A dlsrupLlve Lechnology ls one LhaL dlsplaces an esLabllshed Lechnology and shakes

up Lhe lndusLry or a ground-breaklng producL LhaL creaLes a compleLely new

lndusLry.
Pere are a few examples of dlsrupLlve Lechnologles:
1he personal compuLer (C) dlsplaced Lhe LypewrlLer and forever changed Lhe
way we work and communlcaLe.
1he Wlndows operaLlng sysLem's comblnaLlon of affordablllLy and a user-frlendly
lnLerface was lnsLrumenLal ln Lhe rapld developmenL of Lhe personal compuLlng
lndusLry ln Lhe 1990s. ersonal compuLlng dlsrupLed Lhe Lelevlslon lndusLry, as
well as a greaL number of oLher acLlvlLles.
Lmall Lransformed Lhe way we communlcaLlng, largely dlsplaclng leLLer-wrlLlng
and dlsrupLlng Lhe posLal and greeLlng card lndusLrles.
Cell phones made lL posslble for people Lo call us anywhere and dlsrupLed Lhe
Lelecom lndusLry.
1he lapLop compuLer and moblle compuLlng made a moblle workforce posslble
and made lL posslble for people Lo connecL Lo corporaLe neLworks and
collaboraLe from anywhere. ln many organlzaLlons, lapLops replaced deskLops.
SmarLphones largely replaced cell phones and uAs and, because of Lhe
avallable apps, also dlsrupLed: pockeL cameras, M3 players, calculaLors and CS
devlces, among many oLher posslblllLles. lor some moblle users, smarLphones
ofLen replace lapLops. CLhers prefer a LableL.
Cloud compuLlng has been a hugely dlsrupLlve Lechnology ln Lhe buslness world,
dlsplaclng many resources LhaL would convenLlonally have been locaLed ln-house
or provlded as a LradlLlonally hosLed servlce.
Soclal neLworklng has had a ma[or lmpacL on Lhe way we communlcaLe and --
especlally for personal use -- dlsrupLlng Lelephone, emall, lnsLanL messaglng and
evenL plannlng.
Parvard 8uslness School professor ClayLon M. ChrlsLensen colned Lhe
Lerm !"#$%&'"() ')+,-./.01. ln hls 1997 besL-selllng book, "1he lnnovaLor's
ullemma," ChrlsLensen separaLes new Lechnology lnLo Lwo caLegorles: susLalnlng
and dlsrupLlve. SusLalnlng Lechnology relles on lncremenLal lmprovemenLs Lo an
already esLabllshed Lechnology. ulsrupLlve Lechnology lacks reflnemenL, ofLen has
performance problems because lL ls new, appeals Lo a llmlLed audlence, and may noL
yeL have a proven pracLlcal appllcaLlon. (Such was Lhe case wlLh Alexander Craham
8ell's "elecLrlcal speech machlne," whlch we now call Lhe Lelephone.)
ln hls book, ChrlsLensen polnLs ouL LhaL large corporaLlons are deslgned Lo work wlLh
susLalnlng Lechnologles. 1hey excel aL knowlng Lhelr markeL, sLaylng close Lo Lhelr
cusLomers, and havlng a mechanlsm ln place Lo develop exlsLlng Lechnology.
Conversely, Lhey have Lrouble caplLallzlng on Lhe poLenLlal efflclencles, cosL-savlngs,
or new markeLlng opporLunlLles creaLed by low-margln dlsrupLlve Lechnologles.
uslng real-world examples Lo lllusLraLe hls polnL, ChrlsLensen demonsLraLes how lL ls
noL unusual for a blg corporaLlon Lo dlsmlss Lhe value of a dlsrupLlve Lechnology
because lL does noL relnforce currenL company goals, only Lo be bllndslded as Lhe
Lechnology maLures, galns a larger audlence and markeL share and LhreaLens Lhe
sLaLus quo.