Several recent articles were a great reminder that with the accelerated pace of technology adoption, all business models can be quickly disrupted. Global mobile connectivity, virtual marketplaces, social media, and bypassing linear technology adoption approaches are a few of the trends reshaping the current global economy.
To access a broader market, innovative companies are breaking apart traditional value chains in legacy businesses and targeting higher margin niches to faster growth.
"Apple has seemingly served as an anomaly to the theory of disruptive innovation. After all, it grew from $7 billion in 2003 to $171 billion in 2013 by entering established (albeit still-emerging) markets with superior products — something the model suggests is a losing strategy."
Lessons from the Google Acquisition of Nest Technologies
In January, the Economist published a special report on the evolution of technology which they titled "A Cambrian Moment". The premise of the special report is that "cheap and ubiquitous building blocks for digital products and services have caused an explosion in (tech) start-ups." The magazine compares the current convergence of technology trends to the "Cambrian explosion" 540 million years ago when life forms began to multiply.
It is that time of the year to look forward at the top 10 key trends that will drive technology adoption in 2014:
According to Deloitte, brand value declined in 2013, for the third year in a row. To win in 2014, companies will need to go back to basics by selectively deploying technologies that protect and grow global brand value.
$19 Billion Market Opportunity by 2018
Have recently become fascinated by the early market examples of wearable technologies and their future possibilities for improved professional and personal productivity. Leading the pack:
Earlier this year Frost & Sullivan published a presentation titled "Bricks & Clicks: Next Generation Retailing" which highlighted the following retail industry trends for the year 2025:
"We are witnessing the birth of a new breed of shopper. They float seamlessly across mobile, online, and real-world platforms as they travel up and down the purchase path and in doing so, exert tremendous influence over the ways that brands may interact with them and their peer groups. The ways in which they consume information, discover goods and make purchases has forced retailers to contemplate a new mix of transactional, behavioral, and social behaviors to remain competitive." (1) – Pier Fawkes, PSFK
The following image that was published this month on the website DashBurst resurfaced multiple thoughts on convergence as it continues to evolve between traditional security and information systems technologies.
In a recent Forbes, IBM's CEO predicted the following three ways technology will transform the future of business:
"In many ways it is "Back to the Future" of Retail......Technology is bringing back the capabilities to get back in touch with the retail customer. The winners once again will be those that focus on the customer experience, both in store and online." - Tony D'Onofrio
Multiple industry posts this week led to the following question:
"Technology will be your canvas and how you shape your work of art will be totally up to you." - Tony D'Onofrio
My favorite post from last week was from Mashable and it highlighted the 11 "big" tech trends that we will see in 2013. While the list was interesting, more intriguing were the interwoven fundamental business opportunities that these new technologies are driving.