Alvin Toffler warned us decades ago. In his work 'Future' Shock, he wrote; “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” That future is now; and it’s eating slow-moving giants for breakfast.
Remember Kodak? In 1997, it employed over 160,000 people and dominated 85% of the global photography market. Today, Kodak is nearly forgotten; not because people stopped taking pictures, but because Kodak stopped evolving. It missed the rise of digital photography and was crushed by the smartphone camera revolution. Kodak didn’t lack resources or brand power; it simply failed to adapt.
It’s not an isolated story. HMT watches; Bajaj scooters; Murphy radios; Rajdoot bikes; even Nokia phones—all once iconic, now irrelevant. The problem was never quality; the problem was inertia. As Toffler stated in The Third Wave; “Technology feeds on itself. Technology makes more technology possible.” Those who don’t keep up; disappear.
Now look at the companies leading today’s economy. Uber owns no cars; Airbnb has no hotel rooms; Paytm holds no cash. Yet these are global giants. IBM’s Watson outperforms junior lawyers; AI is diagnosing cancer with more accuracy than many trained doctors. Driverless cars are being tested at scale. Slowly, we’re seeing a future where entire professions—drivers; cashiers; insurance agents—may no longer be needed.
Ten years from now, we may not even use the term “software” the way we do today. What we call software will simply be intelligent systems; automated; learning; adapting; and evolving faster than we ever can.
Already, mobile recharge shops have faded; STD booths are gone; even physical retail is declining as Amazon and Flipkart take over. Digital wallets are replacing cash; and now UPI is replacing even those wallets. It’s a cycle; innovation arrives; becomes habit; and then erases the old way completely.
We are not watching change anymore; we are living inside it. The world is not waiting; it is accelerating. The choice for individuals, businesses, and institutions is simple; evolve or vanish.
Because in tomorrow’s world, being current is not enough; you have to be next.
Radhakrishna Nekkanti
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
