CONFERENCE REPORT
“INNOVATION IS NO LONGER A LUXURY”
Nexxworks founder Peter Hinssen presented to delegates at this year’s Global DIY Summit about his predictions for what he calls The Day After Tomorrow.
“
remember when technology was still special? Maybe you got your first digital watch or digital alarm clock. Now we get to the world where digital is actually normal but there’s a very simple test, you put a camera on the table and ask ‘what is that?’ Many of us will say ‘that’s a digital camera’ and you ask your kids and they say ‘it’s a camera’ because they’ve never seen an analogue camera in their life. So, do me one favour when you walk out this room, never use the adjective digital again or you sound like you come from the 20th Century. That’s the fundamental shift. A lot of these technologies are becoming ‘normal’ very, very soon.”
W
Mr Hinssen believes businesses need to pay more
attention to
what he describes as ‘the day after tomorrow’. “There is a set of technologies that is coming towards us at a very great speed and, if you want to be relevant, you have to understand this,” he says. “People say ‘oh you spend too much time in Silicon Valley!’ This is true. Someone called Silicon Valley 400 square miles surrounded by reality – and that’s a very accurate description of the place but these were the largest companies on the stock exchange in 2006 and these are the largest companies on the stock exchange today. They’re all technology companies. People may say it’s financial hype but these are the largest brands in the world and, of the top six brands of the world, only one of them is not a technology company – and we know how much money Coca-Cola spends to be there.”
As well as digital, Mr Hinssen believes people need to talk about disruption; a word he says, as a technologist, he gets excited about even just hearing it. “But yesterday I
14 DIY WEEK 7 SEPTEMBER 2018
e’re in a world where we’re constantly connected, we’re never offline,” he says. “Do you
did this presentation to the board of directors of an insurance company and they didn’t share in the same excitement about disruption as I did”, he laughs, adding “And that’s the confrontation that we have.” He talks about artificial intelligence
(AI), driverless cars
and the touch-screen generation, giving an anecdote of a young girl’s Christmas list where she included the Amazon URLs for what she wanted. “It reminds me of a Dickens book, Tale of Two Cites. Everyone remembers the opening line: ‘it was the best of times, it was the worst of times’, and I think this is exactly where we are. I’m a technologist but I can’t predict the future. Bill Gates was asked in 1998 to say something visionary and he said eventually every business card will have an email address but it didn’t work out like that. I mean, technology is on a path of its own. The users are doing things with technology that we have never imagined.” He asks delegates whether they
are capable of seeing, not what is not in front of them but the day after tomorrow. “Some people won’t be able to
cope with these huge changes and are going to be terrified about the consequences of it. The reason why I wrote the book, ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ is because things are going faster. I think we’re at a point where we’ve seen networks and information and intelligence and automation and it’s coming together and it’s the combination of these things that is now accelerating the pace of change. And we see more and more big new platforms. We have this network economy and the network economy creates category kings who are really big winners in this: Google in Europe is a good example. It has a 97% market share. Who’s number two? Nobody cares! That’s category kings. More and more we have to think ‘what is our role? Are we Batman or Robin? Are we a platform or a provider?” Referring to companies like
Facebook, Google and WhatsApp, he says “Are they disruptive? Absolutely.”
He continues: “The number- one fear of telecoms companies is that they become a dumbpipe- they connect you but they capture no value. 10 years ago these telecoms companies were essential and relevant, now you still can’t function without them but they have lost their relevance. “I know you are all into big data but big data is tough it’s not technology, it’s more than technology, and many companies are struggling with that. We need to analyse.”
Information into value
He praises the use of data at Disneyland amusement parks to create a better experience for its customers. “When I go to Disneyland I use those magic bands that you can use to access your hotel room and the park, and also to buy things. You don’t need a wallet or cash or credit cards. The average up-spend is 17%
with these bands but customers aren’t angry about spending more. Disneyland’s NPS score went up – and why? Because they help you – they turn information into value. They will tell you ‘don’t go to a particular ride now because you will wait 45 minutes but if you go in an hour there will be no wait.’” Mr Hinssen
looks at
how
businesses in the home improvement industry can do the same for its customers. “How much data are you capturing? I hope a lot. How much data are you turning into value for you and how much are you turning into value for your customers? That’s the big difference.
“Honestly GDPR is one of the dumbest things Europe has ever done. It costs a lot of money and adds no value to the customer… I believe trust is going to be essential, you have a trusting relationship with your customers but you need to figure out what that means in terms of technology. “This new technology that is appearing – still very immature
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