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Disruptive Technology

How to make your business ready to disrupt with communications tech

  • min read
    • Many in tech dream of being first to make leaps in 'disruptive' technology. Joseph L. Bower and Clayton M. Christensen described disruptive innovation as "creating a new market by providing a different set of values, which ultimately (and unexpectedly) overtakes an existing market" in their 1995 essay, Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave. It's communication technologies that most often fall into this hallowed category. Where should you start if you want to be first to the next disruptive communication tech? It may not be where you think. To set the scene, let's take a whirlwind tour from the edge of the universe to your pocket. How smartphones Star Trekked into our lives Smartphones are a perfect example of disruptive communications technology, and you could argue they started life in a Star Trek props department. As they explored unknown worlds and encountered alien creatures, the original 1960s science fiction TV series' characters used a Tricorder to analyze, visualize and record data, and a Communicator to talk to each other from anywhere, anytime. These 'science fiction' devices appeared on screens in 1966, just seven years before the first cell phone, Motorola DynaTAC. In another 40 years, we saw a consumer flip-phone combining Tricorder and Communicator capabilities. Before smartphones, cell phones had small, text-only screens. They were mostly used to make calls and send text messages. In the early 2000s, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) let cellphone users read simple websites… if the site had WAP-friendly code. So, you could use your phone to go online, but the experience was uninspiring. Enter the smartphone, with a full color, touch-responsive but still pocket-sized screen and apps that gave users the internet in all its glory. The cell phone went from caterpillar to butterfly – becoming both phone and palm-sized always-connected laptop, among other things. So why did the smartphone disrupt when previous upgrades to the cellphone concept, like WAP and Personal Digital Assistants, hadn't changed the game? I believe it's because effective communications technology goes beyond transferring information. Like Star Trek's Tricorder and Communicator, it's the analysis, filtering and visualization that makes smartphones empowering and influential. Identified need first, technological development second Disruption in communication often happens when organizations want to find new ways to beat customer service limitations. Before 1969, all financial transactions happened in banks during their opening hours. That year, the first automatic teller machine (ATM) debuted in public, dispensing cash to customers at Rockville Centre, New York. These machines changed banking beyond recognition, letting customers make basic financial transactions without visiting a bank or even interacting with a person. Before the 1990s, there were no portable data projectors, smart boards or plasma screens for giving presentations at meetings or conferences. Presentation software Google Slides takes its name from a predecessor technology, 35mm film you would 'slide' into a projector. Or, you could print or handwrite onto clear plastic sheets ('transparencies') and place it on an overhead projector, projecting the message onto a wall or screen. They were time-consuming to produce, and if you wanted your slides or transparencies to look professional, you'd need to involve a graphic designer. Disruption of presentations began with the first computer color screens and graphical user interfaces that let you select and operate a program at the click of a mouse rather than by typing in commands. They appeared in the early 1980s. Getting the presentation images to the printing service was no mean feat – before USB flash drives, we carried data on 'floppy disks' that stored just 1MB of data. In 1992, Mass Mitec created a network of digital imaging outlets in the UK that used a new communications device called Diskfax with a 10MB hard disk that could transfer files over normal phone lines. Companies that could afford an expensive Diskfax machine could get slides or transparencies within an unprecedented 24 hours. You know the ease and immediacy of creating a presentation today, so I needn't go on. The ATM and Diskfax show it's not inventing new technology that creates disruption in communication but recognizing a problem that needs solving. When the time is right for new tech To successfully introduce a new or better service, both the market and the technology must be ready. The most disruptive and far-reaching technologies fall into one of three categories: 1. Changing our lives forever (or until the next innovation) ATMs satisfied consumer demand for anytime access to and control over finances. The technology was achievable to put in place, and technology that could make it obsolete wasn't on the horizon. Some 50 years later, only now could e-transactions lead to a cashless society and the end of ATMs. 2. Creating a time-limited opportunity Diskfax came at the perfect time for emerging presentation software. Its shelf-life was limited by advances in projection and other visualization technologies that made 35mm slides and overhead transparencies obsolete. 