What Disruptive Technology Really Is
The proliferation of overused acronyms and newly created ones have wreaked havoc with consumers. New terms are being created by analysts, programmers, architects and marketing departments trying to shorten every already extended description about their software and sometimes creating non-existing business problems and providing solutions to problems that don’t exist.
Wikipedia defines disruptive technology or disruptive innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually goes on to disrupt an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades), displacing an earlier technology. The term is used in business and technology literature to describe innovations that improve a product or service in ways that the market does not expect. According to this definition it disrupts the market; not that the technology is disruptive to the businesses that adopted the technologies, which is what it implies. Further, it also says after a period of over a few years and disruptive technology is implemented nearly instantly or with much shortened timelines. Displacing earlier technologies according to this definition disruptive innovation is usually added to today’s systems rather than replacing an earlier technology.
Buzz words are created and have incorrectly permeated into written material and thereby confusing consumers. Most written and spoken word about disruptive technologies has assumed the presumption that the innovation causes business disruption which is not the case. Companies think that by implementing disruptive technologies causes’ business confusion in the way they conduct business and how the technology could interfere with their current practices which may be two reasons that end-users are afraid to evaluate and implement what the industry deems as disruptive technology.
End users look to analyst firms or consultants to help them evaluate these solutions and should know the difference in which to define and properly advise customers by understanding the difference between the technology, the market and how the technologies can help their business and not cause disruption. Once the difference is explained to customers they can then proceed to confidently evaluate, select and implement the correct technology to achieve their business objectives.
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