Digital transformation is beneficial to any business, and it can lead to a massive impact. When a company decides to embrace 3D printing as a part of a manufacturing process or to implement a new 5G data strategy, there are clear dividends. The company operates more efficiently, the employees communicate more effectively. It’s exciting to watch as a company decides to choose which emerging tech to research, evaluate, and deploy.
Of course, deciding which disruptive tech is going to help the firm the most is often the first initial challenge. These resources will help you not just discover and develop a strategy for digital transformation, they will help you decide how and when to deploy them.
1. Website: Google News
It might seem obvious if you are a fan of Google, but the Google News site is one of the best ways to track news about technology. It is a primary conduit for tracking all trends.
2. Book: That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea
A great resource for seeing how one disruptive company changed an industry, this book chronicles the rise of Netflix and media streaming. It applies to all areas of digital disruption.
3. Podcast: TED interview
Brilliant thinkers share their insights and ideas, often about the future. In your podcast player, you can choose the episodes that specifically deal with technology trends.
4. Video: How we discovered DNA
Nothing is as disruptive as DNA research. It reveals who we are as humans. This TED talk explains how a researcher discovered DNA.
5. Book: Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber
Essentially a guidebook for disruption (and perhaps things to avoid doing), Super Pumped is about the rise of Uber and the sharing economy.
6. Podcast: Revisionist History
Malcolm Gladwell is arguably the best guide for those who want to know about disruption. His podcast discusses emerging ideas and trends in an informative way.
7. Book: Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries
While digital transformation is about emerging technology, it is also about embracing ideas. This book spells out what it takes to disrupt an industry.
8. Video: Q&A with Bill Gates 2019 Breakthrough Technology
This insightful video includes a list of technology trends to watch in 2019. It is amazing to hear right from the co-founder of Microsoft what he expects will take hold.
9. Book: Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language
This book is eye-opening in terms of the language of the web and what it means for how we understand technology (and each other). It can serve as a guidebook to the terms of disruption.
10. Podcast: The 3D Printing Podcast
This official podcast of the 3D printing industry is worth a listen for the insider, deep tech topic. A recent episode featured Autodesk experts talking about the field.
11. Website: Flipboard
It’s important to keep tabs on aggregators like Flipboard, which dispense the most critical news stories in a visual and highly engaging format.
12. Video: 5G Explained
This explainer video is not only a good resource for learning about 5G wireless but also how to explain any deep technical topic in an engaging way.
13. Podcast: Armchair Expert
It’s a bit cheeky at times but this podcast tackles many trends, many of them technology-related, in a format that is easy to listen to. Many of the episodes deal with disruptive ideas, from the people doing the disruption.
14. Website: TechRadar.com
From a purely unbiased standpoint, the TechRadar.com website is an excellent way to keep tabs on technology trends, news, and product reviews.
15. Book: Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
Another book that covers how technology has been disruptive in our lives, Digital Minimalism is inspiring because of some of the dire warnings.
16. Video: Small rockets are the next space revolution
Other than being a fascinating talk about rocket technology, this TED Talk is also a good example of why it’s important to stay clued into new innovations.
17. Book: User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and Play
An incredibly detailed book about how design impacts technology (and vice versa). The author makes his points using examples like the interface used as nuclear power plants.
18. Website: FastCompany.com
This site provides information about companies disrupting their markets and thought pieces to help you decide what is a new, emerging technology worth following.
19. Podcast: Masters of Scale
This podcast examines what it takes for tech companies (especially those in Silicon Valley) to grow and mature. It’s hosted by Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn.
20. Video: A.I. Supremacy 2020 Rise of the Machines
A.I. is a major disruptive technology, and this video explains how it might impact us in 2020 and beyond. It includes summaries from big thinkers like Tesla’s Elon Musk.
21. Video: The next software revolution: Programming of biological cells
We typically think of programming as careful about software, but in this inspiring video, the speaker talks about how we will someday program biological cells.
22. Book: Digital Transformation: Survive and Thrive in an Era of Mass Extinction
An informative book about digital transformation, all with an eye toward how businesses must innovate or embrace new technology in order to survive.
