Disruptive technology is a development that fundamentally transforms how customers, markets, or corporations work. They change industries to the point of no return and create a new market for themselves. When I was young, what I remember as a disruptive technology was smart phones. We used to carry around those little Nokia bricks and play sudoku and we never used them as much as we do today. For my parents it was cellphones in general, the way that you could bring your phone out of the house was unthinkable for them at one point. Do you know what president Rutherford B. Hayes said to Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, when he first saw the innovation of a telephone? “That’s an amazing invention, but who would ever want to use one of them?” Who would’ve thought that he was so wrong? Could you imagine a world today without smartphones? Hardly. And that is disruptive technology, find out more about in in the rest of the blog.
Table of contents:
- Disruptive technology vs disruptive innovation
- Who was Clayton M Christensen?
- Is there a way for companies to survive disruption?
- Examples of Disruptive Technology and innovations
- Conclusion
Disruptive technology vs disruptive innovation
When you start researching about this topic you may come across these two seemingly different terms and wonder, are they synonyms and if not, what is the key difference between them?
Disruptive innovation is the use of technology to disrupt a system, as compared with “disruptive technology,” that applies to the technology altogether. So, disruptive innovation is defined as the shift of pricey or sophisticated goods or services that used to appeal to a luxurious or more competent, elite portion of consumers into ones that are more reasonably priced or should I say cheaper and accessible to a larger public. This revolution disturbs the market by displacing regular, reputable rivals. Clayton M Christensen is considered to be the “father” of Disruptive Innovation.
Who was Clayton M Christensen?
Dr. Clayton Christensen was a professor at Harvard Business School, and was the one who created the phrase “disruptive innovation”. He died on January 23rd 2020 from complications from leukemia. He was also an author and wrote plenty of well known books in the world of technology. The concept that he initially expressed in his 1997 book “The Innovator’s Dilemma,” has since become one of the most commonly quoted and impactful in innovation and business tactics. According to the concept, which is disruptive innovations, those that are usually simpler and less expensive than existing products or services, may dramatically transform an industry’s dynamics by attracting to new or underrepresented markets.
When asked, “Why do companies fail?,” he found a contradictory response. Or, more specifically, how can a modest beginning compete with an industry powerhouse and win? It turned out that lots of businesses prospered not by constructing something greater, but by building something worse, producing poor and cheap goods aimed at the low end of the market.
Is there a way for companies to survive disruption?
The disruption was not as common in the past; it happened on occasion, but it now occurs on a regular basis. The market changes all the time and your business has to keep up with it in order to survive and persevere. A key question about disruption is whether it is necessary or can it somehow be avoided?
Companies have to be alert of these possible difficulties and create ways that tackle them.
Rather than fearing disruption, you should try and welcome it. Keep your mind open and be willing to adapt to new technologies and company tactics, always make it your priority to attend to your client’s wants and needs. Invest and put funds into constant development of knowledge and abilities to remain relevant in an ever evolving environment. You should also consider forming alliances with companies focused on disruptive innovations, although there is always a risk that their cutting-edge innovations may not be accepted by consumers and enterprises or that it takes years for that to happen. That’s why you should always do your own research as well. Companies that refuse to consider the effects of disruptive technologies risk losing their market shares to others that have found methods for incorporating the technology.
Examples of Disruptive Technology and innovations
We did mention smartphones and general telephone evolution, but the thing is with disruptive technology and innovation is that in most cases you don’t just invent something you know will change the market and industry forever, it usually tends to happen over time.
Netflix
Remember VHS tapes and DVD’s? I hardly do, and new generations probably consider them some sort of vintage items from a long time ago. Netflix played a huge role in that happening. They took advantage of the expanding power of the internet, and allowed its customers to browse their DVD inventory at home. Now there are plenty of competitors who took on the same business model from Netlix, like Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Peacock and others. Netflix used to be this groundbreaking invention but it isn’t anymore and who knows if it will stay on top of this market any longer.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
One of the main examples of how Artificial Intelligence is a disruptive innovation is because I can not write a blog post without mentioning it at least once. Artificial Intelligence got their hands in everything, any area that you could possibly imagine. AI is a computer that may fix challenges and come to its own conclusions without any human intervention. This has the potential to change a wide range of procedures within different industry sectors.
E-Commerce
I wrote a blog post about E-commerce in detail so if this interests you, you give that a read right after. E commerce refers to buying goods and services completely online without having to go to the actual store to do it. Online shopping became so popular over time, especially during the pandemic and nowadays for some people its the only way they purchase anything.
Conclusion
To summarize, disruptive technology redefines our world, questioning boundaries and fostering creativity. It’s not just about inventing something new; it’s about revolutionizing how we live and work. It is our roadmap to the future we have to embrace.
