Test A IDSC 3001 UMN

Moore's Law

"The speed of technology doubles and the costs falls in half every 18 months."

Market capitalization

A publicly traded firm's total value. Can be calculated by multiplying the number of a firm's shares by its current share price.

R&D (research and development)

The portion of a firm focused on innovation, typically pioneering advances that will eventually arrive as new products and technologies.

microprocessors

The part of the computer that executes the instructions of a computer program.

Server farms

A massive network of computer servers running software to coordinate their collective use.

Internet of Things

A vision where low-cost sensors, processors, and communication are embedded into a wide array of products and our environment.

sustainable competitive advantage

financial performance that consistently outperforms industry averages

operational effectiveness

performing the same tasks better than rival perform them

Commodity

a basic good that can be interchanged with nearly identical offerings by others

fast follower problem

when savvy rivals watch a pioneer's efforts, learn from their successes and missteps, then enter the market quickly with a comparable or superior product at a lower cost

augmented-reality

a technology that superimposes content, such as images and animation, on top of real-world images.

strategic positioning

performing different tasks than rivals, or the same tasks in a different way

resource-based view of competitive advantage

the strategic thinking approach suggesting that if a firm is to maintain sustainable competitive advantage, it must control an exploitable resource, or set of resources, that have four critical characteristics. These resources must be (1) valuable, (2) rare, (3) imperfectly imitable, and (4) non substitutable.

dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM)

a technology that increases the transmission capacity (and hence speed) of fiber-optic cable. Transmissions using fiber are accomplished by transmitting light inside "glass" cables.

imitation- resistant value chain

a way of doing business that competitors struggle to replicate and that frequently involves technology in a key enabling role.

value chain

the set of activities through which a product or service is created and delivered to customers

straddled

refers to a firm's attempt to occupy more than one position, while failing to match the benefits of a more efficient, singularly focused rival.

brand

the symbolic embodiment of all the information connected with a product or service.

viral marketing

leveraging consumers to promote a product or service

scale advantages

advantages related to size

economies of scale

when costs can be spread across increasing units of production or in serving multiple customers.

switching costs

the cost a customer incurs when moving from one product to another.

Metcalfe's Law (Network Effects)

When the value of a product or service increases as its number of users expands.

distribution channels

the path through which products or services get to customers.

bundling

selling products available separately as a single package.

APIs

programming hooks, or guidelines, published by firms that tell other programs how to get a service to perform a task such as send or receive data.

affiliates

third parties that promote a product or service, typically in exchange for a cut of any sales.

non-practicing entities (patent trolls)

these firms market money by acquiring and asserting patents, rather than bringing products and services to market

Porter's five forces

A framework considering the interplay between new entrants, existing competitors, suppliers, buyers, and substitute products or services.

price transparency

the degree to which complete information is available

information asymmetry

A decision situation where one party has more or better information than its counterparty.

Competitive Advantage

the ability of a firm to outperform its competitors in financial measures.

strategy

a set of decisions made to achieve competitive advantage.

Patents

US law that provides some protection for copycats attempting to identically mimic products and methods.

Digital transformation

Improved data management, the internet of things, and artificial intelligence created this business revolution.

unstructured data

nonnumeric information that is typically formatted in a way that is meant for human eyes and not easily understood by computers. (video and sensor data)

artificial intelligence (AI)

A scientific field that focuses on creating machines capable of performing activities that require intelligence when they are done by people.

sensors

Input devices used to measure physical traits, such as sound, heat, or light.

robots

machines capable of carrying out a complex or repetitious series of actions automatically

customers

those who pay to use an organization's goods or services

competition

the struggle among producers for the dollars of consumers

data

Facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis

innovation

An improvement of an existing technological product, system, or method of doing something.

value

A customer's subjective assessment of benefits relative to costs in determining the worth of a product

Customers, Competition, Data, Innovation, and Value

The Five Domains of Digital Transformation