Business Innovation and Disruptive Technology: Harnessing the Power of Breakthrough Technology ...for Competitive Advantage [Paperback]

Nicholas D. Evans (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130473979 | ISBN-13: 978-0130473974 | Publication Date: September 1, 2002 | Edition: 1

Business Innovation and Disruptive Technology: Harnessing the Power of Breakthrough Technology for Competitive Advantage shows you how to profit from the next technological revolution. Nicholas D. Evans explains how to discover powerfully disruptive technologies more quickly, evaluate them more accurately, and implement them more profitably. He presents business-focused introductions to rapidly maturing technologies such as Web services, real-time computing, and P2P, then previews crucial trends like "software as a service," as well as next-generation technologies such as grid computing, electronic tagging, and location-based services.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Once, new and disruptive technologies were restricted to the reckless-or those with nothing to lose. No more. In an era where agility has become utterly crucial to success, every business must effectively exploit emerging technology. In the wake of the Internet bust, it's far more challenging to identify technologies that offer true business value. But the rewards are enormous—as are the risks of failing to do so, or of making the wrong choices.

In Business Innovation and Disruptive Technology: Harnessing the Power of Breakthrough Technology for Competitive Advantage, Nicholas D. Evans presents a systematic framework for choosing emerging technologies, making investments, limiting risk, measuring ROI, and delivering results. Evans reviews the key drivers of the next wave of business and technical innovation, and reviews key technologies now poised for mass-market adoption. He then assesses long-term technology trends—from "software as a service" to next-generation human-computer interfaces—helping you understand and account for their likely implications.

Look elsewhere for "gee whiz": Business Innovation and Disruptive Technology is relentlessly business-focused, with real case studies, real metrics, and serious strategic guidance. Whether you're an executive, board member, line-of-business leader, strategic planner, technical manager, system architect, investor, entrepreneur, or consultant, you'll find no better guide to achieving competitive advantage via the next wave of disruptive technology—and the waves that will follow in its wake.

* Not "first mover": smart mover Intelligently applying the right technologies to the right challenges * Extending your radar: Detecting disruptive technologies sooner Scanning the horizon for breakthroughs that can transform your business * The new technology adoption lifecycle Why yesterday's approaches to emerging technology are no longer adequate * Leveraging new technology in a "back to basics" era Refocusing new technology investments on the fundamentals: delivering real and enduring value * Next-generation technologies that are ready for prime time Web services, real-time computing, P2P, business process management, m-business, and enterprise security: achieving real ROI right now * Delivering on the promise of the Internet-finally The "missing links" that'll help you realize the productivity gains and cost reductions the Internet promised * The future: It's closer than you think Three, five, ten years out: planning for the revolutions that still lie ahead"Business Innovation and Disruptive Technology sensitizes every functional and general manager, beyond the CIO and CTO, to the importance of keeping abreast of emerging technologies, and not becoming passive after the dot-com busts. Evans' book provides a practical roadmap for the meaningful application of tomorrow's technologies today, to add real corporate value." —Carl Yankowski
Former CEO, Palm and former President, Sony Electronics

"The blurring speed of technology innovation rates requires a robust corporate technology 'radar' for firms to keep up and take advantage of new innovations. Mr. Evans' deep insights and perspectives will provide an extremely useful framework to guide companies as they articulate their technology evaluation processes and translate emerging technologies into bottom line results."Charles J. Marinello
Director, Strategic Planning
Texas Instruments, Inc.

"Today's business landscape is seeded with a growing number and variety of advanced software solutions. No longer can knowing about them be assigned to an IT priesthood alone. Going forward every business will need to learn how to identify and leverage potentially disruptive technologies. The business case for adoption and implementation must be crystal clear even if the technical details remain obscure. Nick Evans' Business Innovation and Disruptive Technology is the very best book I've seen at surveying the categories of emerging solutions on this new landscape and linking their value propositions to strategies for implementation. I highly recommend this book to executives and managers who plan to capitalize on the opportunities ahead."Don Hicks
Professor of Political Economy and Public Policy
University of Texas at Dallas

"Business Innovation and Disruptive Technology provides tremendous insight and structure into the chaotic world of managing the identification and implementation of new technologies in the enterprise." Matthew Bowers
Vice President, New Ventures
Incucomm

Leveraging the next wave of disruptive technology for maximum competitive advantage.

