The TLC or technology life cycle is showing the journey taken by the technology you use. This cycle shows the birth of technology and its growth. It can also show you the eventual death and inevitable decline of technology. This is because technology cannot last forever.
Understanding the life cycle of the technology is crucial since it can help you predict the right time you can recover the investment you have put into the development. And you’ll also know when is the right time to make plans about the new projects.
The Stages of Technology Life Cycle
The life cycle of technology comes in four different stages. Learn and understand each different stage and you’ll know what the cycle tries to tell you. This way, you’ll understand what to do to fix the development of your company and how to make it grow better.
1. The Intro Stage
This stage is also known as the research and development or the R&D phase. Some people also call this stage the bleeding edge. This is the phase when the inputs show that the incomes are negative. It is also a time when the failure prospects are high.
At this stage, you are still building the technology like building the beta version that will be tested by the adopters. This bleeding edge is when the revenues are still low and you will pour a lot of money into the development, mostly by using your own money.
Tips: Involve the early adopters and then get feedback as much as possible. It is crucial to fix all the bugs so that you will be ready for shipment.
2. The Growth Stage
Also known as the ascent phase. This phase is when all the costs you have used have been recovered. It is also the phase when the technology starts to become stronger. Sometimes, people call this stage the leading edge. This stage is when you move the beta version into a product launch.
At this stage of the technology life cycle, you want to use all the newness of the technology to start making something awesome. You want every major blog to cover the new technology so that your user base can grow and your distribution can expand to many more people.
Tips: Start interacting with social media journalists and send them some tips about the awesome technology you have.
3. The Maturity Stage
This phase is when your gain is stable and high. At this stage, the public is accepting your technology. Unfortunately, there is bad news coming along with this good news. The market may reach saturation point since the competitors start catching up.
This means your revenue may slow down since your tech becomes a commodity. You need to maintain public interest, especially in the tech you provide. For example, you may want to start working on some incremental improvements.
One thing you can do is update the software of your technology. or you may want to bump up the specs and redesign it. also, start thinking about the market is heading. This way, you will be able to work on new projects that will make the upcoming stage more stable.
4. The Inevitable Decline Stage
Or the decay phase. Everyone is scared of this stage of the technology life cycle. Another term for this scary phase is the death stage. At this stage, you are going to see a decrease in sales. You may also see the emergence of the replacement technology.
This is the stage where you reach the point of no return. Further development will be non-profitable. Symbian, the operating system of Nokia, is a great example of this stage. This operating system was the best for years until Apple and Google hit the market with iOS and Android.
What you have to do is stop the use of the current technology. And you have to move resources to any new project that will give you more profit.
Develop Better with Amazing Technology
Since the first stage of the technology life cycle, it is essential to use the right tools that will help you develop your business.
One incredible tool to consider is the Hitech Terminal Enterprise from SMS Broadcaster. This tool is going to help you grow a much better and bigger company by gaining new customers very easily.