If you are managing a complex business, the goalposts have changed a lot in the last 10 years. Disruption is everywhere, the pace of change is increasing and today’s technology has eaten yesterday’s technology for lunch. You are probably thinking that if you don’t get on the bandwagon you’ll be another one of the casualties.

As a business leader you probably have a fair feel for the problems and opportunities in your area. Ask one of the young whizz kids around the office and they will be sure to mention some online software that will fix the world. A quick check on the web site and it looks like exactly what you need. At a few dollars a month, the case becomes compelling. You’ll get your business unit humming and be on your way to that next promotion.

If it doesn’t work out that way, it may not be the concept that was floored, just the execution.

You can get immense value from low cost cloud software. If you want to raise your chances of success, then you just need to do it right:

• Make a plan for what you are going to achieve and hold yourself accountable to it
• Identify all the costs and risks, and make sure they are managed
• Figure out how the business works now, how it will work with the new software and use the difference to detail what needs to be done. Make sure the software meets all requirements
• If you bring in specialists, make sure they are working on day 1 – analysts start analysing, project managers manage cost, time and scope and developers start coding. If they can’t start, you have the wrong speciality
• Transition from a project environment to business as usual as quickly as you can and close the project down

Of course business leaders may not have the time or expertise to do all this. Expert organisations like Business Analysts are your best bet to get that promotion.