Both Incumbents and Startups Can Take Advantage of Trends—and Thrive

How can technology companies thrive in an increasingly instrumented, intelligent, and instant market? Incumbents face the challenges of agile transformation and the threat of disruption. Start-ups face long odds for achieving significant market share. Successful companies innovate in continuous release software development, omnichannel customer engagement, and flexible supply chains. They also strengthen core disciplines such as capital allocation, productivity, and pricing. These trends determine who wins—and who gets left behind.

Is it better to be the industry gorilla? Not necessarily. Smaller companies can sometimes be more nimble. Nokia has radically and successfully reinvented itself several times during its 150-year history. Its most recent transformation may be the company’s most radical yet.