What is important about these companies is that they are usually the reasons why many trends exist. It is due to their creativity, innovation and risk that differentiates themselves from the status quo and puts them in a league of their own.
It's not surprising that Google is ranked number 1. However, when you look down the list, one can truly appreciate which companies are truly making a difference and why they are market leaders.
Here's an excerpt of the Top 5 (visit Wired for the full list):
1 Google
The masters of the universe are busily converting ad dollars into a global network of fiber lines and data centers. A plan etary computer crunching ever- larger mountains of bits is an invention of historic import. Google's power to inspire both awe and fear continues to grow.
2 Apple
Tired: MP3 players. Wired: mobile handsets! And why not? Especially if the Apple crew can stuff most of a Mac into a futuristic gadget straight out of Minority Report. Cell phone + iPod + social networking = marketer's dream.
3 Genentech
When you target specific biological mechanisms, your drugs can sidestep the one-disease rut: Avastin has been OK'd for a growing list of cancers. And since 20 new drugs are set to enter the pipeline by 2010, the chances for more multiple hits are good.
4 Samsung
Mobile handsets have joined PCs as the focus of some of high tech's most brutal slugfests. Samsung's upmarket strategy protects margins - a tactic it has been using to batter Sony in home theater and camcorders. Too bad about that iPhone.
5 News Corp.
Why fly capital-sucking TV satellites when you've got 90 million MySpacers glued to their screens? King Rupert is feeding the greatest frenzy of media populism since the birth of the tabloid press. Now he needs to convert it into broadcast-style revenue.
The Wired 40
The Most Innovative Companies of the World
Trend Themes
1. Global Fiber Network Expansion - The conversion of ad dollars into a global network of fiber lines and data centers presents disruptive innovation opportunities for companies to expand their reach and enhance connectivity.
2. Convergence of Mobile Handsets - The integration of diverse functionalities like cell phone, iPod, and social networking into a single device presents disruptive innovation opportunities for companies to create all-in-one gadgets that cater to the needs of the modern consumer.
3. Targeted Biological Mechanisms in Drug Development - Targeting specific biological mechanisms in drug development enables companies to break away from the traditional approach and create multiple-hit drugs that can address various diseases, presenting disruptive innovation opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry.
Industry Implications
1. Telecommunications - The growth of global fiber networks and data centers presents disruptive innovation opportunities for companies in the telecommunications industry to expand their infrastructure and provide faster and more reliable connectivity worldwide.
2. Consumer Electronics - The convergence of mobile handsets with various functionalities presents disruptive innovation opportunities for companies in the consumer electronics industry to create innovative all-in-one devices that cater to the modern consumer's needs.
3. Pharmaceutical - The targeted approach to drug development that focuses on specific biological mechanisms presents disruptive innovation opportunities for companies in the pharmaceutical industry to develop more effective and versatile drugs to treat a wide range of diseases.