Making the Most of Your Technology Stack: Ownership, Adoption, and the Buy Versus Build Question

Your tech stack should consist of software that improves your overall team’s performance, but it only provides true value if someone is consistently managing how it evolves and if employees are actually using the tools.

Have a Dedicated Tech Person

Just like any other role in your company, there comes a point where it becomes necessary to have an individual oversee the technology aspect of the business. This was the case with K&D Landscaping, based in Watsonville, California, when they created the role of technology and innovation manager back in December.

Sean Laux, K&D’s technology and innovation manager, was previously an account manager for the company and has a background in working for tech startups in Silicon Valley when he was approached about moving into his current position.

He recommends that other landscape companies looking for someone to fill a similar role in their own company find a tech champion in their organization. This is an individual who has an interest in technology and has shown a willingness to experiment with new tools.

“Even just take that tech champion and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to give you a little bit of leeway on this. I’m going to give you $100-$200 for subscriptions, play around with some stuff and figure out what you can do with it,’ and just let somebody have that freedom to explore,” Laux says.

Laux says you don’t necessarily need to hire someone with a tech startup background, but if you do, it’s important that they gain an understanding of how the landscape industry operates.

“If somebody decides to create this role, I think that landscape background is very important,” Laux says. “I’m looking at things from a totally different perspective at this point.”

When someone owns the management of your tech stack, they can help ensure that software subscriptions don’t auto-renew without thoughtful consideration. Laux says he’s set up reminders in his calendar that remind him two months out from a software’s renewal date.

“It’s probably time to take a look at the software and see if it still does what you want it to do, and start reaching out to the vendor and say, ‘Hey, let’s have a conversation and figure out what you’re doing for us,’” Laux says.

Addressing Low Software Adoption Causes

When evaluating whether to renew a certain software, it’s also important to look at team members’ usage rate. In the cases of software that has low adoption rates, look at the root cause so you can make an informed decision on how to proceed.

Laux says it often comes down to either a lack of training or the software isn’t meeting their needs.

“If it’s a training piece, then they’re probably not even using the software,” Laux says. “If they don’t know how to use it, they’re probably not living in it that much.”

Laux will have a conversation with these employees and ask them why they’re not finding value in the software. If they make a generic comment about how the software sucks, he’ll ask for them to show him where it is causing friction for the employee.

“If in them showing me it turns out that they just aren’t using it the right way, then I know it’s a training position, but if I watch them use it and they’re just frustrated and bang their head against the wall, then it is a two-step process,” Laux says.

Laux says they will first reach out to the vendor for insight on how they expect the software to work and if it is still causing friction, they will move on from the platform.

Build Versus Buy

An additional benefit of having a dedicated tech lead on staff is the ability to explore when it may be best to buy a solution versus building one.

In the past, landscape companies exclusively had to choose from what software was available in the market, but with the explosion of AI systems, vibe coding now gives businesses the option to build out something internally without a major investment.

Laux explains that vibe coding allows him to chat with the platform on one side, and on the other side, it is building the software.

“You chat with it and say, ‘Hey, I want to build a learning management platform. It’s going to have these five items, and I wanted to kind of mimic the feel and vibe of this,’” Laux says. “It’ll start to build all that for you. You just make small tweaks and changes visually as it starts to build it.”

Laux says over a weekend, he was able to vibe code an entire LMS software solution by himself.

“The build process software is pretty darn easy now, as long as you prompt it the right way,” Laux says.

Laux says building a solution can sometimes be a good option when staff members are using different platforms that all serve the same purpose, such as Basecamp, Monday and Asana. Rather than making the team choose one system to standardize on, they can take all the aspects they like about each one and create an internal system for the K&D team to use instead.

As far as costs go, Laux says he simply pays around $80 for building software subscription and because he is not selling the tool he’s building out, there aren’t any additional charges. Laux says there is a time investment, but someone with enough background knowledge can implement solutions relatively seamlessly.

“I wouldn’t try and change your whole ERP with it, but it can make some pretty key tools within your company,” Laux says.

Laux says another option is to build relationships with your current software vendors and see what their roadmap is for the next 90 days.

“If I have that good relationship with that vendor, let me beta test it for a little while,” Laux says. “Let me mess around with it. Let me provide you with some feedback. I’ve become a partner with them essentially, instead of just being a customer or a client.”