How do you create a $100 billion industry from an unknown technology?

In 1999, flash memory was a promising new technology looking for a breakthrough product. M-Systems, a 10-year-old Israeli tech company, had figured out how to connect flash to a computer via USB with no outside power or new software…but not how to get consumers to embrace it. Ziba was asked to define and develop a new device around this technology—one that customers would immediately understand and adopt. With no existing market, manufacturing capacity or name recognition, M-Systems faced monumental challenges. The Ziba team had to overcome all of them, on a tight budget, with less than four months to go from concept to product.

Through rigorous consumer and market research, we recognized that the product needed to be portable, durable, easy to use, and have a “cool” factor—something rare in tech devices at the time. The inherent functionality of a USB drive offered an instant plug-and-play experience to users, whether on a Mac or PC, and a pocket-sized format. After several rapid rounds of sketching and concepting, the Ziba team hit upon two critical metaphors: a key fob, and a ballpoint pen. Combining these into a single form factor, we created the DiskOnKey, an iconic, pocket-sized drive that anyone could keep on a keyring, then take out of their pocket, un-cap, insert and use instantly. More than a clever product, this was a completely new way of transporting data, replacing fragile, awkward floppy discs with something secure, simple, accessible, cool….and familiar.

DiskOnKey created an entirely new category and market, ushering in a new era of data sharing, and marking the beginning of the end for floppy discs and CD-ROMS. Since the product’s introduction in 2000, the global market for USB thumb drives has grown to over $30 billion and is projected to become a $100 billion market by 2026. It has also been selected as one of the All-Time 100 gadgets by Time Magazine.