Technology Gap

The meeting was kicked-off with a discussion of the “Technology Gap.” The Technology Gap displays itself differently in diverse regions of the world. Even within a single nation, consumer segments vary dramatically in their speed of adoption both of base technology and of upgrades to that base technology. In every case, no matter the specific cause, the Technology Gap slows the benefits available to people from technology and also diminishes potential revenue for all the developers and manufacturers of technology.

Tricia Parks, United States

Today, an abundance of technology exists that can have such a positive impact on consumers’ lives, yet people do not seem to be taking full advantage of it. Many end users question the need for the latest hardware or software. The gap between technology innovation and home and business computing users' understanding and adoption of technology appears to be widening. It is common knowledge in the technology industry that the purchase of PC hardware is slowing. With slightly more than 60 percent of U.S. households already owning a PC and many businesses already upgrading within the last 12 months, demand for PCs is at a critical juncture. Beyond PCs, other devices such as PDAs and MP3 players are not being adopted as rapidly. MP3 players actually declined over a six month period from July of 2000 to January of 2001. Similar research from other parts of the world was discussed during the meeting. While the industry must still drive innovation, it must also ensure that those technology innovations are relevant to a much larger customer base that should be better informed. There are a multitude of benefits that can be realized both to the consumer and to the industry by working to decrease the gap.

Bernd Skiera, Germany