What are the best practices for assessing competitive threats from disruptive technologies?

Though potentially slower, a meticulously thought-out implementation strategy offers the distinct advantage of long-term sustainability. In contrast, hasty endeavors to join the technological bandwagon may result in initial recognition as a fast adapter, yet the ensuing challenges can be formidable. Post the initial euphoria, critical questions arise: How will seamless integration occur across enterprises? What measures are in place for adeptly managing change and upskilling? Have considerations for data security, ethics, and compliance been thoroughly talked about? Companies adopting a well-rounded, comprehensive strategy are poised to pose a genuine competitive threat. Others, driven by fleeting trends, risk being mere flashes in the pan.

It is very hard to avoid competitive threats; evidence in reality is countless. However, taking R&D seriously and foreseeing potential improvements in technologies seems to be a good approach. From an expert's perspective, anything that can be improved can also serve as a competitive threat. Non-stop R&D and always keeping an eye on new inventions or general technological improvements, including those of competitors, might be helpful.

Map new start ups along your value chain quarterly. Where they concentrate, you are either neglecting service or failing to innovate.

Any time I think about disruptive technologies, I contextualize them in a target market. Specifically, I look at them in terms of incumbents vs. new entrants, and I always go back to the Innovator’s Dilemma by the late great Clayton Christensen. The new thing might not be as “good” as what’s out there, but it can overtake through time without existing players realizing it. Extrapolate trends and make estimations about where things are headed, then you start to have a basis for determine who these new entrants are that have the possibility to disrupt incumbents with new technologies.

👉🏽 Scan the environment: Actively monitor emerging trends, technologies, and startups across your industry and related fields. Utilize various sources like industry reports, research papers, conferences, and online communities. 👉🏽 Analyze the landscape: Identify key players in the disruptive technology space, their core competencies, and the solutions they offer. Assess the potential impact of their offerings on your current business model and value proposition. 👉🏽 Conduct scenario planning: Develop various scenarios considering different potential trajectories of disruptive technologies. This helps you anticipate potential challenges and opportunities.

👉🏽 Assess the potential disruption: Analyze how the disruptive technology could change your industry's value chain, customer behavior, and competitive landscape. Quantify the potential impact on your market share, revenue, and profitability. 👉🏽 Evaluate the technology's maturity: Analyze the technical feasibility, adoption rate, and regulatory barriers surrounding the disruptive technology. Estimate the time horizon for its mainstream adoption and potential impact. 👉🏽 Consider the competitive landscape: Assess the capabilities of your competitors to adopt or adapt to the disruptive technology. This informs your strategic response and level of urgency.

To evaluate the impact be quick to 1. Listen to the customer feedback of competitor's product 2. Evaluate how much effort / time / money users save with the new product 3. How is the longterm profitability model of the new technology...if it can't become profitable it would die its own death unless there is a giant corporation that wants to finance it for other than direct monetary purpose

In a disrupted market the least a business could do to survive is to replicate the new technology let along creating a better product. Swot analysis could be a good step to start off but as it includes your strengths / weaknesses of what technology you could or couldn't develop, it must also state how quickly you could develop the new technology & how would consumers compare it with the product that created disruption on the first place.

Adopting a dynamic response to disruptive technologies is crucial. Drawing from practical examples, integrating these technologies into existing business models or collaborating with disruptors often yields significant competitive advantage. Agility in adapting and innovating is key. By proactively embracing disruption, companies can transform challenges into growth opportunities, not just react defensively. Adopt, adapt, innovate – this triad forms the core of a robust response strategy in today's ever-evolving market landscape.

👉🏽 Don't wait for the disruption to hit. Formulate a strategic plan based on your assessment, considering options like: ~ Invest in research and development to develop your disruptive technology or acquire relevant startups. ~ Collaborate with disruptive technology experts to enhance your capabilities and respond swiftly. ~ Adapt your business model, value proposition, and operations to the evolving market landscape. ~ Consider exiting certain markets or businesses if the disruption poses an existential threat. 👉🏽 Foster a culture that embraces experimentation, risk-taking, and agile adaptation to technological shifts. 👉🏽 Regularly monitor and adjust your strategy to stay ahead in the evolving landscape.

There is no thumb rule of responding to a disruption. You need to create different scenarios of different strategies & evaluate what solution lead to a higher future value. Sometimes collaboration with the disruptor works other times you could create an in house technology or acquire a smaller company with better product to compete with the disruptor.

In today's fast-paced business environment, an effective response strategy to disruption is critical. Many businesses currently lag behind in adapting to changes. Complacency and stagnation are simply means falling behind competitors and poses a serious threat to the sustainability of businesses.

Listen to what the consumer has to say. Good metrics to measure would be top-of-mind & NPS. See how it changes over time for both your product & the competitors'.

Knowledge is power and it is needed to monitor. Learn, assess, and prepare tailored counter measures. Know your enemy first.

👉🏽 Build a cross-functional team: Assemble a dedicated team with expertise in technology, strategy, and business development to assess and respond to disruptive threats. 👉🏽 Leverage data and analytics: Utilize data-driven insights to inform your decision-making and gain a deeper understanding of the disruptive technology's impact. 👉🏽 Communicate effectively: Communicate your assessment of disruptive threats and your response strategy to key stakeholders, including employees, investors, and partners. 👉🏽 Be flexible and adaptable: Recognize that the competitive landscape is constantly evolving, and be prepared to adapt your strategy as needed.

While doing this threat assessment of disruptive technologies, do also consider there might be some opportunities hidden under the surface of these threats as well. The obstacle often shows the way forward.

Any competitive technology must make life easier, affordable and simple to use. The world's population would never resist such technology.

Mis notas para complementar: 1. Definir el objetivo: Antes de comenzar la PoC, es crucial establecer claramente los objetivos. 2. Seleccionar los criterios de evaluación: Identifica los parámetros y métricas clave. 3. Seleccionar el entorno de prueba: Elige un entorno controlado que refleje lo más fielmente posible el entorno real en el que la tecnología será implementada. 4. Planificar la implementación: Desarrolla un plan detallado para la implementación de la tecnología durante la PoC. 5. Realizar la prueba: Implementa la tecnología de acuerdo con el plan establecido y recopila datos sobre su rendimiento. 6. Evaluar los resultados: Analiza los datos recopilados y evalúa si la tecnología cumple con los criterios de evaluación.

A full in depth analysis of the disruptive technologies is needed and truly understand its strengths and weaknesses, what the adoption uptick is and what gap it’s filling. Five year strategy should include these trends and the monitor and tracking should be done often and response strategy updated.