Tech Industry: The Lags and Leads

Technology companies strive every day to establish their position and potential but many social hindrances pop-up in their way of success

The technology sector has always been the disruptor by introducing new and capable advancements in the field. Although, the rapid digital transformation has effectively disrupted technology companies around the globe. They have been revamping operational processes, creating value propositions for the customers, and innovating business models. Tech firms are strongly investing in cutting-edge technologies like AI and RPA to enhance productivity and minimize costs. According to research by Bain & Company, technology companies are 12% more likely to be disrupted than companies in retail and 25% more likely than those in financial services, two other industries that have historically gone through disruptions. But how much time can a tech company take to reach leadership positions and what are the challenges for this process? These are the concerns we will discuss in this article.

What Holds Tech Companies Behind

Tech companies are often perceived as a villain that takes advantage of human vulnerability to capitalize the business. Thus, they face a lot of regulations and policies that can distract the companies from focusing on innovations and business growth. Apart from the usual laws, technology companies face more stringent regulations regarding their operations and people-engagement.

Usually, the demand for regulations appears from mere 'what-ifs' raised by people. What if technology threatens the human race? What if technology disruptions swipe away all jobs? These assumptions should be weighed with logic and reasoning to establish their truth.

Larry Downs in a Harvard Business Review article says, "In our research on wildly successful enterprises who fail to find a second act, Paul Nunes and I note that the average life span of companies on the Standard & Poor's 500 has fallen from 67 years in the 1920s to just 15 years today."

There are many challenges that tech company leaders face to escalate their leadership positions and these are a few among them

• Keeping pace with high-performing technology and competitors.
• Being a woman in the industry is a big enough challenge that will stop you from reaching high the arc.
• Focusing simultaneously on market values, growth standards, and technical developments.
• The internal pressure for increasing productivity in a short time.
• Tracing the voices of people and reaching out to the audience.

The pace with which the tech industry develops is faster than others and this will require the companies to maintain market position and value to stay in the game. Once a company lags in transition, it becomes difficult for them to recoup and reestablish its position. In such cases, the clients and employees will quickly find another leading tech giant to serve their purpose.

Recouping and Fighting the Odds

Tech companies should keep innovating and focus on disruptions rather than regulations. Extending the capabilities and services into new domains, accelerating growth by repositioning and reevaluating core business models, scaling up the business, and enhancing customer-engagement, are some ways to win the market value and leading position. Amazon can be considered a good example of extending its strength into new domains like eCommerce, cloud services, media, etc.

Embracing automation through AI and robotics can increase the efficiency of business operations. Staying in the current technological phase and consistently adapting to new practices can ensure better growth and reach. Well, technology can be a savior for the technology industry. Another method for ensuring market value is by adopting Mergers and Acquisitions. This way companies can increase profit margins and reduce competition. M&A is also done to survive in the industry and enhance the market value proposition.

According to the Technology Report by Bain & Company, the Covid-19 pandemic spurred technology companies to reshape their businesses, and Companies are accelerating and programmatically scaling up their experiments with robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, and other advanced automation tools. The technology companies have a lot of potential to rebuild their business and hence should focus on continuous innovation and improve relations with their audience.