Marketing 4 – Reflection Paper 1
Bringing new high technology products to market
Prof. Sandeep Puri
Ryan Sumayod (MSIB 2022)
The article basically talks about the significant uncertainties packaged with every new technology
being developed through the years starting with the birthing of the electronic inks. Much like how
Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality has been more than a decade long vision of most
trailblazing giants in the tech sector. How economic theories plays such cruel tricks to first movers
and rewards the fastest seconds in any innovation and new born technology. The market essentially
kills those who rests on their laurels and fails to exceed their previously successful innovation.
Essentially proves that technology, much like building any house, needs to be stacked against one
another, where the primary brick laid on the ground becomes the foundation of the next layer of
bricks. It is also essential for technology, like brick-laying, is to understand the readiness of the
customers to accept the technology laid out for them. For example, the reason why “The Apple
Newton Message Pad 2100” failed and flopped during its launch was simply because the people
or the market was not that ready or accepting of the concept of a touch screen or stylus based
handheld phone. Those were the times when people can text and call without looking at the screen,
it doesn’t matter if it’s “the future” of handheld phones that time, the market still decided, “Not
today.” The only good thing about that incident was that apple took it upon itself to build on this
failure and pivoted to launch the first I-pod later and it was good enough to make Sony Walkman
obsolete. Fast, disruptive and emerging technologies successfully applied to businesses are mostly
ahead of its time and therefore regulations, laws and compliances sometimes needs to be retrofitted
or revised to accommodate, manage or sometimes counteracts these newly released technologies.
It was also discussed that high technology being not fully realized carries risks in terms of not
being able to fully recognize how long a technology’s cash cow life is. Exhibit to this example is
Nokia, since they were not able to properly scope for sharks within their industry, they were not
able to pivot or improve upon their technology.
If I were to apply what the information and discernment that the article tried to provide to my
organization and my capstone, a few things come to mind.
Firstly, the pursuance of continuous innovation and improvement. The real nature of any
technology, even the high and emerging ones is that someday, its cash cow days will end and
somewhere within the industry or allied industry, a technology sharp enough to kill yours shall
emerge. To assume that an idea to make your technology obsolete is born at the time of your high
Marketing 4 – Reflection Paper 1
Bringing new high technology products to market
Prof. Sandeep Puri
Ryan Sumayod (MSIB 2022)
technology’s release is somewhat a reality already in our VUCA ridden times. Paying attention to
small start ups and giant competitors alike is just as important in trying to outdo your previous
high technology release and continuously burning through your innovation stacks internally while
releasing it in even increments that makes your customers begging for more (Exhibit A: the apple
effect)
Secondly, Network Effects works in parallel with customer education. It doesn’t matter if your
technology is the future or the saving grace of this generation, if you do not properly balance
between educating your customers and spreading the word about it, it will not work out. Therefor,
this is where proper targeted marketing comes to play. I would assume that product management
plays a huge role in this scenario.
Lastly, actually identifying the driving forces within an industry regardless of its nature and using
it to your advantage shall be a must if I am to conceive the capstone I have been working on. To
make use of coopetition with other to look for other players in the industry that complements the
technology or even the products I offer will not only boost my chances of sustaining the cash cow
years of my tech, it would also act as a layer of protection against other techs that exists in another
competitive ecosystem.