Repurpose and Pivot Tech For Success

In one of my earlier classes in University, I remember attending a pre-med common course. I still vividly recall the Lecturer introducing us to the concept of how bad it can get in the world of Big Pharma; THALIDOMIDE

Apparently, this was a wonder drug that had been marketed to would-be-mothers with a promise of dissipating the effects of morning sickness.

It was marketed in the 1950s and 1960s, and had devastating effects on thousands of unborn children. It caused a birth defect known as phocomelia, which resulted in children being born with shortened or absent limbs. YIKES!! Naturally, its use was discontinued amongst pregnant women.

Enter the later 60's and a new use case was found. The repurposing of thalidomide for leprosy treatment was a significant medical breakthrough, providing a new option for patients with this debilitating disease. Voila!! Repurpose and pivot.

Viagra was discovered in the 80's and the original use was for treatment of angina and high blood pressure. However, clinical trials revealed that it had a surprising side effect: it helped men achieve and maintain erections. Voila!! Repurpose and pivot.

History is replete with such examples. The challenge is how do we in a timely manner take full advantage?

Passive Radar and Enter Starlink

Now, an example that is a bit closer to our decade. And this, is a developing story.

There was a post that caught my eye regarding the ability to use Starlink Satellites as passive radar. Basically, making stealthy aircrafts visible on the radar.

Another article in September 2024 states that Chinese scientists have used the network of Starlink satellites to detect a stealth target on radar.

From the report there is an excerpt that suggests that it was a first;

"...An unprecedented radar experiment conducted by Chinese scientists in the South China Sea could change the game of future warfare..."

However, earlier in the year- Jan 2024- there is an report about the possibilities of passive radar technology in Germany.

Germany has been investigating a new passive radar system for target detection and imaging using the signal from the Starlink satellite network, with details of a functioning demonstrator appearing in the latest annual report from Germany’s Ministry of Defence on defence technology.

Neither Germany nor China were first to highlight this. In 2010 there was a paper published in IEEE Aerospace Conference which headline stated;

"..In this paper we investigate the possibility to develop a passive radar system for mid-range air target surveillance using, as illuminator of opportunity, a high EIRP level geostationary broadcast transmitter. These satellites are being introduced recently for Satellite Mobile Digital TV broadcast purpose. Since they are designed to allow mobile users to receive satellite TV without large antennas, a sufficiently high signal power is being transmitted, making them suitable as illuminators of opportunity in a passive radar system...."

The technical details of passive radar are beyond the scope of this paper and out of my area of expertise. What I seek to demonstrate though is that, often times we may roll out a Tech Product with a particular use case in mind and there may be unintended consequences to the actual use.

I was involved in the very first roll-out of M-Pesa in Safaricom. Before it became the behemoth it is today, I can tell you that the intended use case and what it eventually morphed to is unfathomable to the designers of M-Pesa G1. And sorry to burst your bubble, it was not a Kenyan invention. It just happened to work really really well in Kenya. By acknowledging that Innovation outpaces regulation - and enabling innovation- was one of the reasons advanced for its success and adoption. The Executive certainly helped in that regard.

In fact, the developers that I worked with from Sagentia had little or no knowledge in integrating it to a Telco infrastructure. My role was to ensure it was integrated via SMPP 3.3 to the SMSC platform of the network. I wish I had saved the very first trace that we transacted during integration phase and during the commercialisation period. NFT anyone? That would have been consequential and monumental.

The initial use case detailed in the business case and what it later became are miles apart. This is hardly a surprising fact when we review business cases after many years of product launches.

A little known fact and much less discussed, is the number of Kenyans who shifted their behaviour from topping up their mobile phones via scratch cards to M-Pesa. It was a significant shift that had ramifications in the overall cost to shipping, distribution, OPEX, etc. This shift was brought about by the post election violence in 2007/2008. The organic change persisted even after the situation normalised.

So, how does an Organisation re-purpose and pivot? Sometimes, they are forced to by circumstances.

To be deliberate is far more effective. A continuous feed back loop is paramount. It can't exist in vacuum though. One has to identify the participants within this ecosystem and at the very least they ought to include; Customers, Product team, Market research, Sales and customer support, Executives, Testers including Beta testers, friendly customers, Competitor analysis.

The Organisation has to create continuous learning environment and strive to create more knowledge.

It is said that at the bottom of an Organisation's hiearchy, there exists knowledge and information. At its apex, there exists authority.

Sadly, at the apex there exists good news in most Organisations and information is filtered at best and at worst, it does not get to the apex.

Bridge the two, and it will become easier to repurpose and pivot.