• Discover disruptive technologies sooner, evaluate them more accurately, and implement them more profitably
• Web services, real-time computing, P2P, business process management, m-business, enterprise security, and much more
• Tomorrow's breakthroughs: "software as a service," electronic tagging (RFID), telematics, location-based services, new user interfaces and AI applications, and more
• Detailed case studies and realistic metrics from early adopters

Another technological revolution is about to occur. Business Innovation and Disruptive Technology shows you exactly how to profit from it.

Nicholas D. Evans shows how to discover powerfully disruptive technologies more quickly, evaluate them more accurately, and implement them more profitably. He identifies powerful new opportunities for competitive advantage while offering specific recommendations, detailed early-adopter case studies, and realistic metrics.

Evans presents business-focused introductions to Web services, real-time computing, P2P, business process management, m-business, and enterprise security. Next, he previews tomorrow's disruptive technologies-including electronic tagging (RFID), new user interfaces, telematics, location-based services, new AI applications, and tomorrow's #1 megatrend: "software as a service."

For each, Evans reviews scenarios, applications, benefits, risks, strategies, and implementation issues: all you need to know to transform promises into measurable business value.

About the Author

NICHOLAS D. EVANS is a Director within the Emerging Technology Solutions practice of one of the world's leading business advisors and systems integrators. A widely recognized e-business consultant, speaker, and author, Evans has published over 100 articles for publications ranging from The Financial Times to Internet Week. His books include Business Agility: Strategies for Gaining Competitive Advantage through Mobile Business Solutions (Prentice Hall PTR).

Evans was formerly National Technical Director for e-business at PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global Software Solutions Center. He co-founded the National Internet Practice for Coopers & Lybrand in 1997. Evans' clients have included 3M, AT&T, Abbott Labs, American Airlines, American Family Insurance, Best Buy, BP Amoco, Compaq, Conoco, First USA, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak, Major League Baseball, Schering Plough, SunTrust Bank, Texaco, Van Waters and Rogers, and many others.

Evans holds a B.Sc.(Hons) and M.Sc. from Southampton University in England. He is a frequent advisor to the venture capital community and serves on several advisory boards.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: FT Press; 1 edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130473979
• ISBN-13: 978-0130473974
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,061,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mr. Evans is a Vice President within the Office of the CTO at Unisys and is presently leading their Strategic Innovation Program. Prior to this position he was Vice President and General Manager of Worldwide Enterprise Security Initiatives within Unisys' Strategic Program Office. In this role he focused on the strategy and coordination of enterprise security initiatives across Unisys' holistic security portfolio including people, goods & assets, and information systems.

Mr. Evans has nearly twenty years of experience in all aspects of solution delivery in a wide variety of industries. His clients have included 3M, Abbott Labs, American Airlines, American Family Insurance, AT&T, Atlantic Health System, Baylor, Best Buy, Boeing, BP Amoco, ChevronTexaco, Compaq, Conoco, First USA, Integris, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak, Major League Baseball, Nokia, Schering Plough, PetroCore, Providian, Sears, SunTrust Bank, Texaco, TSI (Verizon), US Army, Van Waters & Rogers and many others.

He is the author of several business-oriented books on emerging technology and IT strategy including titles from Financial Times Prentice Hall ("Business Innovation & Disruptive Technology: Harnessing the Power of Breakthrough Technology'for Competitive Advantage" and "Business Agility: Strategies for Gaining Competitive Advantage through Mobile Business Solutions"), Microsoft Press, and Powersoft Press.

As an industry luminary, he has shared his thought leadership in leading publications such as Fortune, Time Magazine, Financial Times, CIO Magazine, Optimize, Internet Week, RFID Journal, and Washington Technology, as well as broadcast media such as CNBC Squawk Box, History Channel, Discovery Channel and Business Talk Radio.

