ON DIGITAL-First Fridays: Disruption

Today’s digital disruptors are using technology to disintermediate entire industries and unseat corporate giants. New nomenclature has emerged to describe this transformational process. In the…

Mark J. Barrenechea profile picture

Mark J. Barrenechea

November 20, 20152 minutes read

Today’s digital disruptors are using technology to disintermediate entire industries and unseat corporate giants. New nomenclature has emerged to describe this transformational process. In the Internet Era, we talked about being “amazoned”. In the Digital Era, we are talking about being “ubered”.

Uber has:

  1. Tapped into labor at mass scale
  2. Ripped down a hundred year history of “medallion” value
  3. Exposed and cured the inadequacies and inefficiencies of a major incumbent
  4. Made employee and employer one (though Uber claims it has no employees, we will see)
  5. Demonstrated the most perfect example of matching supply to demand that I have ever seen
  6. Operated a business in which cash is not used

Every industry is vulnerable. Every incumbent is vulnerable. And burying your head in the sand won’t change the fact that disruption is all around us.

A common thread to digital disruption is that the middleman is gone, in every industry.

The average age of an Insurance Agent in the U.S. is 59. The middleman will be gone in Insurance over the next five years.

Movies are direct. Music is direct. Insurance is direct.

Logistics and supply chains are massively changing. Amazon is running algorithms on your buying behaviors. If you buy an outdoor table online, they are shipping an umbrella to a fulfillment center close by for same-day delivery.

Uber is ultimately a logistics business.

Salesforce redefined the partner ecosystem in software and services. Why do you need a middleman when you are selling a subscription service?

Simple answer: you do not.

Uber vs. the traditional taxi model, Netflix vs. Blockbuster… these are examples of how digital disruptors have unseated giants. Part of their success is due to the emergence of the Subscription Economy. In my next post in this series, I’ll explore how this model—pioneered by magazines and book-of-the-month clubs—has become a required part of business.

For more thoughts ON DIGITAL, download the book.

 

Share this post

Share this post to x. Share to linkedin. Mail to
Mark J. Barrenechea avatar image

Mark J. Barrenechea

Mark J. Barrenechea joined OpenText as President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2012, and also serves as a member of the Board of Directors. In January 2016, Mark took on the role of Chief Technology Officer and was appointed Vice Chair in September 2017.

See all posts

More from the author

The Future Needs You Today: A Conversation on AI & Decolonization with Karen Palmer

The Future Needs You Today: A Conversation on AI & Decolonization with Karen Palmer

AI is bringing us into a new epoch of human society—it is a force multiplier for human potential. OpenText is about Information Management + Data…

February 29, 2024 8 minutes read
OpenText World 2023—Welcome to the AI Revolution

OpenText World 2023—Welcome to the AI Revolution

Welcome to the AI Revolution. AI is not just a technology, it is a new ontology—for creativity, data, trust. No business or individual will be…

October 19, 2023 6 minutes read
OpenText World 2023—AI and Its Forces of Change

OpenText World 2023—AI and Its Forces of Change

AI will change everything. We are in the midst of a massive shift from the cloud digital era to the AI cognitive era. Automation, data…

September 26, 2023 4 minutes read

Stay in the loop!

Get our most popular content delivered monthly to your inbox.