Each group has the opportunity to dig deeper into technology area of their choice and do an analysis of technology competitors in the market. The objective is to identify the key players in a particular market and produce an assessment of what they are selling. The audience for this project is a group of investors with money to invest and want to know where to invest it. They are a conservative group and want to really understand what they are investing in. Unlike an actual report for investors, information on the financial position of the companies in question should NOT be included. Although extremely relevant for actual investment decision, this is beyond the scope of this course and would make the assignment unduly burdensome. The focus should be exclusively on the technology and its applications. The process includes the following:
1. Identify an industry segment that the group is interested in. It is likely that the focus will need to be narrowed as the analysis progresses. The topic can be narrowed as much as necessary to make it manageable.
2. Obtain approval of the topic from the instructor to ensure the scope is manageable.
3. Identify the key players in the field (e.g. Microsoft, Apple, ...).
4. Identify what aspects of their products are important to users (e.g. price, speed, ...).
5. Describe how their products work and how it meets the needs of its users. The emphasis should be on clear, concise explanation in appropriate detail.
6. Compare and contrast the main products on those dimensions, which are relevant to users.
7. Indicate where the technology is going and how it may change the way we work or communicate in the future (say 5 years from now).
8. Recommend companies for the investors.