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The age of disruption

By Tamsin Oxford
Johannesburg, 29 Apr 2015

Disruptive technology is the Hulk of innovation and design. It has the potential to radically change an established and well-known way of doing things, often beyond all recognition. Print disrupted the oral tale. The internet stamped on the eye-aching remains of the microfiche and the encyclopaedia with its endless reams of information, data and detail. Flight, nuclear fission, electricity, microprocessors and fuel injection, even Pay-Pal - all these have disrupted industry and transformed the ways in which people work, interact and engage.

As technology continues to evolve at a rapid rate, many have labelled this the Age of Disruption.

As technology continues to evolve at a rapid rate, many have labelled this the Age of Disruption, where every other innovation and development could herald the destruction of a market or solution so firmly entrenched people forgot it was there. A great example of this is the arrival of AirBnB - a simple concept that has shaken things up in the hotel realm.

In South Africa, SnapScan can be found everywhere, from Monte Casino's parking entrance to local fruit stalls and farmers' markets. Its reliance on the mobile app rather than on shared bank details means less cash in hand and greater security for users and vendors alike. This tech is changing payment systems across the country and is already being used by well over 10 000 vendors.

The pocket PC

This year has lurched into the disruptive trend at speed, with CES announcements heralding the end of something old and the birth of something new at every corner. An almost relentless march of neatly turned out technologies stamp past screens with every advance labelled as the next big thing that will revolutionise it all. Few are going to come close, some are already here. Intel's computer on a stick takes the humble television and turns it into a fully functioning Windows desktop. While not boasting the kind of power that can handle the latest games, there's enough oomph on the quad-core 1.33GNz Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of SSD storage to get some work done in any space that boasts a TV. The tiny Intel Compute Stick plugs into the HDMI port and delivers WiFi, Bluetooth, a USB port and even a microSD card slot. At $150, it's a neat solution for offices on a space budget and remote workers, and anyone else who fancies their entire PC so portable it can hang off their car keys.

Hulk smash

The 3D printer started to get some heat in 2014, but it looks set to completely disrupt certain industries in 2015. More than any other type of tech on the market today, this is the one capable of transformation on an epic scale. Anyone can build one and use it to print out objects and save money, as was demonstrated by one intrepid user who decided it was far cheaper for him to print out his own plastic figurine collection than to spend thousands at the ever-popular Games Workshop.

How this has the potential to impact this specific market is yet to be defined, but as the cost of owning a 3D printer comes down, the more likely it is for people to use them to create their own cups, shoes, replacement parts and food. At CES 2015, XYZprinting announced the release of their Food Printer that can, among other things, print out pizza. And innovation in the 3D printing of solar panels could see the cost of solar installations come down massively, with far-reaching implications for energy-starved Africa.

The 3D printer may well be the disruptive technology to look out for over the next few years, but it has stiff competition in the form of the Internet of Things (IoT). Gartner has already warned the enterprise elephants that their rigid systems and internal silos are quashing unconventional insight and development. It will be the makers and the startups, not the tech providers, consumer goods companies or enterprises that will drive solutions within the IoT. Gartner has predicted that this phenomenon will see around 50 percent of IoT solutions originating from startups that are less than three years old and this will see a fundamental shift in both industry and adoption.

For businesses to thrive within the digital marketplace, they need to actively encourage disruption, and not expect things to happen overnight. The revolution takes time. Sir James Dyson, the founder of Dyson, spent 16 years developing a robotic vacuum cleaner that's actually capable of cleaning.

Disruptive technology may well be the theme song for 2015 as the intercloud steps in to take on the cloud, Social 2.0 steps over the remains of Social 1.0's breakfast snaps and solar solutions, such as Enphase, hand control over energy to the consumer as the utility model shifts towards self-produced and self-stored. Entrepreneurial startups such as Bio-bean turn waste into advanced biofuels, taking even more pressure off legacy fuel requirements, and wearable technology is giving consumers back control over their lives. Gartner has predicted that human lifespans will actually increase by 0.5 years thanks to health-monitoring systems and wearable tech.

We may not be on hoverboards, although they have been invented, and we may not fly our way to work (yet), but disruptive technology is definitely on the rise. Don't get too comfortable because, well, Hulk smash.

This article was first published in Brainstorm magazine. Click here to read the complete article at the Brainstorm website.

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