How would a company know if they are going to compete against the industry standard

Hi, I was watching “How to choose an AI project (Part 2)” from week 2 and had this question: how would a company know if they are building something that would be competing against the industry standard? It makes sense if the standard has already be established. What if it’s not? How can one company look at a protocol or service just created or in the process of creating by someone else and say “okay I think they are building what will be the industry standard. I should use that instead”?

I hope the question makes sense.

Thanks!

The question makes sense, but it has no answer.

There is no way to know in advance what methods or tools will become an industry standard.

And there is no way to know for certain what new ideas are going to emerge without notice.

In that case, how would a company know if and when they should put a pause to what is being worked on? In the video it talks about sprinting in front of a train. The analogy is great, but I don’t see how the person would even know that he / she is sprinting on a train track.

Hopefully a company will employ some staff who have experience and contacts from previous work, so they may be able to provide some guidance.