One of the challenges of being a school technology leader (and probably in other fields as well, but my area of greatest expertise is in education) is what I (and probably others) call “Comfort Zone Technology.”

Here is the general situation: A new leader is hired into whatever is their field. It may be in the classroom, but it is also a common situation in administrative office. They “learned their craft” while using software that is not available at the new school. Quickly, very quickly, often before they have interacted with the IT staff, they begin the process of transferring their office over to the new software. This may be done covertly, with the leader telling folks, “We will just get by until we buy the software we want” and they delay important work until they get it. This may be done overtly, with software being ordered before even having a conversation with IT.

This post explains why that situation happens, why it is a problem, and what organizational leaders must do to address it.

Why Not Use What We Have?

For most business functions, there is existing software to serve the function. It is likely whatever function was done on “Comfort Zone Technology” at the leader’s previous school can be done but using different software and different protocols at the new school. The comfort some from using familiar software, probably effectively, and at an organization held in high esteem. We know these factors are associated with technology acceptance model, a well-known theory explaining technology use.

Leaders are comfortable using the software, so they want to use it. Unfortunately, their colleagues may not be comfortable with it. Further, if the leaders are strong advocates for their department, they are going to argue for their “Comfort Zone Technology” and promote it as something to improve their work lives, and no one is going to argue with a new boss against that.

The result is that a new leader is anxious to use what they know, and within their department few are likely to argue against it.

Software versus Systems

If you use a computer, you also use software. Software comes in three “grades.” There is software for the consumer; often to be installed on a single workstation and interacting with data on file systems. Consider video editing software installed on your computer. It works only on your system using files you open from drives connected to the computer. There is small business software which includes data and applications used by maybe a few hundred users. These systems are often connected to network-connected storage to facilitate file sharing and accessed by many users. There is also enterprise software which is designed to manage data on thousands of users and many simultaneous connections.

Especially if the leader moves to a school that is either larger or smaller than the one they were at, these differences matter. Many “Comfort Zone Technologies” is small schools are “one-offs” using customized consumer grade software; in large schools they are enterprise systems, and very expensive. If a new leader arrives asking for an enterprise system to be installed at a small school, they may find its cost is a very large portion of the budget they have available.

Hidden Costs of Enterprise Systems

Installing an enterprise system is something that requires the effort of the IT department. The IT department is likely overworked, and they have a large list of projects to undertake. Installing an enterprise system can take months to even years of planning and effort; those who projects have been waiting months are unlikely to want to see theirs put on hold while a new “Comfort Zone Technology” is installed.

The “Comfort Zone Technology” the leader wants must be compatible with the existing system, both for operating systems, database platforms, and computing capacity. It must be tested and tested and tested again to be sure it meets the expectations, and each round of tests extends to time to deployment and further delays other projects.

Before it is put into production, the users need to be trained in its use, and in many cases, the leader who promoted it does not know how to train for it (or have the capacity to train for it themselves).

My Response to Comfort Zone Requests

Over my career, I have adopted several responses to these requests:

1. Tell them to find the money—Now, we don’t want folks thinking they can deploy any technology that can pay for, but this is to help them recognize enterprise systems are very expensive. Often leaders who realize the full costs of enterprise systems may have second thoughts.
2. Show them the current project timeline in IT and encourage them to negotiate with other leaders to find the time.
3. Jump on the team and advocate for the ones that make sense!

In recent years, several schools in my region have adopted new learning management systems. This is a “Comfort Zone Technology” for many. This has nurtured the landscape for new academic leaders to advocate the school switch to whatever LMS they had previously. If I am tasked with leading the effort to change our school’s LMS, I may accept it nine months ago (when the chatter started at my school), I would have resigned rather than take it on. Now, I know that the work will only be getting started when I plan to retire.

These are longer drawn-out projects, and not one I am interested in spending the last of my career engaged in.

What Leaders Can Do

Organizational leaders have a role in addressing the drain “Comfort Zone Technology” can have on their organizations.

1.  Understand the IT and data systems of the organization—It is important that leaders (I am talking about any c-level leader) has some understanding of the current state of the IT so they can guide leaders who work in their field to make reasonable decisions.
2. Ensure IT collaborates with folks wanting to make changes—IT departments can the “department of no” when folks ask to make changes.
3. Be the decider—Conflict between IT and department leaders can be contentious. Ultimately the CEO must understand completely the ramifications (including all costs and redirected resources) and make decisions about what IT systems to adopt… and they must live with those decisions.