Uberisation is changing the commercial landscape. But I hesitate to call it a paradigm shift, for reasons that will become clear. What I can say is Uberisation is not, as some commentators would have it, a meteoroid on a collision course to obliterate all former forms of business life on the planet.
Old models are not dinosaurs. They are still valid. If you're looking for an analogy to describe Uberisation, then think of the taxi industry or accommodation services as icebergs waiting to melt. There are definite signs of liquefaction but they're still here.
One of the fundamental reasons why old models survive is because of human nature. Technology always changes and the pace of change is quickening. But human nature remains the same: Fickle and mercurial, certainly, but expressive of an innate need for human contact, new experiences and the desire to try things on, whether it be clothing or attitude.
Some things are still best experienced physically rather than digitally. My 17-year-old and his mates are good examples. Like many millennials and post-millennials, they've already seen most of the Game of Thrones episodes, while the rest of us wait until it screens or we record the episodes and watch it later.
Young, savvy consumers, of course, are impatient and are technologically enabled to do things differently. They want to do it their own way and aren't going to sit back and passively consume services and content.
My downloading teenagers, however, have also bought a turntable and are buying vinyl, which has undergone one of the most improbable resurgences during the past decade. Retro is attractive to the human psyche and not just because we're pining for times past.
A central part of the attraction is the sense of discovery with unearthing something new, a very human emotion. The young have decided retro is cool, despite the inconvenience of vinyl music compared to digital alternatives.
But If Uberisation is not quite the dinosaur-killing event, then it is still a significant disruption to existing business models. One of the main strands of this vulnerability concerns the changes in consumer behaviour and if you're talking paradigm shifts, this is most definitely one.
Businesses used to own the content; they would communicate their messages to their audience, the consumers, who might engage and respond or completely ignore, depending on its interest. Today content has become Uberised, not only in terms of how and when customers engage and respond to content but the actual creation of content itself. They are spending huge amounts of time creating content on various social and private media, taking away businesses ability to control all the messages. That is a fundamental change and it makes companies vulnerable.
Typically, vulnerable businesses are mature, dominant, over-confident and complacent: News outlets, television channels and the aforementioned taxi, accommodation and courier services fit this bill. You could also throw in many accounting and legal services, not to mention a range of consulting businesses where analysis and analytics are dominant features.
As a hedge against future disruption, McKinsey & Company in 2007 developed McKinsey Solutions, software and technology-based analytics and tools that are embedded in the client's systems, a rare example of an incumbent recognising the danger before it arrived on their doorstep.
To a large degree, susceptibility to Uberisation depends on a company's reliance on technology. It doesn't matter if you're New York-based or in New Zealand, businesses that rely on technology will at some point in the future face an Uber moment.
In the past, there has been a lag between identifying international trends and their actual arrival in New Zealand. No longer. The transmission is pretty much instantaneous, due to our high uptake of technology. Local businesses are vulnerable to Uberisation. But I believe this represents less of a threat and more of an opportunity to become the leader in disruption in your sector.
At present, Kiwis own between six to seven apps each on average, a lower figure internationally, but we can expect these numbers to soar in the coming years.
This presents an opportunity for business leaders to put their entire operation under the microscope and ask the question: If I were a start-up, what would I do to unseat the incumbents? Convenience and consumer ease are today's business leader's most important watchwords. How can I make it easier for my customer? Figure out what parts of your business are digital and then think: Is there an app for that?
The answer will be your Uber moment and may present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set up your business for the next 20 years.
Kevin Malloy is Global Director on the media agency Starcom's Coca-Cola business.
