Disruptive Technologies

The paper Responding Effectively to Disruptive Technologies: How NTT DoCoMo Became the World Leader in the Mobile Internet by Jeffrey Funk tries to explain the basis of success of i-mode, NTT DoCoMo's hugely successful mobile Internet service in Japan. The paper is primarily interesting to me on two levels.

• First, the paper mentions Mr. Kei-ichi Enoki of NTT DoCoMo as instrumental in recognizing the possibilities of an i-mode service model. This brought back nice memories and shows what a difference two years can make. At ITU TELECOM Americas 2000 in Rio de Janeiro, I chaired a panel session, which included Mr. Enoki, and I remember we had a terribly difficult time convincing the audience of the significance of i-mode. Mr. Enoki explained at the session that i-mode was not so much about technology as a new business model involving a micro-payment system rewarding companies who produced compelling content. This produced an important network effect model where content providers, users and hardware all contributed to the same positive feedback cycle (which seems to be notably missing in the WAP model).
• Second, the paper notes that disruptive technologies require firms to focus on new sets of users and perhaps abandon long-held paradigms and business models. Since challenging existing business models can be detrimental to careers, the paper argues that top management should be involved from the start to nurture and protect the people in an organization with new ideas. There's an important lesson there for all of us.

2:34:17 PM    Google It!