Disruptive Industries: Understanding the Eruptive Powers of New Technology - in conversation with Barry Einsig
Some of the most dramatic and awe-inspiring landscapes today are due to the collisions of tectonic plates. Where plates meet, mountains, mid-ocean ridges, and oceanic trenches are created. However, just as tectonic plates come together to create beautiful scenery, they also have the destructive power to create natural disasters such as volcanoes erupting and tsunamis. This analogy can be applied when industry giants come close together in entering a new market. They create friction and ultimately result in dislocations that cannot be ignored, whether good or bad.
We are in conversation with Barry Einsig. Barry has devoted his professional life to developing innovation of; technology systems, business models, and go-to-market strategies in new and emerging markets. Today, Barry speaks on the explosive power of disruption when two or more industries collide, for example, ride-sharing and micro-mobility companies entering the public sector domain of transportation.
You made an analogy comparing the collision of industries to the shifting of tectonic plates. Similar to how transportation collides with new tech-driven private companies, resulting in the disruption of industries. Can you explain this? Tell us more about this analogy and how technology is disrupting the transportation industry. What are the pros and cons?
“It starts with the idea that huge industries are moving closer together, looking for new markets to serve. The entrance of private-sector technology companies into public-sector transportation operations creates friction that ultimately leads to disruption. For most of history, transportation has been primarily private-sector, operated with public sector support for requirements and to help cover the risk. Going back to the early years of our country, you would see turnpike roads, railroads, and canals operated through the private sector. In the last century, many of these industries have moved into the public sector, which puts them at a disadvantage when facing disruptions due to capital budgets, regulatory constraints, and equity requirements that private sector companies may not be familiar with.
“Some collisions aren’t as disruptive and cause one industry to sublimate to the other. A recent example of this would be the rapid adoption of new data systems by transportation operators. These technologies are ready for use, easily adapted, and quickly became essential to transportation operations. Other collisions could cause significant eruptions; they’re volcanic in their expansion, disrupting the status quo and driving significant changes to the industry, both good and bad.
“Volcanic eruptions can happen when industries think about their customers and needs without considering how well they can help the other. For example, a technological industry might release a new communications system that is fast and efficient but has yet to be tested for the complex use cases of the transportation industry. So considerations for safety and reliability, which are the transportation industry’s top concerns, aren’t addressed. This can cause friction with the transportation industry, leading to delays in critical technology solutions.
“Technology companies may seek to circumvent the proven methodologies of systems engineering and cause major disruption, as has been seen in some cases with ride-hailing and micro-mobility services.
“Disruptions in the transportation or mobility industry will continue to happen in these locations of convergent boundaries between the public and private sectors. Moving transportation to the public sector means the staff, capital, and operating budgets can’t keep up with the technology industries’ capabilities as they do in the private sector. The private sector can take the disruptions and more efficiently manage and monetize these solutions and systems with the right level of understanding of what the transportation/ mobility industry customers require and what the technology industry can deliver.
“There is a tremendous opportunity for both the public sector transportation providers and the private sector technology companies to be successful here. These digital transformations that appear as tectonic shifts are the opportunities ahead of us. If we can, as partners at the boundary layers of industries, recognize the disruption, plan for it, and execute against that plan, we can and will see the beautiful landscape that this uplift creates.”
Thank you for sharing, Barry.
Barry Einsig is the Executive Vice President and Non-Executive Board Director with four decades of experience driving sustainable revenue growth and shareholder value for leading technology companies. His broad-based expertise includes strategic planning, finance, sales and marketing, operations, product development, technology, customer satisfaction, partnerships, start-ups, engineering, manufacturing, investor relations, mentoring, succession planning, fiduciary oversight and corporate governance. He is dedicated towards building effective relationships and providing crucial support to investors, C-level executive teams, and boards of directors.
You can visit Barry's LinkedIn here.
