Kellogg on Technology & Innovation

by Ranjay Gulati

Book Overview

The future of business technology This book examines the exciting new technologies that will soon be entering the workplace. The experts from the Kellogg School of Management offer a uniquely business-oriented approach and perspective on the subject. The editors provide not only an overview of the lure and promise of these domains but also a rich account of the business propositions underlying the commercialization of these efforts. There is also...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 047123592X
• ISBN13: 9780471235927
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Interesting, but quite a bit not in the mainstream

Chapter 1's discussion of Moore's Law is interesting, but for most of those who use computers in 2005, Moore's law is of little importance. Computers (and the semiconductors/chips that run them) have become commoditized and most of the people that use computers do not need the latest and greatest processors to use the applications that they need. My personal experience bears this out -- I am an IT professional and I used to purchase the latest and greatest computer every few years. However, my current computer is alomst 3 years old and I still consider it to be very quick (it is a PowerMac). It does everything I could possibly want and I'm happy with it, even though there are computers out there for less than $500 that have more raw processing power. I agree with the authors that the race to increase processing power and the related power that is available has been mostly consumed by bloated operating systems and desktop applications. I also agree that many businesses will settle for less -- most businesses will use desktop computers for 3-5 years in my experience and, even new, companies will treat these purchases as commodities and will not buy anywhere near the fastest computers. For 2 years I worked at American Family Insurance in Madison. During this time I was (even as an IT professional) given a PC with a processor clock speed at least 3-4 times slower than the fastest processor on the market. My laptop for home use was at least 4-5 years old. buying the newest equipment was unheard of and would be considered a waste of funds. Today I go into many companies as a software vendor and every company I've visited in the last 18 months has had slower computers than most people have in their homes. Processor speed for most users today is simply a non-factor (or a minor factor) in the purchasing decision. Chapter 2 provides a look at Fiber to the Home (FTTH). FTTH providers, as mentioned in the Kellogg book, need to be in this business -- not to claim quick profits, but over the long haul as profits won't be realized as quickly, but rather later because of the longevity of the equipment. Reading the chapter, I was quickly reminded of the early providers of DSL service who leased the existing telephone companies' lines. Many of these providers went out of business quickly as even high rates couldn't bring in enough money to keep the businesses afloat (I had three different DSL providers in 2 years when I lived in Boston). FTTH and fiber providers will need to make a gigantic investment in this technology and the technology will have to still be valuable many years down the road -- and this is the risky part of these ventures. Considering that 10 years ago most home users were using 9600 baud modems, fiber providers are running the risk of new technology coming out that would keep these companies from recouping their initial investment. Chapter 3 gives the reader a look at some new potential wireless technologies. I'm one of the

Kellog Book Review

Introduction This book shed some light on some current and future technologies. I liked it in that it hit on some very detailed aspects of the different technologies. There was a very broad range but very relevant to what's going on in the field of computer science. Chapter 1 Technology is going in the direction Moore predicted but will begin to slow until a new way to develop the speed and power necessary becomes available. The company I work (Engineering Firm) for recently got numerous jobs that require 3-D modeling software to be used in designing their product. This software is an enormous software package that requires a very high-powered machine. Currently the software runs fine but as the industry increases it's demands to be able to interact with the design, we will be looking to more powerful machines. I can for see Holographs being used more to see the machine we are designing in a 3-D format in front of you before it goes to assembly. This would be a huge benefit to identify bugs. Some other things that I can see coming would be getting in to the model before actually building it, similar to the technology they were using in the movie Disclosure. I know there are some games that you can actually get into the game and feel like your there playing it. This will become a bigger and more demanded way of technology in the gaming world as well. In order for the computer industry to continue bringing more innovative and exciting things to the market the development of technology has to continue at a fairly fast rate. Consumers get bored with old technology and like to see new things. I feel Moore was on the right track but the limitations are starting to become prevalent and the new technologies they have on the horizon will need to become a reality in order for technology to continue at the rate it is. Chapter 2 Chapter 2 had some enlighting points. I work for a company that relies on lots of bandwidth for copying very large files. We have a fiber backbone internally and running from one plant to another. I don't see fiber running to each users desk in the near future as the cost is too much right now. An interesting point I found in the chapter was that of the fiber being run to residential areas. I feel that would be a huge improvement over cable or DSL but don't see it happening in the near future in my neighborhood. I work with large files at home as well and would like to see the bandwidth increased to transfer these files via FTP. I currently have cable modem which is sufficient but would be nice to have more bandwidth to do video conferencing, video transfers, etc. This chapter sounded pretty confident that there will be fiber run to more residents in the near future I would have to disagree with that statement mearly because of the cost to run the cabling. Consumers won't pay the increased costs just more bandwidth and the few that would; won't compensate for the others. As much as I would like to see it ha

