Technology Hurts

This post is an anecdote about a recent "painful" experience that I had at work. I hope you all enjoy it.
At the law firm Nicholson Revell LLP we have implemented a database system in order to track all of our business contacts and previous clients. This database allows us to send out a semi-annual newsletter and numerous other advertising pieces throughout the year.
Recently, I decided that the easiest way to keep this database current was to have each person in the firm enter their own clients and contacts rather than have 1 person enter all of this data into a spreadsheet individually. Fast. Efficient. What’s not to love? So, to accomplish this goal, I created a simple form linked to the database. After testing everything on my computer I assume all is well and send the file to everyone in the office.
A few weeks later I take a look at the database only to see that it has not been updated since I created system. Confused I make my way around the office to find out what was wrong. Was the new system faulty? Was the information being updated to the wrong location? Why wasn’t this working? The answer is simple. I was the only one with Access on my computer and no one else knew how to open the program. Here I was taking the program for granted and assumed that everyone had it. Come to find out, I was the only one with the application.
The end result? I had many new entries to make to update the database individually. Also, the fast and efficient system will require me spend an afternoon installing Access on a dozen computers, wasting a lot of my time. My conclusion: technology hurts.