The decision to implement a new technology, one that is most likely untested and unknown can be scary. Many companies shy away from emerging technologies because they fear the unknown; however, adopting technologies at an early stage is actually one of the best decisions you can make for your company.

I believe that organizations act imprudently when they forgo the competitive advantages associated with taking on an emerging technology. The truth is that if you are not partnering and innovating with the companies that build the products you use, you are losing an opportunity. The benefits of partnering with emerging technology vendors far outweigh the risks.

At GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation (GMACCM), we recognized the benefits of emerging technologies many years ago. When I first joined the GMAC family in 1992, the company received very few offers to develop emerging technology relationships. Even when I became CIO of GMACCM, the company had yet to begin implementing emerging technologies. At the time, vendors rarely approached GMACCM, thinking us to be a risk-averse, stodgy real estate lender, and we received only about one offer a year. Today, nearly every vendor out there asks us to help pilot their products.
When GMACCM was established, almost ten years ago, the company decided to implement an “early adopter” business model through which we would take advantage of emerging technology capabilities. This opportunistic model allowed the company to become the first frame relay adopter and an early adopter of document management technology.

In addition, GMACCM was one of the first companies to implement MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching). The company decided to roll out MPLS last year by switching our technology alliance with a large player in the market to one with a small vendor. Rather than stay with the status quo, we opted to take a risk. Prior to the implementation, GMACCM would have a frame relay service with T1 capacity in our home office in Pennsylvania and all of our other offices across the country. Each time we opened a new office, we needed to add a new connection. This was quite costly. With MPLS, there are direct channel communications that free up bandwidth and offer quality service layers. All of the cities in the carrier connection are now direct connect rather than through a hub and spoke connection.

We endured a few initial bumps during the MPLS implementation, but rapidly reaped far more benefits by becoming the first user of the vendor’s MPLS product. There was a significant cost advantage and a huge increase in performance and bandwidth. In fact, there has been nearly a four to one performance increase. And, the quality of communication between our offices has improved tremendously.

A second example of a positive experience with the adoption of emerging technology involves our relationship with Microsoft. GMACCM has been the beta tester for several Microsoft products. By helping Microsoft to test pilot the products, we gained that company’s trust and respect and were able to adopt and adapt its products before any other company. In fact, on the day that one of Microsoft’s products officially launched, GMACCM had been already converted for a year-and-half! This early adopter relationship has led Microsoft to ask GMACCM executives to sit on various panels, including Microsoft’s mobile advisory team.
The reason that we have such special access to this important technology partner and other vendors is not our size. Vendors like to partner with GMACCM as a beta tester because of our reputation as a knowledgeable and responsive organization. We are not afraid to report issues and bugs that need to be worked out before a product is launched. There are many issues to keep in mind upon entering an emerging technology relationship. Here are some guidelines for successful early adopters:

• Use caution in making your emerging technology selections.
• Conduct a small test pilot on the business side, not the IT side. Once the product is working well in a small area, it can be introduced more readily and realistically to the entire company.
• Determine a model for incorporating emerging technologies into the company culture.
• Don’t be a one-trick pony—continuously take on opportunities to implement new technologies. If you stop after one implementation, you’re only helping your company in the short term.
• Ensure that opportunities are directly tied to your company’s business and that they will help eliminate inefficiencies, i.e. decrease overhead, increase capacity, etc.
As a company increasingly adopts new technologies, it builds a reputation in the industry as a trusted partner. Companies must develop a proven track record in order to penetrate the world of emerging technology. As a company facilitates more and more relationships with vendors in which it tests their new products, the company’s name becomes known as a technology-savvy organization. That will lead to new offers from multiple vendors.

As I mentioned before, GMACCM has transitioned from a company that received one offer per year from technology vendors to an organization that entertains between ten and fifteen offers every year. Today, GMACCM can selectively choose those opportunities that make the most sense for our business.

Niraj Patel is EVP and CIO at GMAC Commercial Mortgage (GMACCM) and a member of the GMAC Commercial Holding Corp. Executive Committee. Patel joined GMACCM in 1996. He is responsible for the development, implementation and administration of GMACCM’s nationwide common systems and processes. He directs information technology infrastructure for the Horsham, PA, headquarters and more than 30 branches.