Innovation is essential for enterprises to overcome the challenges of change. This may be due to changes in the economic landscape, government regulations, market disruption or changes in customer demands. Whatever the reason, innovation is a differentiator. So much so that by 2026, IDC forecasts that enterprises that successfully generate digital innovation will derive 25% of revenue from digital products, services and/or experiences. Those that don’t could become history.
Create a culture of innovation
Some enterprises are still wary of innovation. This is no surprise as innovation is linked to change, and we humans like routine instead of upheaval. Innovation requires the mentality and ability to piece together opportunities and see things differently – often referred to as "thinking outside the box."
The lack of an innovative culture is an obstacle to digital business success. Enterprises must want to innovate. According to Gartner, changing culture involves aligning business outcomes and innovation principles with employee mindsets.
To overcome this, Gartner suggests laying the groundwork for change management. This can be part of the innovation process and includes investing time early in understanding how the change will impact people. It should highlight the benefits innovation brings and tailor actions according to specific groups’ requirements. For example, by building a user case for change and ensuring people are engaged through the process. Businesses should also identify and support evangelists in the workforce for new software initiatives.
Enterprises need help to innovate
It is impossible to innovate in a vacuum. Could this be why McKinsey found that 84% of CEOs say that innovation is critical to growth, while only 6% are satisfied with their innovation performance?
Whether a seasoned innovator or new to the game, our consultancy team at Orange Business can help you as part of a co-innovation experience wherever you are in the innovation process.
We believe that co-innovation is the key to unlocking our clients' business potential. Together with our extensive partner ecosystem and start-up network, we work closely with our clients to examine their challenges, accurately identify their needs and objectives, and provide them with the support they require. This can run through from drawing up an initial innovation strategy to creating a prototype and on to a large-scale rollout.
Taking the first steps to successful innovation
The first step is to get the client to defocus. Enterprises are often so fixated on the problem they are trying to address that they can’t see beyond it. Our consultancy team helps clients to step aside and look at the problem from different angles. From this, we can study the specifics.
Looking at what the competition is doing regarding innovation is essential, but it is important to look outside the vertical to get inspiration. To find out how other industries are meeting similar challenges head-on. A financial institution, for example, may be looking for new digital ways to address large volumes of customers. Different verticals, such as telecom operators and energy companies, may have a similar issue. Their customer service infrastructure may be the same, even though they sell a different product or service. From here, we can get a much broader view and draw inspiration.
Via interviews with key stakeholders, our consultants can draw a detailed picture of the client’s challenge and clearly understand business forces and constraints. It is crucial to find out if the company had come up against the same issue before, how they tried to solve it, and why the solution failed.
Our consultants can help the client view issues differently, make links to other scenarios and industries and use our extensive innovation experience. This can include ideation sessions to define priorities, select use cases, and build and execute pilot programs. This open co-innovation approach is designed to enable clients to achieve their business outcomes in an interactive environment.
A pilot for transformation
Our recent pilot with Schneider Electric, a leader in energy management and automation, is an example of co-innovation at work. We partnered together on the first deployment of indoor 5G in the industrial sector in France on experimental frequencies.
The co-innovation trial at Schneider Electric’s Le Vaudreuil factory aims to utilize 5G in a modern industrial environment to build scalable, reliable, and sustainable solutions for future industrial needs. The initial trial supports two use cases – augmented reality applied to maintenance technician activities and the implementation of a telepresence robot to oversee factory visits.
Opening our ecosystem to exploration
Here at Orange, we don’t just provide the technology. We can help you frame your business challenges and work out the best and most efficient way of addressing them short and long term.
Innovation isn’t just about ideas; it is about transforming the enterprise and how people work. The right innovation techniques can save time and money while providing a competitive edge. Innovation consultancy is invaluable in shaking up your thinking, helping you look at the world from a different perspective and better articulate your vision.
For more details on how Orange Business can help your enterprise to innovate, click here.
Robin is the Senior Business Consultant at Orange Business specializing in innovation, especially Artificial Intelligence (#AI), Virtual Reality (#XR #VR #AR) and web3 (#Blockchain #DLT). He and his team look at technology through business eyes, in a B2B environment. In his free time, Robin enjoys mountain hiking.