The life cycle of technology is how technology and its processes affect business processes and the product offering’s life cycle. The R&D stage, growth, maturity, and decline are the affected stages.
Analyses of the technology life cycle:
The product life cycle deals with the product’s performance in the market, whereas the technology life cycle focuses on the various stages of technology in product development. This makes the technology life cycle quite distinct from the product life cycle. Incorporating technology into business operations.
The time and money required to create modern technology are the primary factors that influence the technology life cycle. Your business gains a new competitive edge because of this. It focuses on factors like how long it takes to recover costs and whether the method used to create the technology yields the expected benefits in proportion to the costs and risks.
The entire technology life cycle can be made longer or shorter depending on the development of competing products. Additionally, the technology’s life cycle and useful life can be shortened by intellectual property rights being lost because of leaks, the loss of sensitive items, or litigation.
One of the most critical aspects of technology development and one of the most important business processes is technology lifecycle management. One of the most common factors that drive industry evolution and various industry life cycles is technology adoption.
The technology life cycle has four stages:
1. Phase of R&D:
R&D is also known as the modern. This is because the probability of the technology failing is inherently very high and the input revenues that are used to create it are inherently negative. Because of the substantial revenue, you must pay for the technology development on your own. At this stage, you get criticism from industry specialists on the created innovation and change it to industry principles. The provision of novelty and innovation is crucial.
2. Phase of rise:
As businesses begin to recoup costs and expenses incurred, the ascending stage of the technology life cycle is also known as modern, and more mature technologies begin to gain traction and gain acceptance beyond the early stages of the development market. Every quarter, the company invents the latest attention-grabbing product and all the hype surrounding technological advancements.
3. Maturity:
The technology has reached the maturity when the technology’s returns are high and consistent, but there is also a saturation point. Even though the developed technology is well-liked by the public, the market has reached a saturation point because rivals have already taken over the developed technology market. Revenues begin to decline as the developed technology becomes just another product on the market.
4. Period of decline:
When a company’s product sales decrease and there is a demand for or emergence of new technology alternatives, the decline phase is almost always inevitable. Companies frequently reach a point where they are neither profitable nor profitable enough to continue developing. Moving away from current technology and allocating resources to new projects that will undoubtedly generate more profit is the best course of action a business can take.
The technology life cycle has four phases:
1. Stage of innovation:
The innovation or birth of new products, software, materials, or processes that are the result of intense research and development efforts is the first and most crucial stage of the technology life cycle. Various novel concepts are planned, developed, tested, designed, and implemented in the company’s research and development department by the resources available to the company as well as the demands of the market at present.
2. Stage of syndication:
The commercialization and demonstration of newly developed technologies are the primary focuses of the technology life cycle’s syndication phase. There is easy access to the best possible products, procedures, or materials. Many innovations are put on hold in the research and development field, and only a small number are utilized for commercial purposes. Along with technical and non-technical factors, the outcomes themselves are heavily influenced by economic factors.
3. Stage of diffusion:
This phase focuses on introducing new technologies to the market that are well-received by potential users due to their originality and creativity. It is now a market leader thanks to increased revenues, brand value, and profits from all of this. However, it is essential to keep in mind that technology penetration is influenced by both the supply and demand sides of a factor.
4. Alternate stage:
The final stage of the technology life cycle is known as “replacement,” and it is the process of replacing one technology with another that is superior, novel, and innovative and can meet current requirements. Target market dynamics determine the duration of the substitution phase, which is influenced by a variety of technical and non-technical factors.
Example of the lifecycle of a technology:
Nokia:
The Nokia mobile phone brand was one of the best of the early 2000s, and its devoted customers adored it. Customers loved Nokia’s Symbian mobile phone technology right away, and the company was the market leader for a long time until Apple and Google introduced IOS and Android, which had a futuristic vision and high level of innovation, which caused Nokia and its technology to decline.
You can also Read:- What is Technology Transfer?