It doesn't matter which came first, it matters that companies work hard and smart at both.
Survival in challenging times
Like the chicken and the egg conundrum, business transformation and innovation are just as essential to one another, and more importantly, are fundamental in an economic slowdown. The global economic recession has been acknowledged by most major governments as a reality and possibly the worst since 1930. Already companies that were unprepared have paid the price.
It’s time for change
If they aren’t already, companies need to quickly start looking at how they can improve utilization of resources, deliver more value to customers, establish creative partnerships and more effective means to collaborate, maximize collective intelligence, and better promote products or services. And they need to be looking outside for new ideas and opportunities. Indeed, as much as the economic crisis is bringing new challenges and pressure to bear, it is also bringing new opportunities. By forcing companies to rethink strategy, it may well push them into new and potentially profitable territories. Innovation forms a key part of this, encouraging employee empowerment and motivation. It is therefore necessary to ensure the success of such business transformation.
Getting innovation right
Likewise, innovation cannot be sustainable without business transformation. Innovation may be incremental, radical or disruptive, and may involve a team, department or the entire organization. Innovation isn’t just about bringing new products and services to market, but also about operational, logistical and financial efficiency. To add true value to the company, which is what innovation is all about, enterprises must identify where they can best innovate, and invest in those areas. Unfortunately, too many companies don’t currently have effective processes in place for selecting projects that can make a real difference, and then making those projects happen. Achieving this couldn’t be more crucial.
It’s not all doom and gloom
Successful innovation may help the company become ‘greener’ or more socially responsible, key attributes in today’s environment, and more importantly, it may potentially enable the organization to enter new markets or segments, which is ultimately the key to survival.
Francisco Pinheiro
Francisco is Director of Innovation at the Group Innovation team at Atos Origin. He helps to steer innovation initiatives as well as developing Atos Origin's innovation capabilities, with special focus on innovation culture, collaborations and workshops. Prior to this corporate position, Francisco was responsible for the innovation function within the Business Development Department at Atos Origin Spain. He was one of the innovation evangelists of the DISRUPT-IT project (on disruptive innovation), as well as INnovautas, the innovation events in Spain.
Francisco was also chief organiser of the last international Atos Origin Technical Conference. Prior to Atos Origin Spain, he worked for SchlumbergerSema, Spain, and before that he spent 10 years working at Atos Worldline in Frankfurt.