Why expensive technology becomes expensive mistakes?

I've observed a recurring pattern across enterprise transformations—from the SaaS boom to cloud migrations to today's AI agent implementations.

Organizations invest heavily in technology, expecting it to drive change, only to find themselves with a large bill and powerful tools that sit largely unused/underutilized. Paradox: Technology can make existing problems bigger.

However, the root cause isn't the technology itself. It's a fundamental misunderstanding of what technology actually is.

A Salesforce platform doesn't transform customer relationships on its own. Cloud infrastructure doesn't make your DevOps more agile by default. AI agents don't automatically provide accurate decision-making.

Although Vendors naturally tend to create a hype around the its simplicity , Technology isn't a commodity—in the sense of something you buy off the shelf that immediately delivers value. It's a capability that must be deliberately built through 4 interdependent elements: a clear understanding of the problem it's meant to solve, people with right skills, the appropriate governance, and most critically, a culture that supports the change that the technology enables.