Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen Discusses Disruptive Innovation in Gartner Fellows Interview

Business Wire, August 26, 2004

STAMFORD, Conn. -- Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen explores key elements and pitfalls in creating successful innovations, including the failures of even top marketing corporations to focus on simple jobs consumers need to get done, in an interview released this month by Gartner, Inc.

Conducted as part of The Gartner Fellows Interview series, this first part of a two-part interview with Dr. Christensen examines the following issues, among others:

--What is meant by "disruptive" and "sustaining" innovation

--Why needs of "non-customers" often provide the best clues for generating new products and services

--Why separate business units to market new products are essential in established companies

--The importance in new ventures of focusing initially on growth rather than profit

--Two proven methods for seeking business opportunity in unmet customer needs

The interview is posted to the homepage of the gartner.com web site, found at the following address: http://www4.gartner.com/research/fellows/asset_93329_1176.jsp. The second part of the interview will be published on gartner.com in October.

The interview with Dr. Christensen, co-author of The Innovator's Solution and of the forthcoming sequel Seeing What's Next, was conducted by Howard Dresner, a Gartner research fellow and vice president. Mr. Dresner is a worldwide authority on business intelligence -- the process for exploring and analyzing structured, domain-specific information to discern business trends or patterns thereby deriving insights and drawing conclusions. His research topics include customers, suppliers, products, services and competitors.

The Gartner Fellows Interview features Gartner analysts each month in discussions with leaders in technology, business and government on significant and timely industry issues. The Gartner Fellows are15 Gartner research analysts, distinguished by their reputations as innovators and thought leaders, who identify and examine emerging trends and technologies.

Media interested in speaking with Mr. Dresner about the interview or in obtaining related Gartner research should contact Andrew Spender at (203) 316-3286, or Sherrie Weldon at (212) 871-5175.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB) is the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry. Gartner serves more than 10,000 clients, including chief information officers and other senior IT executives in corporations and government agencies, as well as technology companies and the investment community. The Company focuses on delivering objective, in-depth analysis and actionable advice to enable clients to make more informed business and technology decisions. The Company's businesses consist of Gartner Intelligence, research and events for IT professionals; Gartner Executive Programs, membership programs and peer networking services; and Gartner Consulting, customized engagements with a specific emphasis on outsourcing and IT management. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and has more than 3,500 associates, including approximately 1,000 research analysts and consultants, in more than 75 locations worldwide. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.