原创 Why technology companies are set to rule the world?

The top technology companies today are engaged in a fierce battle with each other to control the emerging connected world of Internet of Things from wireless charging, smart home, and driverless cars.  The impact is likely to be felt far beyond as the technology powerhouses such as Google, Apple, Facebook, and others expand into areas far beyond the traditional realm of high-tech.

The powerful electric cars of today, like those from Tesla, in some sense, are just computers on wheels. In fact, in a recent post, Tesla CEO, Elan Musk made a similar comment (see http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-musk-computer-on-wheels-20150319-story.html). Taking this argument a bit further, it is easy to see why technology companies at the forefront of software, hardware, and mobile phones are now, more than ever, driving impressive innovation in the automobile arena. Google, Apple, and others are all working on developing next generation cars. Apple’s success in designing phones is likely to transfer very well to cars or any other domain where aesthetics and user experience is likely to drive the purchase decision. Could there be lot more competition for automobile companies in the near future?  Even if these companies only develop technology and leave the actual production of cars to the big automobile companies, the automotive ecosystem is set to change fundamentally in the coming years.

Let us consider the disruption caused by companies such as Uber, Airbnb, and others in the taxi business and the hospitality industry, respectively. These technology companies are fundamentally altering the notion of ownership and transforming businesses that had more or less remained the same for decades.

From music to movies, from advertising to publishing, from logistics to shipping, just a few companies are transforming the way we live and conduct business. Consumers today are increasingly not only consuming content & entertainment and communicating / interacting with each other using technologies created by these high-tech companies but also using their products and services in all spheres of their lives. These same companies are also investing heavily in R&D to accelerate innovation and create even more products and services that are likely to have even bigger, direct impact on our lives in future.