A NASCAR car traveling at 100 miles per hour will travel 150 feet per second. During a ten-second pit stop, all of that car’s competitors will gain one-quarter mile over the stopped car. With this in mind, the pit crew must have set processes and methodologies that allow for their success. These carefully developed processes were most important at last year’s Daytona 500 where the average speed was 137.284 mph, the margin of victory was only .119 seconds and there were an astonishing 52 lead changes.

While it is easy to look at the actual deployment of a technology solution as the main focal point for evaluating a technology rollout company, there actually four rollout phases to be aware of. These four phases include planning, scheduling, deployment and project close-out.

While the Partnerships define the relationship between the technology rollout company and its field force, the Technician Communication Channel determines the actual interaction between the technology rollout company and its field technicians.

There are many problems that are plaguing the industry when it comes to deploying technology quickly and accurately in the field. The first step is to understand the problems and where they come from. The problem primarily stems from a lack of information about what it takes to deploy technology on a nationwide and global scale. Instead, we are subject to the same old sales pitch.
Same Sales Pitch
For as long as I can remember, traditional technology rollout companies have primarily established their capabilities from the following criteria:
1. Single Point of Contact for the Customer
2. Nationwide Partners
3. Software Application to Manage Rollout
However as I have realized (and hopefully you as well), nationwide rollouts are simply too complex for a simplified solution. You have to have a system of methodologies with defined processes in place in order to provide quality, speed, accountability, and minimized project costs. 
Increase of Incapable “Rollout” Companies
Because of the lack of information within our industry and the incorrect viewpoints that have emerged as a result, there are many types of rollout companies that are simply incapable of implementing a project successfully. These include:
- Technology Rollout Companies with initial capabilities, but fail to deliver over the life cycle of the project.
- Technology Rollout Companies that cannot produce a consistent level of quality.
- Solution Providers without adequate resources to support multi-site rollouts
- Unethical companies
Growth of the Problem
There are two primary reasons the growth of this trend will continue unless the industry as a whole begins to understand how to efficiently deploy technology.
1. Economic
As the economy has shows, job layoffs have seemingly become an everyday event. However, the work must still be done. As the number of employees decrease, outsourcing increases. This results in an increased dependence on technology rollout companies. The downside is that this means more incapable rollout companies will emerge.
2. Technology
We’ve seen an increase in the use and deployment of IP technology. The “plug and play” ability makes it easier to install. Please note that a common misconception is to associate the idea that easier field installations means easier management of nationwide rollouts. This is not the case!
With field installations becoming less challenging due to IP technology, communications of the building are run through the circuit which increases its importance even further (as if the circuit wasn’t important enough already!). A technology rollout company should then have experience and capabilities to deal with the circuit as well as communicate and coordinate activities with circuit providers. Without this, there are risks of project delays and increased costs from hiring multiple vendors. Most traditional rollout companies do not have circuit capabilities, however they are hired anyway. All of this fuels the problem even further!
Results of the Problem
Without keeping things in check, this problem will continue to grow. And the following results will become more and more abundant. Now who wants that?!
- Payment Problems
- Job Terminations
- Lawsuits
- Broken Contract Obligations
- Replacements
- Reputation Damage
How to Avoid These Problems
The only way to avoid these problems is to have a proven system of processes and methodologies employed by an experienced technology rollout company. This Technology Rollout System needs to be comprised of the following:
- Process Structure that defines rollout procedures
- Rollout Services Model utilizing the Deployment Method
- Internal Resources with key job functions incorporated within the Rollout Delivery Team Configuration
- Partnerships that are managed directly within the Technician Communication Channel

Wingsuit BASE jumping is one of the most extreme and dangerous sports out there. With its mechanics similar to those of a flying squirrel, a wingsuit jumper has an average forward speed of 100 mph – that’s 146 feet per second and would clear a football field in under 2.5 seconds. Participants must carefully prepare for their jump keeping in mind that though they will fly through the air like a bird, they are falling towards the earth at around 50 mph. This is like jumping off the Empire State Building and hitting the street below in less than 20 seconds. With the risk of death being 1 in every 2,300 jumps and injury being 1 in every 254 jumps, BASE jumping is even more risky than skydiving. Wingsuit jumpers know that planning and having a proven system in place prevents mistakes and is a necessary part of their safety precautions.

The Process Structure is the first part of the Technology Rollout System. It provides the “bird’s eye view” of the relationship and communication flow from beginning (customer) to the end (local field technicians). It also:

Each company’s internal organization may differ, but when it comes to multi-site technology rollouts on a nationwide or global scale, there are key job responsibilities to be examined that apply across the board for the Rollout Delivery Team.

Circuits play an extremely important role in business networks. With industry trends continuing to migrate more and more towards IP-based networks, the importance of the outside connection to the world is greater than ever. And the circuit is the gatekeeper of that connection!