Emerging technologies: what are they and why?

Emerging Technologies
What they are and why they matter ?
Threat or opportunity?

What is a technology?

It can be as simple as a stone axe or as complex as a nuclear power plant, but its still technology. It also includes things like eg Facebook, Twitter and new software for creating a high ranking on Google search.

What is significant about the word ‘emerging’?

New technologies are important because they can lead to new companies and even whole new industries. If, as a business you can spot one early on and grasp it by turning it into services or products your customers need, you can grow your whole business on the back of it.

Let’s look at a few historical examples within the outdoor trade.

Macintosh opened his factory in Manchester in the 1830s, having developed a revolutionary new technology for coating fabrics with rubber to make them waterproof.  He not only developed a large business of his own making waterproof clothing, but the whole of the Manchester area became a centre for producing coated fabrics. By the 1890s 80% of the world’s supply of waterproof garments, called Macintoshes of course, were produced in Manchester.

Fast forward then to the late 70s and the outdoor business.

There was a retail store called LD  Mountain Centre founded in 1966 in Newcastle. In 1972 the owners wished to branch out into manufacturing packs. They battled hard with Karrimor, who weren't for giving up their rucksack domain, but didn't make the progress they wished for. By the late 70s one of the directors of an American company in the aircraft industry, had the idea of using their existing and emerging technologies with PTFE to produce waterproof clothing. In this case  the fabric was not coated but used a PTFE laminate.  It did something different which the original Macintosh (and all its successors) did not do.  It allowed the wearer to have greater comfort because it was able to let moisture vapour ie sweat, out. This was undoubtedly an emerging technology and initially imperfect  partly because the unsealed seams leaked. But after a difficult period solutions were found.

Berghaus went on to build their business throughout Europe and the world on these new emerging technologies supplied by W.L. Gore. Being there at the right time when the new emerging technology is little known, can be the key to the founding of a great business.



Fast forward another 30 years and there was a small retail store in Ambleside who became the first company in the outdoor business, the first in the UK, in any business to sell products from an online website. By 1996 they were quoted by the DTI as an example of best innovative practice and the business proceeded to grow strongly without increases in their retail footage. When the business of Up and Running was eventually sold in approximately 2005 the Internet business had grown strongly without  outgrown the physical and that was retained by the owner and move to a new location in Carnforth, and the retail store being sold and renamed Lakeland climber and runner.

Emerging technologies can be both great opportunities, but they can also be a threat  particularly if those new technologies are taken up by your competitors sooner than you, or if perhaps your competitor has a period of exclusivity.

Examples:  Karrimor built its pack business on emerging technologies in textiles and moulded plastics. Their earliest products, however, were cycle bags. These declined for many years but then Karrimor took the opportunity to transfer some new technologies from packs to cycle bags,  growing its cycle bag business substantially again. After enduring a period of leadership in this cycle bag market for 15 -- 20 years there emerged a German company, Ortlieb, with new technologies which could produce a waterproof product without any need for tape seam sealing machines as used in  garments. Karrimor, despite trying very hard indeed was unable to respond to the challenge in this case and was more or less eliminated from this marketplace in due course.

Examples of companies which have grown mainly on the back of emerging technologies are
Patagonia, ( fleece) Arcterix, Thermarest and Platypus, Garmin, Helly Hansen ( first base layer) Salewa ( first adjustable crampon) but this just a few of many.   


Summary.

Even if you are not able technically or financially to respond to new technologies, you really do need to be aware of how to defend yourself against these emerging technologies. This is because your principal competitors will be using them against you.

The same is true whether you are a retailer, manufacturer, distributor or wholesaler the  Innov_ex conference at Lancaster University, is one of the best places to take time out to find out about emerging technologies. Here are some examples from the 2011 Innov_ex conference :

Social Media ,Search Engine Optimisation, Smart Retail,SMART Fabrics,Biosynthetics for textiles, Bioceramic membranes, FabLab

These are all available on Slideshare and there is a link from our website http://innovation-for-extremes.net/conference/agenda-and-downloads/
For more see you at Innov_ex in April 2012!