Disruptive technologies and trends will dictate how business will be done
The term disruption is increasingly common in conversations about entrepreneurship, but in reality, not everyone knows its true meaning. Therefore, it is necessary to understand what disruption is in order to comprehend its purpose and consequences.
Disruptive innovations are products or services capable of creating a new market, destabilizing competitors that previously dominated that niche. They do not necessarily have to be expensive; on the contrary, costs are often low.
Disruptions can involve something that already exists, but that has become capable of serving an audience that previously lacked access to that market. In general, a disruptive innovation can reach an entire segment's market.
The inventor of the term “disruptive technology” was Harvard professor Clayton Christensen, who was inspired by the concept of “creative destruction” coined by economist Joseph Schumpeter in 1939 to explain business cycles. The term first appeared in the article Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave in 1995.
According to Christensen, explaining this theory requires understanding that: when a company launches a cheaper and more accessible technology, it targets lower profit margins, which ultimately turns into a revolution, rendering obsolete those companies that were once market leaders.
Christensen also states that some of the characteristics of disruptive innovations are lower profit margins and target markets, as well as simpler products and services that do not seem as attractive as existing solutions.
We can observe some classic examples of these disruptive innovations
Wikipedia, which put thousands of encyclopedia salesmen and paid online encyclopedia services out of business; Airbnb, which directly challenges the hotel industry; pay-TV, which threatened the video rental market by reducing the relevance of video stores; Netflix, which arrived impacting pay-TV's market significance; the apps 99 Taxis and Uber, which replaced radio taxi companies; and Google, which made thousands of people forget they ever needed phone books, are all great examples of disruptive technologies.
On the other hand, disruptive innovations often have some side effects; one of them is driving companies to bankruptcy if they fail to adapt or move toward new technologies. However, this does not mean they harm the entire market; on the contrary, disruptive innovations provide more information and power of choice to consumers, streamlining processes and lowering product costs, making them accessible to a greater number of people.
Technological Advances
The exponential growth of technology accelerates transformations on a global scale, becoming increasingly present in people's personal and professional lives. Because of this, we have listed some examples of disruptive technologies that will impact the business world in the coming years.
Internet of Things
A network connecting multiple sensors at a low cost—that is the principle of the Internet of Things. It is easy to envision this network transforming areas such as logistics, remote medical care, and natural resource management.
Immersive Experiences
Virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality will become part of companies' daily routines. This will be the next step in video conferencing and other tools designed to break distance barriers in organizations. Overall, the way we interact with computers will be updated. Added to these experiences are advancements in voice search and facial recognition.
Blockchain
Far beyond the volatility of digital currencies, Blockchain enables systems to operate without a regulatory body. As a result, tamper-proof blocks of shared information can change corporate management dynamics, digital security, and the legal system as we know it today.
Edge and Cloud Computing
The use of cloud solutions and edge computing will also advance. After all, connecting devices to build a larger database and enhanced cognitive capacity is a natural progression. Consequently, edge computing will also enable solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT).
3D Printing
This is a technology that will gain new applications. The price of 3D printers is becoming more affordable every day and delivering better results, allowing industries to develop prototypes more easily. The next step in 3D evolution is production itself, ranging from the manufacturing of goods to civil construction.
Advanced Materials
In research, a major step forward lies in new chemical components, catalysts, superconductors, new displays, and key drivers for progress across various fields. Another possibility involves self-healing materials that repair damage autonomously.
AI for Services
Artificial Intelligence systems already provide diagnoses and assist physicians in identifying the appropriate treatment protocol. The financial sector is also reaping the benefits of applied AI, leveraging in-depth analysis and cross-referencing diverse data points to indicate risk and the best investment alternatives.
Renewable Energy
Solar and wind energy continue to evolve. Advanced materials are overcoming past limitations. Both capture and distribution across different regions are reaching a new level of efficiency.
Digital Surveys
Conducting market research once required investing large sums and waiting a long time to access results and data analysis.
Today, through automated research platforms, all of this can be done online in an agile, cost-effective, and reliable manner. Survey questionnaires are designed to be completed via electronic forms. Data is automatically recorded in real time, making it easy to apply filters, segmentation, and cross-tabulations.
Chatbots
Customer service is an area where digital transformation is establishing itself. According to Gartner Group, a person will have more conversations with bots than with their spouse by 2020. However, this engagement could turn into manipulation through AI, which may learn “magic words” capable of influencing consumer attitudes, actions, and reactions.
Voice Control and Virtual Assistants
Virtual language processing will undergo substantial improvements, especially within enterprises. This trend will continue as workers who grew up with integrated voice control and cloud computing enter the workforce.
Computer Vision
Computer vision is having its moment. We have recently seen the strategy of tracking customer journeys expand from the online market to brick-and-mortar stores. Available sensors, advances in computer vision, and Artificial Intelligence are creating a variety of new applications. As a result, companies like Amazon have been monitoring and recording customer shopping habits and preferences. One example is freight transport, which integrates AI and computer vision.
Containers and Microservices
Containers and microservices are attracting the interest of organizations that need to develop applications rapidly, especially those leveraging IoT and/or the cloud. Container and microservice platforms are attractive for smaller, newer, low-risk projects.
Companies vs. Disruptive Technologies
In this landscape of successive disruptive technologies, not everyone will succeed in being an innovator. However, it will be essential to stay up to date and capitalize on the trends that will impact the market. It is crucial to seek the integration of work teams so that, through efficient management, the maximum possible use of time and ideas can be achieved.
