Providence technology and advisory services firm SQA Group helps business clients handle emerging technologies. What that means is that when new innovations such as artificial intelligence and machine learning are developed, businesses can turn to organizations such as SQA Group to help guide them toward deciding what technology might make sense for their company.
As vice president of solutions, Walter McAdams says companies need ways to test new technology, have a budget for such discretionary spending and know when to engage.
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PBN: Is emerging technology in and of itself a new concept?
MCADAMS: Emerging technology has always been here and is very much tied to the human story. Since the dawn of time, we take something that has utility to us and put it through a process to make it useful – something that can provide a capability we didn’t have before or frees us from constraint.
Think back to the 18th century and the emergence of the Industrial Age. As new products spun up, some countries jumped first to realize their potential and revolutionize their agriculture and culture. Others viewed the products as nothing more than clever toys. Those that didn’t embrace the “new” fell irreparably behind.
Fast forward 200 years, and nothing has changed. Emerging technology is still here. Some companies and leaders are early adopters; others embrace a wait-and-see approach; and some remain laggards. What has changed is that the risk of falling dangerously behind has never been higher, as the rate of change and transformative effect of it has continued to accelerate.
PBN: Are there any tried-and-true ways to gauge what emerging tech is right for a business?
MCADAMS: You must know that emerging tech exists and recognize how it can have relevance to your line of business. If you don’t understand what it can do today and envision what it could do tomorrow, you are going to be disadvantaged.
Once you have an active imagination and broad interest in it, you need a mechanism to test out ideas quickly. Create an in-house lab to test out “proof-of-concept” ideas in a safe place – with a small-enough scope and as few bureaucratic barriers as possible, so you can get quick results.
Finally, always have a discretionary budget available to support emerging technology. If you stumble upon something that could be big, the secret is to strike while the iron is hot. The ability to pivot funding away from less-impactful, earlier decisions is key.
PBN: What is the S-curve’s role in emerging technology?
MCADAMS: When you look at the adoption of any sort of new breakthrough technology or any new process, there is a typical pattern, and it has to do with adoption over time – what we refer to as the S-curve. At the early stages of something new, adoption and growth are typically very low because there’s a lot to prove out before the application of the new technology or approach is proven viable.
As it’s proven viable, early adopters come forward to use the technology to drive some portion of their business. When they determine how to make that technology viable, we see the beginning of rapid acceleration and adoption. Pretty soon, adoption itself becomes the goal, and that’s when you know that you are well along on the S-curve. Technology starts to become mainstream and if you have not yet adopted that technology, you will be playing catchup.
Understanding the S-curve provides the capability to evaluate the risks, benefits and objections of adopting technology at any place along the curve. Naturally, the risks are higher early on, but very often that’s when the reward is the greatest.
PBN: What are the risks of adopting a new technology at the wrong stage of the S-curve?
MCADAMS: If you are too early, the technology can be wrong for you. While you need an appetite to try something new, you also must be willing to eliminate things that are not right for you. Another risk is that you may not have the right skill sets – from both a technical and innovation standpoint – in your organization to get the technology to where you need it to be and productionize it.
Many companies that develop the technology may not be configured to take it to the next step of impact, where it provides real financial benefit. If you are too late to adoption, your biggest risk in the short term is that you lose market share; in the long term you can become obsolete.
PBN: How do you advise companies to foster an internal culture of innovation when it comes to adopting new technology?
MCADAMS: First, establish a culture of investigation where you recognize curiosity as a value in all team members, from individual contributors to executive leaders. Next, ensure that ongoing education is part of your structure. Look within to promote people who demonstrate the right values, and also outside the company as well, to complement the strengths of your internal team with fresh hyper-specialization and perspective. Finally, develop a reputation of being an innovative company so that you are perceived as a leader within your market and thus are also able to attract top talent.
Susan Shalhoub is a PBN contributing writer.
