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list in Figure 3-12 probably is important enough to memorize because you can also use it for
non-IS applications. You can consider any business project or initiative in light of competitive
advantage.

Q3-8 2026?

Models of business strategy, competitive advantages, and their relationship to processes and IS
are unlikely to change in the next 10 years. They may evolve, there may be some new models that
rise to the surface, but those new models are likely to be extensions of existing models, within the
existing paradigms.
What is likely to change, however, is pace. Because of the Internet and related technology,
the speed of business is accelerating. The Web, Twitter, Facebook, and other social sites enable the
rapid spread of new ideas and innovations and require businesses to be constantly on the alert for
changes that may affect their strategy in short periods of time.
Falcon Security is an excellent example. It has had a successful, growing business providing
security services for some time. But, as discussed in Figure 3-4, it is very dependent on a few large
industrial clients. These clients could force Falcon Security to lower its fees or install their own
wireless Web cameras. Both of these possibilities threaten Falcon Security's differentiation strat-
egy of providing premium aerial security surveillance services.
One technology that is likely to have a major affect on competitive strategies is self-driving vehi-
cles. For many products, transportation is a major cost. Self-driving cars, possibly even drones, will
dramatically reduce these costs, with major consequences. Augmented reality devices, like Google
Glass and Microsoft's HoloLens, will also change the competitive landscape in the next 10 years.
So, we can reasonably assume that the pace of change and the pace of integration of new
technology will be fast and increasing, possibly accelerating, in the next 10 years. We can lament
this fact; we can ignore it, but doing so is like standing on the shore of the Mississippi River, telling
it to flow elsewhere.
Instead, we, and especially you, need to view this increased pace as rapidly creating opportuni-
ties in which you can excel. You know it’s coming; you know that, if not self-driving vehicles on the
ground or in the air, then some other product that is today being constructed in someone’s garage,
maybe with 3D printing, some new technology-based products will change the competitive land-
scape for the company for which you will work. Knowing that, how can you take advantage of it?
When gold was discovered along the Colorado River in Arizona in the 1850s, thousands of
pioneers ran to the mine fields. The odds were slim on success, and only a few struck it rich. A
much surer bet was made by those who started the clothing and supply stores, or the railroads that
moved the raw ore to the smelter, or the steamships that carried goods up the Colorado from the
Sea of Cortez.
Maybe you want to be a modern-day prospector and use technology to create new products
like 3D printing. If so, do it. But, maybe, like Falcon Security, you want to attend to the innovative
products that others are making and create new strategies or build new businesses that take ad-
vantage of the opportunities that new products create. You can be certain that, 10 years from now,
you will have even more opportunity to do so.