Posts Tagged ‘Innovation’

Survey - U.S. Still Lead Technology Innovator

Thursday, June 5th, 2008

A 2008 survey from Deloitte LLP and National Venture Capital Association shows that U.S. still maintains top ranking in technology innovation. Specific technology sectors include semiconductors, software, bio-pharmaceuticals, medical devices and clean technology. The 2008 Global Venture Capital Survey included opinions from almost 400 venture capitalists.

Read more from Pittsburgh Business Journal’s news item, U.S. still leads world in technology innovation

Who Drives U.S. Innovation?

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

I see innovation as the key for growth and prosperity for any society. I am not sure our Government or the American people as a whole value innovation as it use to in years past. Have we turned from a nation of innovators to a nation of consumers?

I think the U.S. generally encourages the business community to be innovative. With the U.S. built on democratic and capitalistic principles, this offers an environment for a lot of opportunities for small businesses to be innovators. Additionally, our university system as well as Government R&D and applied R&D programs have provided and still provide a great environment for innovation for large and small businesses.

In regard to large businesses some are innovative and some are not. Innovation for large businesses seems to depend on the competitive environment and how much value the company puts into R&D. Many large businesses seem to “rest on their laurels” versus there are some large companies that continue to innovate and re-invent themselves: Google, Apple, GE, and so on.

At the individual level, Americans are continually labeled as consumers. You continually hear the word consumer when someone talks about the American people. It use to be that the American people were labeled as having an innovating or pioneering spirit. The American people as a whole were driving innovation creating things on their farms, in their workshops, and garages. I am starting to cringe now-a-days when I hear the words American Consumer. We need to get those words out of our vocabulary and encourage individual innovation again.

The New Conglomerates - Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!

Sunday, February 3rd, 2008

I keep asking myself - are Google and Microsoft in the same industry and are they really competitors. With the latest Microsoft and Yahoo merger talks, I would conclude that Google is a successful conglomerate transcending several industries while Microsoft is mostly a software company attempting to become a successful conglomerate.

Google is a conglomerate because it dominates several, seemingly unrelated industries to include software services and advertising media. They have used their unparalleled technology innovations to enable them to focus on profitable enterprises that transcend traditional boundaries. Previously, conglomerates were made possible by unique geographic circumstances (East-India company), leveraging capital through buyouts (ITT, Litton), and branching into financial services (GE, Sears) - see Wikipedia - Conglomerates for more information on the history of conglomerates. Now, Google has shown us a new conglomerate business model based on innovative software.

If Microsoft is desiring to merge with Yahoo to dominate the Small-Medium Business (SMB) internet space, this is good because Microsoft and Yahoo! are strong in supporting small and medium size businesses. If Microsoft is merging with Yahoo! to be like Google (a successful conglomerate), this seems to be an ill-fated purpose. If Microsoft and Yahoo! want to be like Google, they need to focus on innovations versus acquisitions. Is Microsoft missing their SMB opportunity chasing after Google? See Joshua Greenbaum’s article, Can Microsoft and Yahoo Do More Than Sell Ads? The SMB Opportunity