Technology

Technology companies face daunting and sometimes contradictory challenges. On one hand, new markets and competitors continue to emerge, driven by innovation around seven general themes:

• IT architecture shifts
• Emergence of new computing and communication platforms
• Pure technical innovation
• New business models
• Emergence of new ways to communicate
• “Accessory” opportunities created in the wake of platform success
• New applications generated by business processes

On the other hand, while change is constant, the themes in technology are perennial. In general, the new supplements rather than supplants the old, resulting in an increasingly complex landscape.

In parallel to this continued innovation, many “older” swaths of the high-tech industry are maturing, following the same classic patterns seen in other industries:

• Increasing competitor concentration
• More incremental product innovation
• Increasing customer segment specialization
• Globalization
• Migration to lower-cost channels
• (De)regulation
• Architectural, platform, format and business model shifts
• Growing role of private equity firms in restructuring industry sectors facing growth challenges