3. Ahead of their time Video conferencing was invented in the 1970s but little adopted because technologies weren't sophisticated enough to deliver a good user experience, and people preferred face-to-face interactions. Even when pandemic restrictions limit face-to-face meetings, people look forward to future in-person meetings. One lesson we might take from video conferencing's long ride to widespread adoption is, no matter how convenient and cost-saving it is, there's high risk when a technology doesn't knit with human nature. But video conferencing got there in the end, showing technological readiness, such as bandwidth, processing power and usability, is vital. Power to the people The 21st century became the powerhouse of the "prosumer." Technologist John Spacey defines a prosumer as "a consumer who produces their own goods." The internet was the leap in communications technologies that, combined with desktop computers, let "prosumers" build tech empires like Microsoft and Facebook from garages and college dorms. Consumer empowerment and desire to self-serve creates opportunities for newcomers and challenges for existing sector leaders. Take, for example, Polaroid. They recognized consumers would want instant photographic prints and developed technology to make it happen. Polaroid's first 'instant' cameras, released in 1948, sold out in minutes, challenging market leaders like Kodak, whose photographic film had to be processed by photographic outlets. Responding to unexpected change Sudden changes in everyday lives brought about by COVID-19 are a good example of an opportunity to disrupt. The need for human connection has driven change in how we live and work throughout history. COVID-19 revealed how economies depend on human-to-human interaction, travel and large gatherings. Conferencing platforms like Zoom and e-commerce giants like Amazon have grown exponentially to bridge the gap left by person-to-person contact. 'The new normal' has become shorthand for adaptations we make because of COVID-19 and knowing there will be future pandemics. Many have predicted less travel, the decline of big cities and the rise of new communities where people work remotely. Whatever emerges, it will come with opportunities for tech entrepreneurs. How can you make sure your business can be the one with the idea that changes everything? A for adaptability: The five-star route to disruption success To disrupt, you must understand the connection between communications, trade and competitive advantage and respond quickly and strategically. Timing is everything. These five characteristics can help you assess how ready your organization is to meet upcoming opportunities. The five As The first is awareness – is your organization able to notice new challenges or opportunities as they arise? How could you do more to scan the horizon? How aware are you of potential solutions in the current highly competitive environment? The next is alignment – how is your business positioned to be responsive in meeting challenges? Do you have a mechanism for springing into action when you identify the right opportunity? Can your product or service ideas adapt as consumer needs change? Then there's attractiveness – can you measure and visualize information to understand what your audience wants? How will you present your value proposition most attractively? Remember accessibility – how will you make your innovation something most people can use easily, anytime, anywhere? Finally, affordability – what can your audience afford to pay, and how will you make your technology is within that? Every tech business leader wants to be the one to create the next disruptive communications technology, but historical examples show the path to tech disruption isn't always the most obvious one. Disruptive communications technologies go beyond transferring information. Businesses that produce them are often thinking of fulfilling consumer needs rather than improving technology itself. Consider consumers as 'prosumers,' wanting technology that gives them more control, agency and independence and keep in mind: Timing and readiness is everything. 'The five As' can help make sure your organization is well-positioned to see and take advantage of the next opportunity to disrupt. To move fast in a fast-moving world, tech businesses can be ready by analyzing what people need and having a strategy for moving to fill that need.
fast forward

