The Upside to Business Disruption

Business disruption is now the norm. To build a future-proof business, you need to be fully aware of the technological changes in the marketplace and the environment around you. Disruption can change the relevance of your business overnight and, by not preparing for it, your business risks losing customers and being overtaken by competitors. The key to avoiding the impact of disruption is by viewing it as an opportunity to innovate your business and deepen your relationship with customers.

What is disruption?

Disruptive technology, as defined by Harvard Business School professor Clayton M. Christensen, is “one that displaces an established technology and shakes up the industry or a ground-breaking product that creates a completely new industry.”

Disruption is when a product or service becomes so popular with customers that it replaces other products or services in that industry. For this reason, the impact of disruption is significant because it not only affects the business causing the disruption, but any business in that market.

Disruption led to the demise of several companies considered too big to fail. We’ve all heard the stories about companies like Blockbuster that focused on its video store success and failed to respond to companies like Netflix that offered streaming services. Another example is Kodak, a company that was once at the forefront of photography but neglected to adapt to the rise of digital cameras believing that customers would always prefer a printed photo.

Whether you are ready or not, a new product that has better features or a lower price could quickly diminish the value of what your business has to offer. The question is how your business will respond to disruption.

How your business can benefit from disruption

Organizations facing disruption can respond by either innovating to take the lead on disruption or continuing along the current path and adjusting along the way. Both strategies can be effective, as disruption can be an opportunity for your business to improve operations and how you deliver customer experiences.

Innovating to take the lead in disruption means creating new business models and processes that reinvent the products and services you offer to customers. It also includes improving current customer experience strategies to meet or even exceed their expectations.

The decision to continue along your current path doesn’t mean your business isn’t responding to disruption. Instead, your focus should be on examining existing models and processes to strengthen areas that are successful or fix weak spots.

Any area of your business that is directly tied to satisfying customers will be affected by disruption no matter what response to disruption is chosen.

The guidance you need to disrupt the disruption

Technology creates disruption and is also the key to avoiding it. The latest technology — such as cloud services, AI, chatbots, and IoT — can help your business transform processes, improve products or service delivery, and even find cost savings. If your business adopts new technology to improve how you deliver customer experiences, the more likely you can make disruption an opportunity to create customer experiences that engage and delight customers, as well as move ahead of your competition.

Disruption can change the relevance of your business overnight and reduce the value of the products and services you offer to customers. A technology consulting partner can provide the expertise and technology solutions you need to get ready, have a plan, and be prepared to disrupt the disruption.

Speridian Technologies is a global business and technology solutions provider that helps clients modernize their businesses through digital transformation. Our experts offer deep knowledge and expertise across many industries and verticals. With the latest next-gen solutions to support your response to disruption, we can help your organization future-proof your business.