Disruptive

Technologies
For Sustainability
Anurag Gupta
1st Year MMgt
 Table of Contents

1. Definitions
2. Introduction
3. Differences between Sustaining Innovation and Disruptive Innovation
4. Apple Case
5. A Simple View of Disruptive Innovation
6. Sources to Identify Successful Disruptive Opportunities
7. Few Examples of Sources
8. Sustainability Needs
9. Demands for Sustainability
10. From Linear to Circular
11. Information Technology
12. Information Technology and the Platform Revolution
13. A Sustainable Dialogue
 Definitions

Sustainability:
The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.

Disruption:
Disturbance or problems which interrupt an event, activity or process.
Change to alter the structure.
 Introduction

There has been a disruption in the way, we handle information.

These are fundamentally information dependent categories.

A plethora of information can be gained from the stakeholder, from news and social media, and
from governmental and other sources.

Most critical information is now web- based.

 Differences between Sustaining Innovation and Disruptive
Innovation

Sustaining Innovation -> Incremental innovation -> Enables an existing product

-> Companies constantly improve same product.

Disruptive Innovation -> Innovation to create new market (+) -> Disrupts an
existing firm(-), displacing an earlier technology.

Example: Class topper.

Sustainable Innovations -> Change along a known road.
Larger screen for your iPhone
Internal combustion engine with higher efficiency with lower pollution
A new taste of ice cream, with changes in amount of cream and sugar.

Disruptive Innovations -> Game changers -> Subset of Sustainable Innovations

Nokia destroyed because of transition from mobile pones to smartphones.
Hard Metals (otherwise known as cemented carbides) have killed tool steel and are, still now,
progressively eroding its business.
LEDs are disruptive towards incandescent filaments.

Differences
 Apple Case

Original Macintosh (1984)

-> The original Macintosh. Introduced January 1984.

-> Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was forced out of Apple in 1985.
-> The Macintosh Classic. Introduced October 1990.
-> Sustaining Innovation.

Macintosh Classic (1990)

Apple Example
-> Loosing market share to IBM Compatibles.
-> In 1998, Steve Jobs returns.
-> Apple consolidated its multiple consumer-level desktop
models into the all-in-one iMac G3.
-> Commercial success and brand revitalized.
-> Disruptive Innovation.

iMac G3 (1998)
Sustaining technologies
-> Foster improved product performance.
-> Do not alter markets.
-> Requested by users.

Disruptive Technologies
-> Drive corporate sustainability efforts.
-> Example of pen manufacturing.

More Points
 A Simple View of Disruptive Innovation

Is the innovation disruptive to all of the significant incumbent

firms in the industry?
If the innovation appears to be sustaining to one or more
significant players in the industry, then the odds will be
stacked in that firms favour, and the entrant is unlikely to win.

Immelts approach shift power to where the growth is. Build

new offerings from the ground up. Customize objectives,
targets and metrics. Build a new unit from the ground up, like
new companies. Have the unit report to someone high in the
organization.

Disruptive Innovation
Creative destruction: In capitalism, innovative entry by entrepreneurs was the force that sustained
long-term economic growth, even as it destroyed the value of established companies that enjoyed
some degree of monopoly power.
Example: Hyderabad changing from a city for public sector to a knowledge sector (IT,
Healthcare).

A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the
light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is
familiar with it.

Age of Discontinuity: In an age of discontinuity, as Drucker called the current era,

entrepreneurs could find significant opportunities to transform organizations, if they were willing
to get ahead of societal changes.
Example: CEO of HCL Vineet Nayar.
 Sources to Identify Successful Disruptive Opportunities

The emergence of big data and big data analytics has had a
paramount impact.
This is possible thanks to cognitive computing.
This enables the computer to process text just as a human
would.
Another element to cognitive computing is machine learning.
This provides the ability of the computer to learn autonomously.
A plethora of information can be gained from the non-investor
stakeholder, from news and social media, and from governmental and other sources.

Sources
 Few Examples of Sources

The future of agriculture Digital has changed business forever and the agricultural sector is
no exception. The digitisation of applications, processes and technologies is giving the sector the
opportunity to become more insight-driven, efficient and productive.

The future of connectivity The Internet of Things (IoT) is not just about technology, but
having a broader vision encompassing the system, stakeholders and technology.

Reinventing manufacturing Challenging convention allows you to reinvent your key

manufacturing platforms, deliver totally new products, explore new channels and go-to-market
strategies and most importantly reduce waste and costs.

Sources Examples
Data
 SHARE OF Iot growth Estimated annual growh rate of IoT share:
(in usd billion)
28% India
India Globe 33% Globe

373

119

8.75 15

2016 2020

IoT Growth
 Sustainability Needs

Disruptive innovations have transformed society through the ages, from the horse-drawn
plough to the first steam engine to the personal computer and the smartphone.

Sustainability- needs will drive future disruptive innovations.

They improve our lives in all sorts of ways, but the impacts can
be profound, often in ways that are quite unexpected.

Renewable energy (along with energy efficiency and energy

storage) has started to usurp the fossil fuels industry.

Other technologies that will have similar effects include 3D printing, electric vehicles.
 Demands for Sustainability

Consumers, manufacturers and retailers are all demanding more sustainable systems which are
formalised in corporate social responsibility goals.

Sustainability is now an expectation, not a differentiator. This leads to disruptive technologies

for sustainability.

Demand for packaging sustainability drives change in the way businesses will compete.
Example: Samsung.

Demands
 From Linear to Circular

General Motors, which has a target of having 125 zero-waste facilities by 2020, says that its
underlying philosophy is thinking of waste as a resource out of place.

Waste reduction also often enhances productivity, quality, efficiency and throughput.

Recycling the various components so they could be reused.

Wastes
 Information Technology

1st generation primarily to improve productivity and efficiency of selected processes

transaction processing, accounting, support for engineering and science.

2nd generation integration within the enterprise, organization level optimization ERP,
Marketing, Sales.

3rd generation integration between enterprise and its customers and partners e-Business,
supply chain integration, B2B, B2C.

4th generation New communication and collaboration paradigms social, mobile.

4th generation ++ - Innovative services and products driven by technology capabilities.

Platform
 Information Technology and the Platform Revolution

Many industries are being disrupted by information technology platforms.

Example: Ola, FlipKart, MakeMyTrip.
Early platforms provided easier access to a set of services, often removing middle men
Example: Travel reservation systems like MakeMyTrip.
Next platforms enabled a select set of service providers to reach a broader market, often
disrupting other channels of delivery.
Example: FlipKart, eBay.
Current platforms increase value through network effects.
Example: Ola cabs, FaceBook.
Many existing services and products are being disrupted.
 Example: AirBnB
Platform provides a marketplace for providers of short term rental properties to offer hosting services to travellers
Producers: Property owners, can even be private individuals rather than businesses
Consumers: Travellers looking for accommodation
Platform value
Consumers get a larger selection of unique accommodations. Often cheaper than traditional lodging options.
Producers get access to large pool of consumers without having to do lot of marketing and sales. Even private individuals can
participate.
Owner of the platform
Provide information about the lodging facility, ratings and reviews from other participants, reputation of guests and hosts, secure
purchase and payment, rules of engagement
Network effects
Consumers are attracted by cheaper and unique accommodation. Producers are attracted by access to a large pool of customers
As more consumers make reservation, more providers list their accommodation
Platform provides new value for producers (owners had limited ability to rent before AirBnB) as well as for consumers
Disrupts existing model of hotel industry.
 A Sustainable Dialogue
You can never have an impact on society,
if you have not changed yourself .

- Nelson Mandela