To succeed in tech innovation, take these lessons from the past

  • min read
    • Inventor of the audiocassette Lou Ottens' death at age 94 in early 2021 gave the media and technology world a chance to stop and think. In the age of Musks and Zuckerbergs, it's easy to forget how much Ottens changed the game. The home and studio standard of the time, open-reel tape, didn't travel nearly so well. Reels and playback machines were heavy, bulky and easily damaged. Ottens started with the idea of something conveniently carried. He cut a piece of wood to the size of his pocket as a template. From the pocket to the world By the 1980s, we were connecting cassette players to early home computers and telephone answering machines. Before cassettes receded into obsolescence around the late 1990s, the penetration of Lou Ottens' innovation was total. But the audiocassette stayed influential beyond its popularity. Ottens also helped develop the Compact Disc, which stored more data and was more durable. But its use and distribution patterns followed those established by its predecessor, the cassette. Symbols on PlayStation, other game controllers and almost all audio-visual players mimic those introduced with the audiocassette. Past lessons invaluable for future success Frantic pace can distract us from learning from the past. The influence of Ottens' audiocassette beyond its seeming obsolescence is a case in point. New audio documentary series Fast Forward, presented by me for Tomorrow Unlocked by Kaspersky, is devoted to examining trends from the recent past shaping today's technology. It distills practical lessons that might otherwise have been lost in our rapid forward momentum. Clayton M. Christensen and Joseph Bower coined the term 'disruptive' to describe game-changing technologies in their 1995 article, Disruptive technologies: Catching the wave. Although 'disruptive' has since been overused, Bower and Christensen first identified the idea of disruptive technologies by taking the long view of innovation's history. Overuse tends to stretch meaning to the point where the original definition is all but lost. Disruptive technologies, often come from outside an existing system of established firms and products, create new markets that eventually displace that system. The concept can be crushed down to Mark Zuckerberg's infamous (former) motto for Facebook: Move fast and break things. Launching unfinished business The current rush to disrupt in tech industries condemns customers and producers to live in a 'beta' universe where bugs become features to be dealt with later. . But as entrepreneur Andy Budd observed in a recent blog post," Without a clear picture of what you're building, it's almost impossible to predict problems. We're encouraged to learn about the future not by thinking, imagining or researching outcomes, but by launching products and learning from the results." The law of unintended consequences tends to govern the 'beta' universe. Taking the long view can help swing those consequences from negative to positive. It's unlikely Lou Ottens foresaw the deep, long-term impact of the audiocassette while he cut that block of wood to fit in his pocket. Making time for failure a success Ottens was only five in 1926 when Thomas Edison died. Edison invented the phonograph, which made mechanical sound recording and playback possible for the first time. Edison first tried to market the phonograph by putting it inside a doll that recited nursery rhymes and wished its owner a happy Christmas. The doll was a dismal failure, withdrawn from shelves after most were unsold or returned by disturbed customers. Maybe his customers didn't want a talking doll, but they did want to hear a famous operatic tenor like Enrico Caruso in their parlors. "I have not failed," Edison said about his repeated setbacks while inventing the lightbulb. "I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Edison's profound commitment to try and try again shows, in times when 'ever beta' doesn't seem to equal 'ever better,' innovators and entrepreneurs may still find the long view offers the most useful lessons.
intellectual property small business

