The Team at Alces Flight was honoured to be invited as panelists and facilitators exploring industry relationships, environmental/legacy impact, and staff/skills development at the UK DRI 2025 Retreat. Over the coming days we’ll be exploring some of the insights made during our time with this community, sharing practical ways that you can take action on the topics discussed. Whether considering your next purchase, looking at long-term impact, or developing yourself or your team, these are practical tips you can incorporate into your next project or implementation.
Lesson One: Industry Relationships – Understanding Needs vs. Wants
One of the biggest challenges in technology is distinguishing between what users need and what they want. With rapid breakthroughs in hardware and software, the best solution isn’t always obvious—especially when it comes to purchasing decisions. So, how can you structure better conversations with prospective vendors and providers?
Alces Flight Crew Member, Wil Mayers, spent time in the room engaging in the practical process of developing the right kind of relationship with industry leaders. His outcomes? Look for the things you can measure, and don’t underestimate how change can impact you or your team on a direct (and sometimes personal) level.
Finding tangible measurements.
The most common reason for failed purchasing decisions is the lack of a clearly defined problem that needs to be addressed. To guide your decision-making process, consider asking these key questions:
- Will the solution enable significant improvements or deliver measurable value (e.g., time and/or cost savings)?
- Does this address a short-term requirement or align with long-term goals?
- Is the focus on this solution driven by urgency or cost considerations?
- Is interest in this solution motivated by trends or fear of missing out (FOMO)?
- Is the return on investment (ROI) clear and justifiable?
“The Alces team believes in clarity. Utilising a subscription platform is how we make sure to help customers define their needs, see how their decisions affect results, and ensure that they are empowered to create a process of continuous improvement.
– Wil Mayers
Include the intangible impact.
Once you have your problem clearly identified the next step of engagement with any provider is to consider personal/team impact. While on the surface implementing technical solutions appears wholly logical, the addition (or even removal) of solutions can reverberate in unexpected ways. Some questions to consider:
- How much of a disruption period will undertaking this resource or solution cause?
- How will this impact my or my team’s day-to-day duties? How much will my/our work change?
- Will the change increase or decrease overall feelings of satisfaction across my/the team’s work?
- Do I need to have leadership buy-in and once bought in, what will I need to do to report to keep the stakeholders informed?
- How will I/we implement feedback loops to build towards an appropriate process of change management?
By addressing both the tangible and intangible questions, you’ll be better equipped to make informed decisions and ensure the industry relationships you cultivate align with your true needs.
Next up in our series on lessons from UK DRI – Practical and Long-Term Sustainability for Tech.
The UK DRI Retreat, held from January 13–17, 2025, in Manchester, was designed with a specific focus on developing the soft skills of technical research professionals. The event also provided valuable networking opportunities, with an aim to create connections across various institutions and communities. We are grateful for the invitation to take part in this event and share our insights, as well as gain invaluable opportunities to connect to the current needs from our community.