Adapt or Perish, Kodak’s Fall and the Technological Revolution Reshaping Our Future.

By Ekaale Ekuam
September 13, 2024
In 1997, Kodak was at its peak. It employed 160,000 people and dominated 85% of the world's photography market. Its cameras were everywhere, seemingly invincible. Despite this fact, Kodak did not manage to adapt to the digital era and the sudden growth of mobile phone cameras. When the new technologies wave washed over the world, it buried Kodak under it. In 2012, it went through bankruptcy, discharged all its employees, and a once-strong giant left the market without a trace.
And it was not just Kodak. The same happened to iconic companies such as HMT (watches), Bajaj (scooters), Dyanora (TVs), Murphy (radios), Nokia (mobile phones), Rajdoot (bikes), and Ambassador (cars). There was nothing wrong with the products; it's just that they could not reinvent themselves. They were not looking at the tectonic shifts in customer expectations, new advances in technology, or the speed of lightning that fundamental changes were bringing about in the global economy.
Now, as before, we stand on the brink of a new revolution the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Unlike past revolutions that were ignited by steam, electricity, or computers, this is driven by artificial intelligence, robots, and data. And just as those companies went down, so will many of today's businesses and jobs go down unless they adapt.
Take, for example, Uber, the world's largest taxi service, which doesn't own a car; Airbnb, the world's largest hotel chain, which doesn't own a hotel. These very companies succeeded through software, data, and networks to disrupt industries.
A few years back, IBM's Watson a revolutionary legal software was able to provide better legal advice than fresh law graduates. Such technological advancement, providing much better advice than fresh graduates, has cut down the need for junior lawyers to a significant number in the United States of America. By 2030, 90% of today's jobs will become obsolete; experts talk of only a select few being available in their field.
The area of medicine has not even escaped the sword. Watson can detect diseases, even cancers, four times more accurately than human doctors. That being said, the function of a traditional doctor would become less significant with regard to the rise of computers over human intelligence by 2030, as AI and machine learning would take over.
And just like electric power distribution, the automobile business will look very different: 90% of the cars on the road will not be there in 20 years, replaced by electric or hybrid vehicles, most likely driverless. Driverless cars could become the norm, making car ownership look rather different as services like Uber deliver autonomous cars at a fraction of today's cost right to your doorstep. This will lead to reduced accidents, which translates to a smaller size for the auto insurance sector. With lesser vehicle traffic, the traffic police and parking staff the list for everything related to owning a car will simply disappear.
We have seen a glimpse of such changes with the disappearance of standard booths and mobile recharge shops. While there was a time when such businesses could be found in every street of every city, the mobile revolution and online services rendered them irrelevant. Today, even mobile phone retail is being threatened by the advance of e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart.
Another huge change is from physical currency to digital payments, with credit and debit cards replacing cash. Even these, however, are being bypassed for mobile wallets, allowing for quick one-click payments from a phone using services like Paytm and M-Pesa.
Ahead lies undoubtedly more disruption: entire oil-producing countries will face economic ruin when demand for gasoline plummets, while jobs in the car insurance, parking, and traffic enforcement industries could disappear when autonomous vehicles take over the roads. Only those businesses that fail to adapt to this new reality meet the same fate as Kodak, HMT, and others.
The lesson is clear: those who refuse to adapt with the times will be left behind. We need to be innovative, invest in technology, and build our own abilities to be able to succeed as the Fourth Industrial Revolution unfolds in a more automated and connected world.
Adaptation is no longer a choice; it's necessary. The future belongs to those who can evolve and create, swimming with the tide of Innovation.
The Author,
Is a Freelance Writer Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management Consultant.