictions for 2010. I’d recommend this as a quick read to stir your thoughts on your 2010 technology plan. You’ll see some things familiar and probably read about some products that are new to you. I make a practice of reading predictions from as many sources as I can at the end of the year and then take some time to develop our technology plan for 2010. At Rock-Pond we believe that we are at one of those exciting times where significant technologies are maturing and the next few years are going to be very exciting. This is not always the case, but it is as 2009 comes to a close.
Do you update your average wholesale prices for drugs each month? (Correct answer is Yes) Do you get this information from Medispan or First DataBank? (99% of home infusion providers will answer Yes) Do you get a list of drugs whose AWP changed when you run the update? (Correct answer is Yes) Was the list of drugs changed on the September 26th update bigger than you’ve ever seen before? (Probable answer is Oh My God!)
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