Technology companies assume that the best, or most disruptive, technology wins the game. This is no longer the case. Technology markets have matured and many companies are missing the fact that it is now no longer about the technology – it is about bringing technology products and services to market. These firms either misunderstand how technology products differ from traditional consumer products or they labor under outmoded assumptions.

For example, once upon a time technology was most often sold in a business-to-business environment. In this old world, it was assumed that a large number of software licenses would be sold to a large corporation. Often the people using that software would be corporate information technology specialists. It was also assumed that the software would be sold based on that IT organization’s requirements and budget. These assumptions no longer apply.

What is happening now is the consumerization of technology. Technology is ubiquitous and consumers are no longer mystified by it. Information technology remains a specialty, but many more technology-based products and services are in the hands of consumers. The latest technology is delivered right to our screens and it is integrated into our daily lives. As consumers have come face-to-face with technology, they have demanded simplicity and ease of use. Many IT professionals and the tech companies that once supplied them have not yet caught up with this new world.

More and more, technology line businesspeople rather than IT specialists are making technology decisions. These front-line managers are carrying the budget and they are looking to technology to surmount a specific business challenge or to leverage an opportunity. They are not looking at technology for technology’s sake but for its capacity to create a business benefit. In many cases these benefits are customer-facing.

In the past, one of the most common technology sales involved systems of record. Systems of record are the large software tools, such as Oracle and SAP, which facilitate an analytical capability. The future is in systems of engagement – systems and devices that allow vast numbers of people to interact with systems of record. Succeeding in this maturing technology market means:

• Getting in on the ground floor of new technology standards before the market makes its decision.
• Capturing consumer attention through a value proposition a customer would notice.
• Understanding that people and not technology is the true source of competitive advantage.