Why the tech hype cycle will fail you

Every 12-18 months the tech hype cycle gets high on a new idea, framework, or model. Most recently it’s LLMs.

On the whole, as the pace of technology innovation accelerates, so does the hype cycle. If you try to follow along, it makes you dizzy.

I have data leaders both at Global 100 companies and at small manufacturing businesses asking me the same questions - What about the cloud? What about AI? What about blockchain? What about IoT? Data Lakehouses?

Some of these are sticky tech and some aren’t. But that’s not the point of this email.

Rather, I want to notice how tech functions very differently based on the size of your organization. Here’s how it looks in non-profit organizations (my focus area):

Large Organizations (1,000+ employees): These groups have dedicated teams to manage and configure technology infrastructure. They spin up VMs and have the skills to leverage IaaS solutions. They have a team of people solely responsible for licensing and administration of core software. Their main constraints are not about budget, but internal resistance and company politics.

Medium Organizations (250-1,000 employees): This size group has reduced capacity and capabilities, but is still able to operate modern tools and have dedicated tech teams. They lean heavier on managed services, but their size and unique needs also mean that they need to customize and occasionally invest in PaaS solutions.

Small Organizations (<250 employees): Little or limited dedicated IT staff. It’s common for this work to be outsourced to a third-party IT firm. The focus is on running lean and core constraints more often revolve around budget. SaaS solutions are the primary meaningful option.

Here’s the thing

The hype cycle will show you examples and use cases that won’t work for your size org. Before you can even evaluate how your company can adopt the latest tech cycle, you have to first understand what solutions are the most optimal for your size org.

Large Orgs: Investing in a custom solution.

Medium Orgs: Leverage existing frameworks, or lean on a managed platform.

Small Orgs: If it’s not a managed solution built for your size org, ignore it and move on.

This does not mean that small orgs are at a disadvantage. In fact, they can adopt tech so much faster than huge orgs can. But the types of platforms you should consider are vastly different.

I have these conversations with organizations every week. Hit reply if you want help navigating data solutions at your org.

It’s great to be back here with you,

Sawyer