The sustainability of any technology should be taken into account before committing to it. In many cases, it will be desirable to ensure that the technology adopted for next year's election will still be useful at the election after that. Adopting new technology for each election may prove expensive and unsustainable in the long term.
On the other hand, technology is improving at such a rapid rate that this year's technology may be out of date by the time the next election comes along in 4 year's time. Personal computer processing power is a good example of how 'state of the art' technology can rapidly be overtaken by technological improvements. Where change is rapid, it may be more cost-effective to lease equipment rather than purchase it to ensure that capabilities are optimised at each successive election.
When new technology is adopted, even if it is only used for a relatively short period, it is important to ensure that the appropriate skills base and support mechanisms are available to sustain it.
New technology may be able to be managed in-house, if suitably skilled personnel are available, or it may be necessary to rely on external service providers. Training in-house personnel has its costs, and there may be delays while staff are brought up to speed. However, once staff are skilled, the ongoing cost of maintaining technology in-house may be lower than relying on external providers. An EMB will need to ensure that it is able to maintain in-house expertise if staff turnover depletes its skills base.
If an EMB relies on external providers it needs to be aware of the likely costs and include them in budget calculations. Where external providers may only be needed intermittently they may be less costly and more reliable than in-house staff as they should be more likely to be experts in their field than in-house staff. However, external providers who are needed regularly or full-time may cost significantly more than in-house staff performing the same functions. If the external providers are in a competitive market an EMB may be able to reduce costs by regularly reviewing contracts and suppliers. On the other hand, if providers have a monopoly over their product or the EMB is locked into an open-ended contract, it may be required to pay higher costs than might otherwise be necessary.
Another element in the sustainability of new technology is securing funds not just for the initial implementation, but for the ongoing costs of the technology for its foreseeable life. Operations, maintenance and upgrade costs for some forms of technology can be considerable. These funds should be budgeted for and guaranteed before committing to new technology.
