I wonder if you guys have seen the series the Men who built America by History Channel. I loved that show as it highlighted the men who literally changed America – Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, JP Morgan and several others. It featured a short span of time (perhaps around 30 years?) that marked significant progress in America.

If that show would have made a part 2 of that show and called it the Men who built Modern Day America, these people below for sure will make it into the list. I picked out this list from the 2014 Forbes Billionaire’s list. They are selected individuals from the past 20 or so years that truly changed the IT world.

1. Bill Gates – Microsoft (Number 1)

Most people in the industry today somewhat thinks that Microsoft is a sunset product already. Probably because through years of innovation, many other competitors had effectively tried to steal some market share from Microsoft slowly through time. But the fact still remains that Bill Gates is still the world’s richest man. In fact he had been at the number 1 spot for 15 out of the past 20 years, that’s some impressive numbers. He apparently started programming at age 13 with humble beginnings like most of us programming a tic-tac-toe game. Through the years, Microsoft just dominated the personal computers industry with the Windows and Office application and a whole wide range of application. Just like most iconic businessmen, he came to a point where he realized its not all about the money and instead invested his time in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation doing Philanthropist work. He is a apparently back helping out at Microsoft as it now face tough competition. And while I don’t personally like Windows 8, I still think its still a big bold move for a company like Microsoft. It’s not yet time to set aside the world’s richest man and the product he continues to support. Continue Reading “8 Iconic Technology people on Forbes 2014 Billionaire’s list (Americas Edition)” →

I had always been a fan of innovation, because I like change. I think change is progress. Some technology might be too cutting edge as of the moment but that in due time it gets mainstream adaption and eventually becomes the ‘norm’.

In the industry there is a term called Disruptive Innovation coined by Clayton Christensen. It is described as “a process by which a product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves up market, eventually displacing established competitors“. Disruptive Innovation companies usually focus on under-served or non-customers by delivering a simpler product addressing a specific need with less features but at a cheaper cost than the mainstream product. This innovation then gains wider popularity eventually going mainstream and becomes the new incumbent product to take down.  You can read more about Disruptive Innovation from this link.
Continue Reading “Disruptive Innovation” →