Prior to Unisys, Mr. Evans was Global Lead, Emerging Technology at BearingPoint Inc. In this role he focused on the delivery of emerging technology strategies and solutions, including Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), wireless/mobility, web services, business process management, real-time infrastructure, and security having strategic enterprise value to BearingPoint clients.

Prior to BearingPoint, Mr. Evans was the National Technical Director for E-Business at PricewaterhouseCoopers within their Global Software Solutions Center. In this role, he was responsible for sales and delivery of large-scale and strategic e-business engagements for PricewaterhouseCoopers clients nationally, personally contributing to over $30 million in revenue. He co-founded the National Internet Practice for Coopers & Lybrand in 1997.

Mr. Evans holds a B.Sc.(Hons) in Geophysical Sciences and an M.Sc. in Oceanography from Southampton University in England. He serves as a board member for the Software Division of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and chair of their Web Services Initiative, and as an Emerging Technology Advisor for the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and chair of their RFID Standards Task Group.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to create new ways to extract new forms of business value, August 25, 2006

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Business Innovation and Disruptive Technology: Harnessing the Power of Breakthrough Technology ...for Competitive Advantage (Paperback)

The best business books develop a core concept or respond to a question of compelling importance. Nicholas Evans does so in this volume, responding to two separate but related questions:

1. Which emerging and disruptive technologies will not only be the next differentiators and sources of competitive advantage but also be the next sources of solid business value for enterprise operations?

2. How to identify and exploit these technologies to design more competitive and agile companies and markets?

Evans organizes his material within nine chapters. In the first, he explains the need for enterprise innovation; in the last, be examines the current stage of the evolution of information technology and suggests what the impact of developments during the next several years may have on businesses. In between, he covers "the strategy, process, and technology aspects behind some of today's most promising emerging technologies with a focus on how to achieve real-world results that benefit the top and bottom line for an organization. One of the goals of this book is to help executives maximize their value from these technologies, to reshape their business, not just their business processes."

Readers will especially appreciate Evans' provision of a Summary and an "Extending the Radar Lessons" section at the end of Chapter 1, and then at the conclusion of each of the next eight chapters (Chapters 2- 9), provision of an "Extending the Radar Lessons" section followed by an "Extending the Radar Considerations" section. These and other reader-friendly devices offer three substantial value-added benefits: they specify key points within the given chapter and context, they suggest correlations between and among them, and they facilitate, indeed accelerate frequent review of those key points later.

I was especially interested in what Nicholas has to say about business process management in Chapter 5. He begins with an especially apt observation by W. Edwards Demming: "If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing." Presumably Deming would agree that what cannot be measured cannot be managed. (He may have been the first to make that assertion. To date, I have been unable to locate its source.) I agree with Nicholas that businesses considering integration of applications within their enterprise, or integration of applications with those of their partners, "should consider business process management as a key emerging technology, alongside Web services, which can help to deliver new forms of enterprise agility and reduction of cost and complexity." This is a key point, one which Nicholas explores with depth and precision. Readers will then welcome the "Extending the Radar Lessons" and "Extending the Radar Considerations" sections which follow.

When concluding his book, Nicholas suggests that the "first wave" of applications (i.e. essentially a force fit on top of a powerful but vulnerable framework) is now giving way to an era of combinations, one during which "killer applications are built from combinations of killer technologies, where computers can start to serve their uses rather than command their users, where information and transaction are able to move seamlessly across logical boundaries, device boundaries, and physical and virtual boundaries." Whether creating and/or responding to others' "killer applications, organizations must have a "radar" system to guide and inform their initiatives to generate revenue, reduce costs, and improve performance. The question he poses to his reader -- "How prepared is your radar?" -- serves as a challenge to all decision-makers who must understand "new rules" if their organizations are to prevail in what is undeniably a "new game."

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great matching of business issues with technology change, September 13, 2002

By 

Mark Sherman (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Business Innovation and Disruptive Technology: Harnessing the Power of Breakthrough Technology ...for Competitive Advantage (Paperback)

Nick has done a nice job of summarizing the current new, new technologies and matching them to business issues. Solid read for managers and technologists alike.