Protect your intellectual property, no matter the size of your business

  • min read
    • This article is for information only. It is not legal advice. Intellectual property (IP) is the lifeblood of any organization. For smaller organizations, it's even more important. Careful handling of your company's trademarks, patents and trade secrets can catapult you to global recognition. Protecting and developing best-in-class technologies could establish you as a market leader, attracting important clients. Innovation is only half the equation of success. The other side is protecting your intangible assets, whether it's inventions in-the-making or proprietary information that makes you competitive. These steps will help you translate IP protection into business advantage. 1.  Prioritize protecting your IP When you're starting out in business, it may seem unlikely someone would steal or copy your IP. But it happens more often than you might think. In a 2019 poll by business and financial news network CNBC, one in five US companies said they'd had IP stolen in the past year. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates counterfeit and pirated goods made up 3.3 percent of global trade in 2019, up from 2.5 percent in 2013. Start-ups and small businesses are no less affected and may feel the consequences of theft more. It's crucial to start protecting your IP as soon as possible, for example, registering your trademark, applying for a patent or implementing technical and organizational measures to safeguard your secrets. If ever you need to defend or assert your rights as an IP owner, these steps will set you on the correct course of action. You'll be able to defend your company against unfair competition better. And there are further benefits. A patent means only you can use the invention for 20 years, giving your business ample time to take advantage of it. Patents convey innovative spirit not as mere statements but as concrete assets. They can open doors to investments and joint ventures. 2.  Get the IP professionals in Legal specialists are vital in managing your IP. Integrated IP teams, for example, are critical in their companies, giving valuable insight into the innovation landscape. Their deep knowledge about the company's assets means they can decrease legal risk by adopting preventative measures during a company's research and development. In patent infringement disputes, a good understanding of a patent's history and language, and the legal system, will strengthen your defense. IP experts' tasks include giving information to marketing and development, researching prior use and drafting applications. They'll also communicate with IP agencies and examine licensing agreements. All these activities add value to your IP and reduce risk of theft. If you can't afford an internal IP specialist, outsource applications to an attorney. There are always costs. While it may be hard to find the money, keep in mind intangible assets are long-term investments. They advance, transform and sustain your business. 3.  Think big and act fast Priority counts. Being first means exclusive rights, creating a competitive advantage that's hard to put a price on. Patenting enriches your understanding of your technology area, helping you imagine how a technology will work in the future. It may point you in certain directions to identify features of your invention. At Kaspersky, we tell our product developers not to limit themselves to today's technology parameters. Something that seems impossible now may be possible later. Thinking about how industries change gives inventors insight into wider trends, which could lead to whole families of lucrative patents. 4.  Remember cybersecurity Cybercriminals are getting more interested in stealing and selling IP. Embed cybersecurity in your company's IP activities. Patentable inventions under development, early-stage mark designs and supporting documentation, among other things, are all at risk of theft. Robust and comprehensive cybersecurity will help protect your IP. There are tailored solutions for smaller businesses with limited resources, so you can focus on growth while having peace of mind about your security. 5. Fight patent trolls Patent trolls, or non-practicing entities (NPEs,) are people with patents for inventions they don't use. Often they aim to enforce their patent by sending 'cease and desist' letters to many companies or filing lawsuits against practicing companies. Targets sometimes settle the dispute with a large payout or buying licenses to the allegedly infringed patents. If you find yourself dealing with an NPE, stay firm. NPE cases can drain company resources. For start-ups, the impact could be hard to overcome. If you settle, your NPE problem may get bigger. Buying high-priced licenses or offering settlements can impede innovation because those resources could be used to grow the business instead. If you gain a reputation for never settling, it tells NPEs to steer clear. Staying firm against NPEs can save you a lot in the long run. Payouts can be millions of dollars. Defending cases successfully means relieving that financial burden on the company. It also helps your industry because it's likely NPEs are targeting others too. As a business leader, no matter where you are in your journey from zero to hero, make sure you protect your IP from legal and cyber risks. It will make you more aware of industry trends and pave your way toward opportunities that will sustain and strengthen your work.
technologies helping to fight coronavirus.

