COVID-19 greatly impacted technology efforts and continues to do so rapidly. Tim Bajarin joins us from Silicon Valley to discuss work from home shifts and the newest innovations from Apple.

Work From Home (WFH) Shifts

Over the last eighteen months, businesses have realized that bringing everybody back to the office isn’t realistic. People are comfortable with the flexibility that working from home provides. Creative Strategies did several studies on this topic and discovered that people establish sophisticated work from home set-ups. Because people want consistency with their office and work from home, IT directors face new challenges. Even when in-office, people are still connecting with clients and colleagues virtually.

Because people now want studios in their homes for work, homeschooling kids, etc., the housing demand has skyrocketed. Architects are currently designing new custom homes that include studios. We are moving towards the hybrid environment being the norm. Large and small companies have been investing in sprucing up their offices for their employees to match their WFH settings.

Shifts in Technology

COVID has opened room for more innovative technologies. People want better cameras, pushing laptop makers and other tech companies to make heavy improvements. Intel competitors have evolved, such as AMD and Qualcomm. Apple’s introduction of the M1 Chip has immensely shaken things up in the valley. The demand for Macs has increased immensely as well. Apple is innovating on so many fronts and has the patience to stay in it for the long run.

Regulatory Pressures

Government regulation has become more prevalent, specifically with the European Union, as it attempts to harness the growth of companies like Apple and Facebook. Tim says that Washington D.C does not understand technology, which has caused some issues. While they talk significantly about clamping down on things, the reality is that great economic challenges will arise if governing bodies step in.

About our Guest: Tim Bajarin

Tim Bajarin is one of the most recognized and sought-after global technology analysts, futurists, and consultants. His fifty years in Silicon Valley have made him a voice that moves the market.

“With his writing and analysis being at the forefront of the digital revolution, Tim was one of the first to cover the personal computer industry and is considered one of the leading experts in the field of technology adoption life cycles. He is president of a technology-focused company, Creative Strategies, and a regular podcaster on Tech.Pinions (also broadcasted on The Innovators Network). He is a futurist and credited with predicting the desktop publishing revolution three years before it reached the market and multimedia.

Been with Creative Strategies since 1981, Tim has served as a consultant to most of the leading hardware and software vendors in the industry (IBM, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, AMD, HP, Xerox, Compaq, Dell, AT&T, Microsoft, Polaroid, Lotus, Epson, Qualcomm, Toshiba, and numerous others).

Tim Bajarin is on the technology advisory boards of IBM, Compaq, and Dell. (from Wikipedia)”

It's no mystery that COVID-19 disrupted the technology industry. Today, Bob O'Donnell joins us to discuss the innovation impacts of broadband and 5G.  

Innovation Impacts of Remote Work

COVID-19 dramatically changed how we communicate, increasing the need for fast, consistent broadband. The broadband industry globally builds around two and a half years of capacity ahead of time. High internet usage spikes from COVID resulted in broadband capacity exhaustion 14 days after March 1, 2020. The spikes were due to people working from home and kids being home from school. Zoom, WebEx, Microsoft, etc., all came together to improve the problems.

A strong work-from-home environment is the byproduct of the shift from in-person to remote. To build out their mobile workstations, people invest in high-quality PCs, monitors, cameras, platforms, etc. Bob believes there will continue to be an "explosion of installs" of different video calling platforms. 

The Accelerated Pace of Technology Innovation

Competition in the tech world has seen accelerated growth since COVID-19 started. There are four or five video conferencing platforms most people are currently using. Zoom, for instance, released 320 new features last year. When it comes to microchips, things have never been more competitive. Intel and AMD are working with global governments on semiconductor and supply chain issues. Technological innovations are continuously rolling out. 

5G Innovation Growth

When it comes to 5G innovation, most of the world started out using mid-band frequencies. The U.S started with low and high-band frequencies. Mid-band turned out to be the fastest, leaving U.S 5G efforts off to a slow start. Like Y2K, everybody knew 5G was coming but did not plan for it properly. However, things are now starting to pick up.

The world's leading proponents on 5G private networks, Vodafone Germany recently unveiled a private network at Porsche's main factory. Everything at the factory runs on a 5G network, which does real-time tuning on the car while it's on a test track. Bob is currently working on a study of private 5G and how companies are implementing it. Everybody is talking about private 5G and its potential impacts from chip manufacturers to software, devices, and networks. 