Review: Kellogg On Technology & Innovation

According to Gulati, Sawhney, and Paoni, the purpose of "Kellogg On Technology & Innovation", is to "view emerging frontiers in technology through the clear lenses of business instead of the rose-tinted glasses of technologists". They present their perception of how emerging technologies such as wireless networks, interactive television, and nanotechnology can impact the average company's business operations. Not only do they discuss the role these changes play on profits, but they also talk about the impact new technologies have on customer satisfaction, and the overall business climate. And, finally, the authors suggest ways for a business to minimize the erosion of profits, and/or customer loyalty that can occur from changes in technology. The authors begin by talking about the theory of "time pacing" in regard to Moore's Law. "Most companies change in reaction to events such as moves by the competition, shifts in technology, or new customer demand," which is effective in fairly stable markets. "But successful companies in rapidly changing, intensely competitive industries... change proactively through regular deadlines." For profit-making organizations, I think this rings true. For not-for-profit or nonprofit organizations, I think the impetus for change in technology comes primarily from the need to continue to respond to their customers, and oftentimes, this comes as a last resort. In chapter 2, the authors continue with "Value capture becomes more interesting with time." As more component manufacturers and service providers enter the fiber-optics market, prices will decrease, and more consumers will make the switch. And, as legacy networks become increasingly unable to continue to meet the data transmission demands of the Internet and other data transmission sources, fiber-optic technology will become more the norm for businesses and consumers. I found chapter 3 fascinating! According to the author, "Value is created in the value chain by facilitating access, providing content, providing infrastructure, and facilitating the exchange of content and transactions." But, what does this mean in terms of creating a desire in the hearts and minds of today's consumers? If I have access to a new technology, and I am provided the infrastructure, if I do not see the need for it, I will not use it. Currently, I listen to music, but do not see the need to buy an IPOD. On the other hand, I do see a need for a system that will assist me in finding the nearest restaurant or hotel as I reach my destination. In chapter 4, the authors discuss three models for iTV: the Personal Video Recorder (PVR) Model, the Multiple Service Operators (MSO) Model, and the Internet Model. For me, the PVR model would suffice, but PVR is on its way out, and MSOs are becoming more popular. Right now, we use a satellite dish - through DirecTV. Besides getting the extra network channels like HBO, UPN, ShowTime, etc., we enjoy being able to

Kellogg book comment

Every book is interesting, in my opinion depending on how we interpret what we read. This book is also a fascinate book, which I believe that people who read it will gain more or less good information. This book can lead us to see and predict the future of the trend of technology, and how important of technology regarding our daily life. Chapter 1 is interesting for me. I think that nowadays our life depends heavily on technology, especially computers. Everybody uses a computer in some way. Most of us use them for communication, education, entertainment and so on. The capacity of the technology is also important. I agree with the author that we will receive enormous benefits from artificial-intelligence systems, and humans do not cope easily with exponential growth. People cannot imagine that they could get along without computers, but before computers emerged, they lived their lives and got along fine, never thinking that something was missing. Then, after computers were developed, our society or our businesses changed and grew along with them, developing a dependency. As computers evolve our dependency on them grows, but as they develop exponentially, our needs and uses for them cannot keep up. For example, I use the computer for education and communication. Being far away from home, the Internet helps me to interact with my family. Moreover, studying requires a lot of research. The information doesn't come only from the books. Technology helps us to access different worlds. Even though my use of my computer continues to grow, I still do not use even a small fraction of its capacities, and its capacities are only a small fraction of the available technology. My point being, our inability to handle exponential growth is already leaving us far behind the limits of technology. Sooner or later, the growth of computer technology will have to level off to remain usable and useful for humans. After reading Chapter2, I think that the Internet is important for everybody. However, the way to get the Internet to work varies for different people. In the past, we used dial-up connection to connect to the Internet. Nowadays, we have more varieties, such as cable and DSL, which provide for us higher quality, and increased speed. In some countries, they still use dial-up connection. For example, my country, Thailand, is still using the phone line to connect to the Internet. We just started to have cable modem, but they are really expensive. Probably, it is the same as the Fiber to the home(FTTH) in this country. Moreover, most businesses in Thailand still use the Internet via the dial-up connection. This illustrates the differences between developed countries and developing countries, and shows me the power of new technology that we cannot ignore. This makes me think about how we can keep up with the innovations of technology. Different countries have different levels of technology systems. I've been using the Internet in the US