Some of the most long-established companies in the United States have recently been forced to close their doors, and some wonder whether technology is to blame? Do long-established companies have to acquire new-age tech startups or drastically change the way they do business to stay alive?

Kodak was once the most familiar name in photographic technology. It was a leader in advancements such as the hand-held camera and the digital camera. Now, over 40 years after its establishment in 1892, the photography mega giant was forced to close its doors and sold during bankruptcy.

Experts claim that part of the problem was that Kodak failed to keep up with technology and clung to the ways of the past. Some say that companies such as this one fail to recognize the rapid success of small start-ups like Instagram, which was started in 2010 and quickly grew to a $1 billion acquisition offer from Facebook.

The success of these small new businesses has experts wondering if the “established date” above storefronts holds the same meaning that it used to. Do consumers not give traditional success the same value that they used to or are some of these companies simply not picking up on the hottest technology of the current generations.

Ashley Unwin, the head of consulting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a professional services firm said that “the pace of change is so fast nowadays that one year’s worth of change is equivalent to two decades 100 years ago…Heritage can be earned much quicker in an age where reputations can be build and destroyed within 24 hours.”

Source: BBC, “Is technology killing the lure of company heritage?” Michael Miller, Aug. 27, 2012