Page - 1

Executive Summary

Change, as they say, is the only constant. And the world has changed indeed! Yesterday's wheel is today's tube-less tyre. The wheel was invented, all right, but its transition into tube-less tyres can be attributed only to the innovations that followed. And not only wheel, but each and every product under the sun has evolved.
Sometimes, it was needed, and rest of the times, it was pure innovation that changed our lives. Our needs and desires have changed over the years and so have the products.

Products have also changed businesses. Companies, today, crave for more and more distinct differentiation. Ask them their opinion about the future of differentiation; they have a unanimous answer - Innovation. Product innovations have changed the rules of business. They have fostered competition and created value. Here, we discuss the 'what' and 'why' of product innovation followed by the future. The paper highlights some companies that have mastered the art of product innovation and some difficulties they faced in general.

But central to this paper are the various sectors and products that will inundate the markets in future. While technology will play a crucial role in future of product innovations, non-technological innovations cannot be ruled out. Anyway, we cannot accurately predict what will the future products bring to companies, but there is one thing for sure - it'll add more value to our lives.

Introduction

"The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow."

- Rupert Murdoch,
Chairman & CEO, News Corporation.

From mainframes to mini-computers, film photography to digital photography, Orkut to YouTube... everything evolves. But what is fascinating is the speed with which innovation has changed the marketplace, or perhaps, I should be writing, 'marketspace'. Welcome to the new marketspace!

Next

* Contributed by: -
Prof. A. K. Mitra is Faculty at ICFAI Business School, Gurgaon, and also serving as Associate Dean & Coordinator, Strategic Management & Chairman of Information Resource at the institute.
Saikat Dey is currently pursuing MBA from ICFAI Business School, Gurgaon.