Advances in communication and information technology have evolved users from ‘informed buyers' to ‘sophisticated consumers', and these sophisticated consumers expect more from the products and services they buy.

While ‘gathering requirements to fulfill needs of the users' were sufficient for the informed buyer, it remains largely inadequate when attempting to address the needs of this ‘sophisticated consumer'. A striking example of this stark reality is that corporations are struggling to stay ahead in the marketplace by ensuring that their online mechanisms leverage the onslaught of social communities, information networks, and technology to communicate with their users.

Businesses are faced with a unprecedented dilemma: Knowledge of ‘How to make..?” has outpaced the, imagination of ‘What to make…?” As the technology grows rapidly to deliver the function of the product, the potential to equally deliver the user experience for the product remains a challenge. Acknowledging, and addressing the wide gap between technology, innovation and user experience is crucial to transforming businesses in the new economy.

Satisfying this new generation of sophisticated consumers, their unexpressed expectations and their expressed needs poses a multitude of challenges and opportunities that demand a fundamental shift in the way we approach business. This paradigm shift requires organizations to build strategies that map their businesses and user goals by delivering a successful user-experience.

Design Innovation & User Experience are the key drivers in the new economy that will build the identity and the distinctiveness required for businesses to stand out in the global marketplace. Innovation with focus on user experience can help businesses differentiate in the global marketplace that has no dearth of competitors vying to make their mark. It is these differentiations that will help marketers meet expectations of these sophisticated customers who are always on the prowl for the best alternatives. This new economy will be led by those who innovate - create, find, and combine Knowledge and User Experience into their new products, services, and distribution methods - faster than their competitors.