Technology may look like it can solve the problem, but transformation is not driven by tech alone.
Let me share about the product that never made it out the door because of that.
Even before we heard about IR4.0, the researchers at Hewlett Packard Labs already created the concept of an electronic clipboard to capture what was on forms for processing online. The year was 1998.
The thinking was how much easier it would be if data entry which was then handwritten on duplicate forms (sometimes triplicate) did not need to be retyped to be entered into computers.
Recognition software would convert the handwriting on the clipboard captured directly as the service advisor was writing on the form. Data entry would be immediate. Service time will improve. Doctors can still write the way they like and retraining on clumsy computers was not needed.
The industry will be revolutionised.
With full support of then HP CEO Lew Platt, a division in HP absorbed the HPLabs team led by Polly Siegel to pivot to this new business plan, codenamed ‘PaperClip’ [pix].
The plan was not to replace paper forms, but to augment them. We will allow users to continue to do what they do best: focus on their trade and continue to capture the data on the clipboard such as personal details, service data, payment info and so on.
Except this new clipboard will also be battery powered. Extreme care was taken to ensure it was intuitive to use and carry in rugged conditions, and could capture handwriting through a stack of forms placed on it. The industrial design for the product even won acclaim for IDEO, the design house engaged for the project.
We partnered with the country’s largest forms producer and distributor, The Reynolds and Reynolds Company, to identify early adopters to pilot the product. Their forms are used everywhere in the USA, and will be our launch partner. It was potentially a billion dollar business, or perhaps more.
But alas, technology alone is not enough.
It is really hard to compete against a $2 clipboard you can buy from any stationery store.
The irony today is the devices replacing the $2 clipboard are electronic handheld devices not unlike the smartphone costing many times that of PaperClip. And companies buy them without hesitation.
Flatscreens are everywhere, and at doctor’s offices many struggle to do data entry as it is still their job to do so. The Reynolds and Reynolds company today is also providing retail software management systems, along with the forms that they are known for.
The lesson from all this: technology alone cannot drive transformation. Users and ecosystems have to align. And the timing has to be right.
We can’t connect the dots looking forward. We just have to be smarter going forward.