How tech and innovation are fighting the coronavirus, COVID-19

  • min read
    • Innovation is a profound kind of recycling. Innovators go through the closets, sheds and attics of human knowledge, taking snippets of what we already know and combining them in new ways, solving new problems. Despite mass quarantine and isolation, innovations appear almost daily that aim to save lives and support people's well-being in the face of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Here are six ways technology is taking on the novel virus. 1.  Folding proteins on home computers to speed up finding a COVID-19 antibody The power of home computers is helping scientists develop an antibody to stop COVID-19 infecting lung cells. You can take part by downloading a protein folding simulator. Why simulate how proteins fold? According to Ariana Brenner Clerkin of Folding@home, COVID-19 first infects people when a protein on the virus surface (the spike protein) binds to a lung cell's receptor protein (ACE2). They've already developed an antibody for similar coronavirus SARS. To find one for Covid-19, they must better understand the spike protein's structure. They need to study all shapes the spike protein can make. Folding@home models the Covid-19 spike protein and finds sites for an antibody to target. Computational models can do the folding, but they need a lot of computing power. Many computers working toward the same goal will speed up finding an antibody. The data that comes out of Folding@home is open to all. 2.  Crowdsourcing protein design against the coronavirus The free online game FoldIt goes a step further and crowdsources designing a protein that may become a future COVID-19 antiviral. Run by scientists alongside the University of Washington Institute for Protein Design, the game lets users design a protein that will bind with COVID-19's spike proteins. https://youtu.be/gGvlNo3nMfw 3.  Community-engineered ventilators powered by car windscreen-wiper motors In severe cases, COVID-19 affects lung function to the extent that patients may need a ventilator to breathe. Several countries face a shortage of ventilators, and it looks like ramping up their manufacture through current supply lines may not be enough. This led a group of some 17 engineers led by Spanish prototyping company Protofy to develop OxyGEN – a ventilator that uses a car windscreen-wiper motor to automate a resuscitation bag. Protofy says an untrained person can make it in four hours using wood, acrylic or aluminum. This wonderfully calming video shows the ventilator in action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Kz3ukK8Pc&feature=youtu.be The group is now working alongside two Spanish hospitals to test and improve the device. Although not yet determined safe and effective, the group has made the OxyGEN ventilator's plans freely available. They've invited engineers, makers and any other "geek" to a forum to ventilate their ideas for improving OxyGEN's design. 4.  Training AI to detect signs of coronavirus in speech Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said in a virtual conference, "We have a simple message for all countries: Test, test, test." But with all the will in the world, testing time, facilities and expertise are limited. AI could help relieve that burden if it can detect COVID-19 by using the sound of someone's voice. Voice forensics expert Professor Rita Singh of Carnegie Mellon University, Israeli inventor Shmuel Ur and natural language processing startup Voca.ai are developing an AI-powered system that could detect coronavirus infections using a voice sample. Voca.ai invites members of the public to submit a voice sample that they say will be anonymized, aggregated and studied. Some privacy and security implications come to mind here. A voice sample may not fit the definition of personal data in many jurisdictions. Still, with biometric identification technology fast becoming more common, it may be the type of data that's easily de-anonymized. The study's consent form also says they may pass the 'anonymized' data on to third parties. 5.  Charlotte and Dave: 3D-printable valves that connect a snorkeling mask to oxygen supply Former hospital physician Renato Favero came up with an idea to fix Italy's shortage of hospital CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) masks: Adjusting a snorkeling mask. He took the idea to engineering and design firm Isinnova. The snorkeling mask's manufacturer willingly supplied its design drawings. From there, Isinnova designed 3D-printable components that can connect the mask to wall-mounted oxygen and CPAP respirators. Here's a video introducing you to the two new 3D-printed valves, Charlotte and Dave. https://youtu.be/w4Csqdxkrfw Although not certified and meant only for a situation where there is no other option, Isinnova has patented the valve pattern and made it freely available. 6.  Remote hackathon unleashes 42,000 minds on COVID-19 In March 2020, Germany held a remote Hackathon #WirvsVirus: Hacking to fight the crisis. In English, We versus Virus. The country's biggest digital ideas competition to date, the virtual event attracted 42,000 participants. They used Airtable to organize teams to collaborate remotely on 800 challenges around the virus's impacts – from contact tracing, to border controls, to motivating people to stay home. What ideas have come out of it? Here's the #WirvsVirus solutions showcase. One example is TrackCOVIDCluster, an app that could help with contact tracing by identifying and notifying people you've been near if you test positive. https://youtu.be/7puF5B9L01s Although a hackathon aims to get as many ideas as possible on the table rather than assess their viability, the team behind TrackCOVIDCluster has had privacy in mind from the start. What can everyday innovators learn from these ideas? What stands out is how fast these ideas have become something tangible and the teams' openness to sharing. It's heartening to see so many willing to give whatever they can for the greater good. It seems a radical question, and yet, you needn't look far for business leaders who say things like, the secret to success is generosity and it's everyone's job to give something back. The healthcare industry itself is not immune to the risks of life-threatening cyberattacks. In this critical situation, medical staff takes on most of the load. So to help these organizations focus on what matters most, Kaspersky is offering free licenses for many of our healthcare products. With economic tough times expected alongside the technological challenge of fighting COVID-19, there's no better time to ask how we can make generosity a bigger part of business, leadership and life.
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Secure Futures magazine is your go-to business guide for opinions, trends and insight into the world of technology and cybersecurity. We help your business to bring on the future. Brought to you by Kaspersky, the global cybersecurity experts.

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