Today, in the office, we had a brief discussion of some of the industries or fields that seem to have had relatively little technical innovation over the past decade. Some industries seem to be getting a lot of attention from technical minds these days (e.g. the power grid, alternative fuels, etc.); others seem more stagnant and some may not stand to gain a lot from technological advancements.<p>But, I'm curious to hear others' opinions. What industries are using technology and practices that are antiquated?
As someone who works as an IT person in the Mental Health industry I'd nominate that industry. Mental Health has all the problems of regular health care times 10.<p>To give the most basic example, there is no formalized charting system in the Mental Health Industry. You have standardized notes that are turned into the county but that's about it.<p>The industry I work in (treatment of abused children who have been removed from the home) has a 96% fail rate in California. That means 96% of the children entrusted to the state end up in jail or dead by the age of 25 (as of 2003). So if ever there was an industry that needed technology's help it's this one.
Housing & Home Construction<p>Most house construction in the industrialised world is still done by semi-skilled hand labour. There are few radical advances in materials or methods that have gained traction with the industry. Partly this is because the building industry is held back by antiquated construction codes that specify acceptable means and materials rather than the minimum performance constraints that buildings must exceed to be considered safe. But there is a lot of cultural resistance as well, both from the building trades and from customers.<p>Home construction is an area where several orders of magnitude improvement in both cost and performance are possible, just by the application of basic engineering principles. Well, basic engineering principles and a willingness to circumvent the established order.
Presumably the fields that need innovation most are those that have some artificial constraint suppressing it. E.g. the music business, because anything good is <i>ipso facto</i> sued out of existence. Or the nuclear power industry, because the level of regulation becomes a barrier to entry to all but companies so bureaucratic they fit the government like a mold.<p>So oddly enough, you're most likely to be able to achieve innovation where other people are.
Software development. And no, that's not a joke. We really are roughly where we were in the 70's, we have not been able to make good use of the increase in machine power.<p>It would be nice to see something really fresh. I'm holding out for 'fleet', or something like it. A radical departure from what we think is 'best practice' and the ways to do things. Something that will turn software development into a true engineering discipline, without the house of cards feeling that we have today.
Agriculture. I'm studying an agricultural products distributor, and as much as automation has helped reduce the reliance on labor in the agricultural sector, there are still many areas hugely reliant on inefficient labor -- and many business owners are facing increasing financial difficulty because of a resistance toward automation.<p>I predict that as the industry consolidates, the more tech-savvy, bigger players with more capital will squeeze the small guys out. And there is an interesting opportunity for tech-savvy people there.<p>I am thinking specifically about some of the ag sectors which have not already massively consolidated, such as greenhouse-based ag.
How about law? Obviously there are non-technical problems there as well, but it seems like there is still a lot that could be done technologically to improve transparency and (maybe more interestingly) reduce expense.
Immigration processing is one, atleast in US.<p>I've still not understood why it takes 4-5 years to USCIS office to grant or deny residency of an applicant. How can that process be so slow? All papers and evidences are submitted on day one. Then why it takes 4-5 years to process back-log applications and then process yours.<p>I know there is quota per country for per year. But not all quotas are full by all countries. Why can't they do shuffling and do dynamic quota management?<p>This inefficiency is frustrating to many individuals, so definitely need some technical innovation to process things efficiently.
Business Accounting<p>The current quarterly system of reporting finances was (I believe) developed as a result of the Great Depression, to help inform the public of company status.<p>The recent banking meltdown shows how inadequate this system is.<p>Something more realtime is needed.
Real estate is one that really chaps my ass.<p>I don't know what it's like in other countries, but in Canada there's this bizarre mafia of middlemen that take ~6-10% of the value of house when you sell. They self-promote and self-reinforce to maintain an information advantage, but they don't seem to offer a service beyond a list of houses with pictures, and hand-holding.
Energy. All kind of. More efficient using of existing sources and new sources.
Think of it this way: How much worth ALL IT industry- all bright stars- Google, apple, MS, ibm? Something around $1T, right? Now Petrochina alone(!) is around 800B and its just about producing and selling gas in China!<p>So if you would be able to make technological innovation that would make my car engine say 10% more effective or produce just few %% that my home consumes - that will be HUGE!!!
Government. It has a high barrier to entry (win an election/revolution) and a high consumer switching cost (move far away, get a new job, learn a new language). If the governing industry were more competitive, I think its quality of service would be better.<p>The Peter Thiel-funded Seasteading Institute is trying to decrease the start-up cost and the consumer switching cost. Paul Romer has another approach with the Charter City proposal he's advocating.
The Home.<p>It should be "standard" to have a single web interface for control over everything in my house.<p>1) Real-Time monitoring of water, electric and gas consumption.<p>2) Entertainment. I should be able to login to a website and click "TV's". Then I can see if they are on, what channel is being watched, what is scheduled to be recorded.<p>3) Security. Doors and Windows. Automation of opening, closing and locking. Plus video surveillance.<p>4) Upkeep. Sprinkler control. Heat control and lights. Start the dishwasher, start the coffee pot.<p>Sure, this can all be done with an excessive amount of work, lots of high tech and expensive gadgetry, and custom software setups, but that doesn't mean it HAS to be that way. I think the Home needs an overhaul.
Healthcare, construction, K12 education are three tidepools that a lot of IT innovation has left behind over the last 30 years. None of them need invention, they need to import and adapt working innovations from other fields.
Electricity, the power grid... Right now I'm pretty sure power companies can't tell you if the power is on at your house or not...The system is pretty old.
Environmental improvement (not necessarily environmentally-friendly, just human environment)<p>ie <a href="http://www.project10tothe100.com/ideas.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.project10tothe100.com/ideas.html</a> "Create real-world issue reporting system"<p>Google's Project 10 to the 100 has a lot of good ideas related to technological innovation.
It seems to me the largest industries -- the ones bound by regulation or the way it's always been done are the ones most ripe for change.<p>News, real estate, health care, automotive and agriculture come to mind. We're seeing some of these change because of technology. Hopefully, the ones that survive will be stronger for it.
The third world is craving for low cost technologies ,and there's a huge market potential there. only in the last few years companies have started to become interested ,so there might empty places for startups.
reminds me of an article my friend wrote:
<a href="http://kcomposite.blogspot.com/2009/06/uniquely-american.html" rel="nofollow">http://kcomposite.blogspot.com/2009/06/uniquely-american.htm...</a><p>(short answer = taxes and banking)