University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Consumption Economics
Book

Consumption Economics

The New Rules of Tech

J. B. Wood, Todd Hewlin and Thomas Lah
Point B, 2011
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Applicable

Recommendation

The “Consumption Gap” is the difference between what enterprise technology companies deliver and what their corporate customers actually use. Just as you’ll likely never understand – much less use – all the functions and features of your smartphone, computer or software, tech firms frustrate their corporate clients with unnecessary bells and whistles. But change is afoot, and tech companies must prepare for a radical industry reworking. Tech consultants J. B. Wood, Todd Hewlin and Thomas Lah detail the transformations wrought by recession, the cloud and consumer electronics, and offer tech suppliers practical advice on adapting to those changes. getAbstract applauds this treatise on how technology itself affects technology companies and recommends its long-term vision to all business managers.

Summary

“The Money-Making Machine”

The enterprise technology industry once was enormously profitable. Catering to corporations’ and institutions’ burgeoning hardware, software and networking needs, the industry invented and produced state-of-the-art capabilities so complex that most clients couldn’t keep up.

This “Consumption Gap” – the difference between what tech companies deliver and what customers actually use – is leading to a deceleration in industry profits. The consumption gap is a harbinger of radical change in enterprise technology.

In the past, technology companies dictated terms to corporate customers. Enormous technical progress enabled new high-tech products that were “not just compelling, but Wow!-compelling.” Customers gladly paid up front for the latest, greatest electronic innovations, products and services. They were prepared to take most of the risk of implementing, using and realizing the benefits of new technology. Manufacturers received their payment at the start of a project but had little liability for the results; customers took the responsibility for getting their money’s worth.

But as upgrades, advancements and novelties proliferated...

About the Authors

J. B. Wood is the president and CEO of the Technology Services Industry Association, where Thomas Lah is the executive director. Todd Hewlin is a managing director of TCG Advisors.

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