Understanding What Disruptive Technology Actually Means

Change is the only constant human has witnessed since the time he learned to make tools and discovered fire. From the abacus to the steam engine, Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine to quantum computers, technology is constantly changing. It is technological innovations of today that are driving us towards efficiency, invigorating society and the environment. But what makes these technological advancements as disruptive? Well, as the name suggests, they disrupt the status quo by either augmenting an existing technology or introducing an entirely novel concept to the society. The concept of disruptive technology was coined by renowned Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen in his 1995 book The Innovator's Dilemma. Leaders from small entrepreneurial companies to executives at large well established corporations and institutions acclaim this concept as their guiding star. This is because, irrespective of the organization's size leveraging disruptive technologies has produced tangible results in the long run, helped in meeting customer demands and better ROI.

While there is a relentless parade of new technologies unfolding on many fronts, not every one of them qualifies as disruptive. Further, it is gravely misleading to believe that adopting technologies can cause disruption overnight. In reality, disruptive is a process. This happens since disruption does not capture mainstream customers until quality catches up to their standards. Moreover, disrupters often build business models that are very different from those of incumbents. Besides, one cannot guarantee if a particular disruption model will succeed or fall; hence experimentation is a must, and this must be based on studying the market data. Also, upgrading the organizational framework to house disruptive technologies is not enough. As mentioned above, it is a continuous process, therefore it demands consistent analysis of the methods employed, measuring outcomes with established goals, adjusting and tweaking strategies to align and adapt with sudden changes, and many more.

This is why business leaders must review how their organization envisions future business models and platforms before seeking out to launch a technology, develop a product, build a plant, or establish new channels of distribution. Additionally, the definition of disruptive technologies broadens up with time and necessity. For instance, some experts are starting to consider sustainability as an essential attribute too. Another key defining aspect of these disciplines is that they introduce a very different package of features from the one mainstream customers historically value. For instance, the telephone was not considered to have any future potential during its early days, nor was the 8-inch and smaller disk drives. However, either of these paved the way for telecommunication with higher connectivity and development of new markets for minicomputers, desktop PCs, and portable computers, respectively. This points out how myopic thinking can shift the market dominance of companies. It is one of the main reasons why Netflix continues to grow its market while Blockbuster succumbed.

It also points out that customers have the upper hand and can actually wield a company's success. So when switching to disruptive technologies, it is imperative to understand what the customers want, whether they need it, will it be worth the investments or nor, and many more. The more astutely business leaders ask and answer these questions, the better will these technologies be engineered to align with the needs of the customers. Currently, these are the tenets of disruptive technology. Hence, technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Internet of Things, Blockchain, Automation, and Robotics are deemed as forerunners and epitome of disruptive technology.