Here are some products that I believe are ‘Innovative’, ‘On the fence’ or ‘Inappropriate/Unsuccessful’. Every business experiences success and failure but do some bring out new editions just to keep its face in the picture and keep up with its competitors? Are businesses rushing their inventions to maintain their market share? No-one likes an unhappy customer!
IBM; Innovative
A University talk by two IBM placement students gave an insight into the works and wonders of the business amongst its many innovative products. IBM (International Business Management) are one of the world’s largest IT and consultancy services and was founded back in the early 19th Century evolving from a small business to one employing more than 400,000 people. Previously, they concentrated on manufacturing but more recently have adopted a consultancy approach; providing innovative solutions to business problems in a variety of industries.
Innovations
- In 1969, IBM developed NASA technology which enabled man to land on the moon
- The self-service kiosk was brought to market by IBM in 1970
- The calculator
- IBM invented the Universal Product Code (barcodes) over 40 years ago
- Over 30 years ago, they lead the way in innovation; bringing personal computing to life
- They created the processor chips that power Wii’s, Xbox 360’s and Playstations
- In 2000, they launched ‘SMS for Life’ which allows health workers in developing countries to order malaria medicine via text message so that stocks are always in supply
- In 2010, they introduced a Wimbledon Championship application for iPhones and Android devices which was downloaded by over 880,000 to watch live video feeds by pointing their phone in the direction of the court they wanted to see
Amongst many more from analytics to water, IBM are clearly a highly innovative business despite being ranked 29 on the 2011 50 Most Innovative Companies although 4th on the 50 Most Innovative Companies list by Bloomberg in 2010.
Graze; Innovative
Ever heard of Graze? Perhaps not. They are a fairly recent established business who specialise in delivering personalised healthy snack boxes straight to your desk via post. With the continuing concerns in society about obesity, healthy eating businesses are thriving. To receive their products, all you have to do is follow the simple steps on their website;
- Choose your box and how often you’d like to receive it
- View their products and rate whether you like, love or would like to try them
- They hand pick your box based on your ratings
- Box delivered first class
Each box contains four punnets of healthy snacks and contains a personalised nutrition guide explaining your snacks and the nutritional information. It costs £3.49 including delivery but if you’re a new customer, the first box is just £1.74. Deliveries can be cancelled at any time, there’s no commitment.
The healthy snack boxes are a good provider of energy, can help you lose weight, boost your immunity, provide you with a varied and balanced diet, keep with the 80/20 rule (be good 80% of the time and give yourself a treat) and maintain your blood sugar at a healthy level. I received one of their punnets as a trial run and was very impressed, so try it yourself!
Apple; On the fence
There’s no doubt that Apple’s technology has transformed our lives and the world of technology so you may be wondering why Apple are, as we could say, ‘on the fence’ in this discussion. Apple are always bringing out new editions with even more applications and improved features..so we’d like to think. Many have argued how quickly the iPhone’s battery needs charging even when all open applications have been closed. Despite this, many still queued up for hours outside their local store for the release of the newest version on 14th October; the iPhone 4S. Reportedly, 4 million handsets were sold in the first three days of release.
According to a BBC News article, “people claimed that their phone battery was draining by up to 15% every hour, even when the handset was not being used”. Apple have said that they have found a “few bugs” in the company’s latest mobile operating system (iOS 5) which is affecting the battery life of the device. With thousands of customers complaining about poor battery life on the company’s forums, something had to be done quickly if they were to keep their customers loyal, satisfied and with the brand. Within a few weeks, software updates were sent out to all handsets However, more concerning, some Apple customers are disappointed with their new iPhone as it “offered no radical changes” from the previous edition apart from its voice-control functions.
Could Apple be trying too hard to get out its new models? Is the competition from Google and Samsung affecting their performance? According to the research firm, Strategy Analytics, “in the third quarter of this year Samsung overtook Apple with 27.8m smartphone shipped compared to 17.1m iPhones" (BBC News, Accessed 26/11/11).
Nurofen; Unsuccessful
Nurofen is a well known brand selling over the counter painkillers. They are constantly innovating; finding new and improved ways to target pain relief to reduce discomfort of its consumers at an increased speed. However, one of its recent products (Nurofen Plus) was recalled over the Summer of 2011 after Seroquel XL 50mg (a harmful antipsychotic drug) was found in their products. This was found to be the case with 3 batches in South London despite the anti-psychotic drugs being manufactured by a different company. Pharmacy staff are now asked to double check the painkillers before selling to customers. However, although a manufacturing error isn’t being held responsible for this mix-up and that sabotage was possible, customer loyalty has severely been affected as trust is no longer in the equation and severe impacts on trust (Metro, Accessed 16/11/11).
From speaking to one of my sixth-form teachers, a student had taken one of these pills and was very ill as a result during a trip to Barcelona on a 30 hour coach journey; not a great situation to be caught up in.
Xbox; Unsuccessful
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 hasn’t been all successful. Game users have experienced many problems. In Summer 2008, approximately $1 billion was spent by the company on repairs as problems occurred due to the chips within the game station. Rumour states that this was due to Microsoft using cheap chips in the device. This was then followed by smoking race wheels due to overheating (CyberNet News, Accessed 26/11/11).
What the future has in store…
One of the biggest industries where innovations occur is, no doubt, science and technology. Things that we could only imagine are slowly becoming our reality with the high advancements in technology enabling innovations to come to life.
According to the BBC technology website, such innovations include:
- Growing your own burger (without meat)
- Controlling objects through thought processes
- Rewriting human genes
- Human-like robots to undertake everyday chores
- A gadget called a biofuel cell which uses glucose and oxygen at concentrations found in the body to generate electricity
- Using Abalone (a sea snail) shells for the future of manufacturing, green energy, medicine and science
Is science going too far or is this something we should expect?
References:
BBC News [online], Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15570462, Apple acts on iPhone battery bug, blames iOS 5, (Accessed 26th November 2011)
BBC News [online], Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14803871, (Accessed 26th November 2011)
CyberNet News [online], Available from: http://cybernetnews.com/xbox-360-wheel-recall-due-to-overheating/, (Accessed 26th November 2011)
Metro [online], Available from: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/873545-nurofen-plus-containing-antipsychotic-drugs-isnt-manufacturing-error, (Accessed 16th November 2011)
