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As I said in an earlier post, Tacoma does not have a significant customer base of consumers of technology. Two small computer stores and a handful of consultants and software developers seem to meet the demand rather well.

There are some local companies with significant technology needs. Most of those have learned to manage either with their own staff or with outside resources. Many of those resources come from either a small pool that are often dedicated to serving them, or from outside the area.

However, I have seen a significant number of businesses that struggle with their technology needs. I believe that by focusing some resources on (free) education and advice it would be possible to help those businesses meet their technology demands and to open the local market to more computer technology businesses.

In the interest of full disclosure, my own business would benefit from a growing base of technology consumers in Tacoma. However, this post isn’t about me, it’s about the community and it’s need to grow businesses of all kinds, not only technology firms but manufacturing, service, retail and any other field that could create jobs and wealth in our city. The fact that I would benefit only means that I’ve already put a significant amount of thought into the issue and have watched with interest as things have developed (and failed) over the years.

I still run into businesses managing their shop floor on 3 X 5 index cards or 3 part forms. Those things can work just fine until, you know, vacation (which many business owners never take) or illness. Or throw in a second shift and confusion reigns. But they often adapt and work through the rough spots (on a regular basis). White boards with multi-colored markers replace grease pens and on they go. Most never realize that affordable solutions are available.

Most business managers don’t even realize that there are solutions to their problems. To be honest, some have gotten so used to doing things a certain way they don’t even realize that there is a better way. Others struggle with fear and anxiety not only over the many unknowns in computer technology and the expenses that go along with them, but also over the idea of getting their old-school employees to accept something new.

I can’t recall a single project or contract that I’ve been involved in over the years, outside of working for actual software development companies, that the business’s needs didn’t far exceed the scope of the project at hand. In almost all cases I spent a fair amount of time explaining options and making recommendations for solving technology needs outside of what I was hired to do. The consistency of that happening tells me that most business owners and managers have no idea where to begin when it comes to computer technology.

Since both technology and a business’s needs are continually changing, there is usually no single ‘turnkey’ solution that meets all of their needs. In most cases it’s a combination of products, services and suppliers that have to be selected (intelligently) and managed in ways similar to other areas of business. But since it’s a relatively new field it hasn’t become part of everyone’s education just yet, so they need help in getting started, in keeping up and especially in avoided the many pitfalls that hide in the technology landscape.

I always try to explain to my customers that the least productive item on a company’s balance sheet is a mistake on a major purchase such as technology. To avoid that it’s important for a business to know itself and then to look for the right solutions. To do that they need to know, among other things, where to start, what to look at, what questions to ask and what’s important to them. For most small businesses most of this can be done without consultants provided they have some guidance. Once a company branches off into a few departments, each having their own needs and requirements as well as the need to communicate with other departments, having a fresh perspective and a professional approach can save a lot of time and money in the long run. However, most small businesses can make good choices without paying people like me.

Over the years there have been several groups that have picked up the cause of educating technology consumers. Well, maybe not directly, but they did it, sometimes without realizing that they were. Three that I’ll mention here fit the latter category, helping business people while they were actually focused on something else.

The Tacoma Technology Consortium reached it’s peak a number of years ago and has since declined to what appears to be little more than an infrequently updated blog. At it’s peak it attracted a lot of small technology businesses hoping to do business in Tacoma and a lot of local business managers who were looking for solutions. It seemed like a great idea at the time, but it didn’t last. I have my theories as to why, but I won’t go into those here. I’m not suggesting that it’s resurgence would be a good thing, but I won’t go into that now, either.

The South Sound Technology Conference which remains somewhat active but only seems to provide gatherings on an infrequent basis (is it actually more than once every two years?) This is also a great idea and has also been effective in some things. For instance, it was at the most recent event that I was inspired to begin a local blog with a conservative political focus. Well it wasn’t them who inspired me, I don’t want to get anyone in trouble with their liberal pals. During a forum on blogging I asked if there were any contrarians blogging in the community. Their answer was, ‘um… i dunno’. And trust me, if there had been, they would have known and their answer would have come through with some emphasis.

The West Sound Technology Association (WSTPA, I think the ‘P’ used to stand for ‘Professional’, I’m guessing they dropped it) is headquartered in Silverdale but has done some things in Tacoma over the years. As an example of what they’re doing that would help small businesses they recently had a session described on their Web site as:

Business Accounting Software Review - Confused about whether to use Peachtree, Quickbooks, of Microsoft Accounting? What are the pros and cons for possible business application?

Without getting to deep into the ‘how’ of developing this technology consumer base, that type of presentation can go a long way to helping businesses move forward.

I also called the Tacoma SCORE (Senior Corps of Retired Executives) office and inquired about help with technology for a small business. SCORE is an organization that helps small businesses get started with free advice from people who have been in business. They referred me to the Seattle SCORE office.

So, in summary, I think that Tacoma needs to put more effort into developing small businesses of all kinds. One of the needs of small businesses that I’m most familiar with is computer technology. I believe that if the community puts some resources into familiarizing business managers with available technology and ways to implement and use it, it will help the local economy both directly, in benefiting small businesses, and indirectly, in creating a market for technology businesses.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 6:44 pm and is filed under Tacoma Contradictions, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.