F R I D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 3 0 , 2 0 0 5
RICHARD KECK, Partner, Duane Morris LLP, Founder of GECA
The term disruptive technology was coined by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen in his 1997 book, The Innovator’s Dilemma. According to Christensen, a disruptive technology is a new technology that is often smaller, simpler, cheaper, and more convenient to use than the technology that currently dominates the marketplace. The new technology does not have to be better than the older technology; in fact, the disruptive technology is often worse, which is why the dominant market players do not develop it. But as the disruptive technology improves, it takes over the entire market. The original technology is not really replaced but made irrelevant and rendered obsolete.
The concept – that new technologies can completely disrupt an industry’s predicted, logical trajectory – is appealing because it seems to explain some of the unforeseen, yet radical, market revolutions of the past century. But these market revolutions have serious legal effects as well, often shifting the balance between fundamental legal values like free speech, privacy, and free enterprise.
Four current market applications of technology are particularly illustrative of this concept: junk email, or spam; peer-to-peer networking, such as Napster; voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP; and recently the booming Earth browsers. The real news behind Google Earth and MSN Virtual Earth is that they are opening up high level managers eyes to the fact that thousands of dollars don't need to be spent on proprietary GIS software and GIS data in order to successfully reach business goals and government service to taxpayer.