The earliest phases of the S-curve for the PC saw a number of entrants, including the Osborne, KayPro, Apple IIE, Apple Lisa, Victor 9000, DEC Rainbow, TI PC, IBM PC and the Radio Shack TRS-80. This is what I call the Chaos and Commercialization Phase.

Analysis -- Where are you on the Technology Wave?

Where is your industry and your organization on the technology continuum? Ask yourself the following questions to determine where you might be.

Question: Is your company in "Stealth Mode", trying to create something new before anyone else gets the same idea?

Question: Does your company need to provide an end-to-end solution, because there is not yet an infrastructure in place to support partners?

Chaos and Commercialization Phase Sawtooth

Question: Is your company looking for the next Killer App to provide the impetus for customers to buy your platform?

The earliest phases of a new technology innovation are characterized by lots of ups and downs, sometimes accompanied by optimism that the technology represents the next wave of the future. Everyone is looking for the next "killer app."

If you've answered "Yes" to the first three questions, your industry or your company is an innovator in the earliest stages of a disruptive innovation.

Need:

	Strategy to become the industry standard
	Strategy to grow the industry
	Strategy to support potential partners

Question: Is your company considering adopting a new technology, but you are not sure which technology to use? Or you are not sure when the industry will shake out?

If you answered "Yes" to this question, you are an early stage adopter.

Need:

Strategy for a pilot program.

Those riding the crest of the a wave often dismiss an innovative technology as a toy.

The quality, performance or features of a disruptive innovation do not initially meet the demands of your customers. The PC represented a threat to mainframe and minicomputer manufacturers, and an opportunity for Compaq and Dell. Executives at many large firms initially dismissed the PC as a toy, thinking that it could never satisfy the needs of their customers.

Question: Do your colleagues say something like, "Product X is targeted at the low-end business, and we are only competing at the high end. They are not really a competitor of ours. That is not a real product, it is a toy."

Question: Are you and your colleagues dismissing a product that will ultimately meet the needs of 90% of your customers?

If you answered yes to these two questions, these signs point to a disruption in your business.

Need:

Strategy that accommodates a technical shift.

A pilot program that will give you experience with the new technology

A value network that accommodates the financial realities of the innovation

We can help you with defining a pilot program, discerning credible threats, identifying your competitive advantage, recognizing an appropriate target market, defining the requisite infrastructure to create a standard.