Today, technology is defined by the developments in digital, hi-tech systems and services.

The rapid rate of development in the technology sectors is having a dramatic effect on almost every consumer market. Products and services that were once free from any hi-tech influence now have digital systems fully integrated. Consumers in developed countries are constantly bombarded with messages to upgrade fully functional products. This unnecessary upgrading is having a negative effect on the acquisition of hardware devices, a problem that is further compounded by the increasing multipurpose functionality of the home PC, which is now able to perform numerous household entertainment tasks. As a result, manufacturers are investing in emerging business models to sustain their market position. Meanwhile, developing societies are starting to access a wide range of products, many of which are having a positive effect on social development.

Rapid acceleration

The rapid rate of technical advancement often leads to confusion and disillusionment among consumers.

In many ways the rapid acceleration of technology has defined the early 21st century consumer-driven world. Marketing tactics often put new product features above their ease of use. This is compounded by the unrepentant release of ever smaller and ever more powerful upgrades. This has resulted in consumers becoming wary about upgrading appliances. They want to invest in new technology, but they fear that their investment will soon be obsolete. Rather than address this issue, technology companies seem to have sped up their product cycles.

A more worrying factor of technological advances is the emergence of a ‘digital divide’. This is the knowledge gap between those who can use digital services and those who can’t. Many people who cannot use the systems feel that it is their own fault. However, some people argue that it is the systems’ designers at fault. Despite advancements in computational capability, there is still a shortfall in their ability to design systems that are fully user-friendly. By not taking into account the consumers who cannot work digital systems, companies are losing potential profit from a huge market.

Proprietary technology

The traditional model of offering proprietary technological systems is starting to face attack from more consumer-friendly approaches.

For some time technology has been built with proprietary software. With proprietary systems one format, such as VHS, is invariably incompatible with another seemingly similar format, such as Betamax. However as the range of technology-based products has expanded into new markets, proprietary technology has become restrictive, irritating and confusing for the consumer.

As products and services have started to converge in and around the personal computer (PC), proprietary controls over how this convergence is handled have been implemented. This has been most evident in the music industry. Microsoft, Apple and Sony have all introduced their own formats and rights management systems for the music download and playback systems they have produced. As a result, a typical user is unable to play music tracks purchased from one company’s online store on another’s playback software.

A people-centred solution to this problem called Open Source is emerging from the software industry. The Open Source movement seeks to create non-proprietary standards that put the consumer’s wants and needs first. This means that software can be adapted and personalised at far greater rates than proprietary systems. In time Open Source could become such a compelling consumer proposition that the technology giants will have little choice but to adopt the values the initiative represents.

Lifestyle Technology

Technology markets are beginning to imitate fashion markets.

Consumer technology is increasingly aping the marketing techniques of the fashion industry. In many ways this makes sense: both industries rely on a quick turn over of products, based on upgrading and improving previous productlines.

Technology mimicking the fashion industry can be most notably be seen in the mobile phone market where bright colours and smooth lines are incorporated into the designs. Technological ‘wizardry’ was once the key marketing feature of hi-tech products, but now it is the lifestyle statements they make that increasingly drive purchasing. This phenomenon represents a kind of masking of technology behind aestheticism and it has opened the traditional ‘boys toys’ markets out to more mainstream (and female) markets.

Another trend that the fashion and technology industries have in common is customisation. The mobile phone industry has made huge profits from selling ringtones and graphics. The inherently personal nature of the mobile phone and the communication services it enables is conducive to such a trend. The personalisation of mobile phones has allowed consumers to build a greater level of emotional connection with the communication devices in their lives.

Disposable Technology

Technology has become so affordable that some sectors are now offering disposable solutions to products that were once premium.

The advent of cheap labour markets coupled with dramatically improved production techniques has made it possible to produce hi-tech products that are so inexpensive that they become disposable. Products that are in perfect working condition are regularly disposed of to make way for the latest flashy models. This is having a negative impact on the environment. Many of these products, especially mobile phones, contain rare, toxic substances that can be harmful to the environment.

Mobile phones have, in essence, become disposable. The nature of the industry, where handsets are subsidised by network providers, means that a large portion of the western world upgrades their mobile phones annually. Even contract phones have become disposable. It is now possible to buy a phone for around £15.

Service – The New Technology

As hardware markets become less profitable, companies are increasingly turning to service models as their main consumer offer.

Hardware technology markets are diminishing due to the advent of cheap internet connections coupled with increased PC usage. It is no longer necessary to buy music on CDs or films on DVDs. Downloading music, TV, and film from the internet delivers media directly to the desktop PC and, increasingly, beyond. The technology developers and adjacent industries that onve profited from the devices that formerly played recorded material have now realigned their business models.

Instead of offering consumers technology, companies are increasingly focusing on offering services. One of the most successful to achieve this is Apple. When they released the iTunes music store alongside the desktop iTunes software and the iPod, they were, in essence, offering a new type of service: one that completed the entire consumer experience from purchasing to listening.

Online technology companies have also found success in offering service models, most notably Google. By using their technologies to offer free search to their users they are able to support their core business model by selling advertising space to clients. As PCs and mobile phones become increasingly powerful and grow in their ubiquity, the impact of additional hardware devices decreases. Though start-ups will be increasingly less likely to impact on this market, their chances for offering novel and compelling services that can be used to shape these devices remains a compelling proposition.