Lead users of desalination To better understand the fundamental needs of the desalination market we must turn to lead users. The first step is to understand what lead users are: The definition of lead users is: users that face needs that foreshadow general demand in the marketplace, but they face them months or years before the bulk of the market- place encounters them" (Von Hippel, 1986) In the case of desalination, the identification of the key users is somewhat of a gray area. One may assume, for example, that final water consumer is a lead user. This is, ultimately, a logical trap. Even though the people drinking the water are the ones who directly benefit from the quality, reliability and lower cost of an improved operations, they will …show more content…
For example, Saudi Arabia is one of the most promising markets for desalination, due mainly to its lack of fresh water reservoirs. In KSA, the government is the entity responsible for producing, managing and delivering the supply of water to the general population. The same applies to the UAE. As a state-operated monopoly, the government (in the form of the national water company) has the obligation of providing quality service at low cost. Therefore, it is be reasonable to expect of them not only a keen awareness of what barriers their processes and others like it face, but also to be capable of driving the market towards meeting those specific needs by developing solutions based on the unique insight these lead users can provide. The key drivers that motivate this type of users can be encompassed in the following: a responsibility to act in the interest of the public good; be in the form of implementing better technologies that will yield a higher quality in government services (i.e. quality of water), or a continued interest in maximizing the value of public money (in the form of the implementation of processes or technologies that will reduce costs and or environmental …show more content…
Even though their objective is not to produce drinkable water, the structure of their process is similar if not identical, just designed to different quality specifications. Thermal requirements should also be in proximity of those needed in potable water production. These types of users are highly driven by their bottom line: either improving by efficiency or yield in their processes, reducing costs or a combination of both. Because of this, the very demanding operating conditions in terms of capital and resources, and also due to the high level of expertise that such companies possess in-house, they are in a unique position to experience needs that other entities in the market are yet to even be aware of. These needs and, most importantly, the information that is generated while dealing with the barriers and issues that emerge is the way forward for these companies and outside entities to pursue solutions that can spearhead new trends in the