The change of technological players

Technology is essential in today’s world. Coupled with constant innovation, society is witnessing major changes from time to time. These circumstances cause dominant companies to cease to be dominant or to have serious problems of adaptation. All this in a race that never ends.

Technology changes as the main driving force

Technological players lose their hegemony over time. This is a phenomenon that can be seen in almost all sectors of the economy. In the technology sector, however, the pace is faster. A few decades ago, the market was dominated by companies like IBM or Intel. They had managed to drive down the cost of processors and were starting to become ubiquitous.

Within a few years, Microsoft emerged as the computer and software development giant. More recently, Apple, Alphabet (Google’s parent company) and Facebook have emerged with their new technologies. The last of the great waves was marked, precisely, by social networks together with the boom in Internet commerce and advertising.

Despite the power of the aforementioned companies, the paradigm is changing again. Facebook, although it owns Instagram, was surprised by the appearance of TikTok. In fact, the latter is one of the fastest growing companies today. Moreover, the effect of artificial intelligence will bring even more changes in the coming years.

The rise of artificial intelligence

Formats are becoming more dynamic thanks to TikTok. Competitors such as Google, through YouTube, or Facebook with Instagram have included the possibility of creating short videos. In the coming years, AI will once again revolutionize the market. ChatGPT has become the spearhead, so much so that Microsoft could unseat Alphabet by including it in its Bing search engine.

Little by little, companies that are now small or irrelevant will adapt to market demand. They will implement novel ideas and create business models that do not exist today. In this way, they will displace companies that today seem immovable.

The importance of size

Change in the technological landscape is not only a question of innovation, it is also a question of size. A very large, well-established company finds it more difficult to adapt to the market. It can buy other companies, but it is impossible for it to embrace all the new developments. Moreover, as its size increases, it will become slower to operate. A small company, on the other hand, has enough agility to prosper.

Artificial intelligence as an example

Artificial intelligence itself is a good example. Its large-scale use has been heralded for years. Few people foresaw what a major breakthrough a tool such as ChatGPT or image generators would bring. They did not come out of nowhere, since chatbots are in frequent use, but their impact will leave its mark in the coming years.

Technology is constantly evolving, leading to changes in the players. Major companies rise and fall according to market demands. Those that are able to adapt will dominate the scene, until the next disruption.