Disruptive vs. sustaining technologies: a 20-year veteran of product development shares some...

With advances in technology, it seems obvious that companies should always launch new products. In fact, the entire start-up industry is based on the notion of launching the next disruptive innovation. But is this always the case? When is it better to continue to refine an existing technology, and when is it better to abandon the current solution and look for something new?

Innovation

Disruptive innovation, first championed by Clayton Christensen, basically spells out a set of requirements necessary for a new technology to displace existing products. In his