About our Guest: Bob O'Donnell

Bob O'Donnell is the President, Founder, and Chief Analyst of TECHnalysis Research. The firm's research and O'Donnell's opinions are also regularly used by major media outlets, including Bloomberg TV, CNBC, CNN, Investor's Business Daily, the Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, and more.

O'Donnell writes regular columns for USAToday and Forbes and a weekly blog for Tech.pinions.com published on TechSpot, SeekingAlpha, and LinkedIn. Before founding TECHnalysis Research, Bob served as Program Vice President, Clients, and Displays for industry research firm IDC. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. 

Many businesses find their innovations fail, often at great expense and strenuous effort. These innovation failures surprise and frustrate them. They are then left wondering as to what caused their innovations to fail.

Innovation Preparedness

Many causes result in innovation efforts failing. While many causes of innovation failure are within your control, some are not. Understanding the most common causes of innovation failure is essential to prepare yourself better to address them. When you are prepared to face the inevitable, you increase your chances of success.

10 Most Common Cause for Innovations to Fail

1. Lack of Problem Identification:Often, innovators are so excited about their new idea that they don't take the time to identify the problem they're trying to solve. This leads to a lot of wasted time and resources.
2. Lack of Ideation or Inability to Generate Good Ideas: Lack of ideationis a reason for many failed processes, and the inability to develop good ideas is close behind.
3. Poor Execution of the Idea:If you can't successfully execute an idea, it will go nowhere.
4. Lack of Funding or Support: Many promising innovations get canceled due to lack of funding. Dollars, time, and people are all critical parts of successful innovations.
5. Lack of a Clear Roadmap/Plan: Without a rational plan, it's nearly impossible to remain focused and motivated when those inevitable roadblocks arise.
6. Implementation Challenges:Implementation challenges can include anything from tech issues to employee pushback.
7. Cultural Barriers: Cultural barriers, whether on an individual, team or organizational level, can prevent the successful implementation of new ideas.
8. Naysayers (innovation antibodies): Every organization has people who refuse to accept change or even consider it.
9. Poor Timing: Several factors can lead to poor timing, such as market or technology changes, shifts in customer needs or preferences, and changes in the current political climate.
10. Customer Disinterest: No matter how great your innovation is, they won't buy it if customers aren't interested.

Innovation tools allow us to do things we naturally can’t, which unleashes our creative potential. It can be hard to pinpoint the right one for your organization with thousands of options out there. Let’s explore several innovation tool categories that will help improve performance.

9 Types of Innovation Tools

1. Idea sketching tools: Idea sketching tools can be extremely helpful in speeding up the innovation process. They act as time savers, and all you to better communicate your ideas visually.
2. Idea Generation tools: Tools like mind maps, freewriting, or ideation exercises speed up the ideation process, allowing you to generate more ideas. These tools are powerful because they can be used individually or in groups in a way that is free of distractions and deadlines.
3. Creativity tool: Creativity tools improve innovation speed and fall into three main categories. The ideation category includes brainstorming sessions, and the collaboration category includes techniques like facilitated team exercises. The evaluation category contains methods like ranking ideas and project priorities that lead to the best solution.
4. Prototyping tools: Prototyping tools offer a quick and easy way to create a mock-up of ideas, get feedback, and then improve ideas. Prototyping tools can also help save time and money by avoiding future mistakes.
5. Visualization tools: Visualization tools accelerate innovation success by giving access to different perspectives and starting points for creativity. Flow charts or process maps are tools that create more efficiency and effectiveness by indicating the path from start to finish.
6. Market research tools: These tools help innovators identify customer needs, problems, and potential solutions. The top tools provide quantitative data about the general population and specific demographics that aid in product development. They simplify the process of determining idea popularity, best launch time, and areas of improvement.
7. Trend analysis tools: These tools help identify social media, news, and consumer trends. Trend analyses give users opportunities to jump on new ideas before their competition.
8. Technology scouting tools: These tools help you quickly identify and assess new useful technologies. They can also help you ensure you are aware of technologies that might benefit your organization. Properly utilizing these tools allows companies to compete in their market more effectively.
9. Business model generation tools: These tools help you explore and analyze a wide range of business models for your product or service. Business model generation enables you to select the best model for your innovation project. Popular tools include the Business Model Canvas, the Value Proposition Canvas, and The Lean Startup Methodology.