Digital technologies are totally transforming the face of business. Adopting digital transformation is the only way to stay ahead of the competition in today’s digital era. Innovation management is one of the crucial contributors to digital transformation, along with a few other factors. It is a comprehensive tool that makes you understand and lead your way through a digital transformation.
According to 87% of business leaders, digitalization is a top priority. Digital innovation is driving increasing interconnection, giving unprecedented access to capabilities, resources and talent on a global scale
– Gartner
What Is a Digital Transformation?
Digitization implies the process of converting data into digital format. Digitalization refers to the use of digital technologies to transform a business pattern and deliver new ways of revenue spurring new opportunities. The process of formulating new business applications that assimilate this digitalized data is called digital transformation.
One of the best examples is Netflix; it stirred a digital change and steadily observed growth in its revenues and market share. Over the years, technology has dramatically changed, and Netflix always evolved and coped up with the changing business advancements of movie streaming.
Among other domains which are taking their best bite in the digital transformation are tools and applications in the field service sector, predictive maintenance, and crowdsourcing. Noticeably, innovation is the buzzword in the success formula of these applications.
Understanding Innovation Management
Gartner defines innovation management as a structured process that strives to drive a repeatable, sustainable innovation process or culture within an organization. Innovation management drives focus on disruptive or step changes that transform the business in some significant way.
Read More: An Introduction to the Ultimate Idea Management Solution
How Innovation Management Enables Digital Transformation
Innovation practices can enable organizations to build a more advanced, unique and sustainable collaborative culture fostering digital transformation. It works its magic when applied to all the business functions, processes and new launches.
Contrary to the traditional innovation approach, innovation management reinforces organizations to be more responsive and help in amplifying their capabilities embracing the changes achieved by digital transformation.
This is the reason that most CIO’s are considering digital transformation as an integral part of the organization’s strategy.
Read More: How to drive innovation from within the organization
Here’s how organizations enable digital transformation with a major contribution from innovation pool.
Evolution From Traditional to Innovative Culture
Following traditional procedures or methods in the innovation process may limit the number of ideas that can be converted into a business model. This arises because of limited participation spanning from senior management to a few other leaders having a limited perspective.
For a better business advantage, organizations can practice crowdsourced innovation programs which make innovation process a collective action by involving employees, partners, customers, and all the other stakeholders. This approach draws on a much richer/ diverse set of skills, interests and expertise based on individuals’ experiences. This can collectively come from both employees and/or consumers fostering the pace and scale of innovation pool.
Crowdsourcing works phenomenally with innovation management software in place. It supports organizations to plan, manage and monitor their innovation activities, tracking progress against an overall set of goals and objectives.
Read More: What is an idea management software & why your business needs one
Encourages Overall Process Transformation
Often organizations craft their innovation strategy based on new products and services and neglect in the scenarios of process improvements which is equally responsible for the growth of the business.
Innovation management provides a platform for employees to ideate and collaborate toward new product launch and enhancements.
It includes every aspect of business growth – it not only helps in creating an approach to capture an idea, develop and implement it but also builds effective relationships with employees and other external stakeholders. This results in potential outcomes that extend way beyond the original focus of the process transformation.
Digital Awakening of the Organization
The ability to anticipate, manage and capitalize on pervasive change is often the difference between market leadership and extinction
– IBM
Innovation management practices can unfold the organisational advantage pertaining to the value it contributes to digital transformation. It reinforces active participation of management team and employees in idea pooling and contributes their best efforts towards possibilities. All the creative and innovative ideas which are well recognized, appreciated and rewarded fuel a sense of pride and ownership, thus, enhancing performance.
Employees, often front-runners, have full-hand information in driving the change in their respective processes which serves essential in shaping up new dimensions. Striking the right cords of their minds to extract insights is a possibility with an open innovation strategy and the right tool supporting innovation.
Identify, frame and jump-start early digital innovation initiatives and support cross-x teams in there making innovation part of organizational culture. It also helps the organization to break out from its traditional practices to identify, develop and realize new business opportunities.
Read More: Creating and driving a culture of innovation in the workplace
Conclusion
Incorporating an innovation management software can encourage different groups of stakeholders within and outside the organization to work together towards a common business challenge.
Using a structured and scalable platform helps in converting ideas into business outcomes. Furthermore, it not only helps in finding innovative ways for new product launches but also aids in comprehending new approaches to transform traditional processes.
Read More: A Buyer’s Guide to Choosing The Best Idea Management Software
Digital transformation is redefining businesses and revolutionizing industries’ sway. When there is an ongoing revolution, there will be a churn of champions and losers. Organizations who aren’t at pace with digital transformation will be at risk of losing out business growth and become outdated.
Digital transformation strategies injected with innovation at every domain and function level has the power of gaining competitive edge along with business longevity. A sustainable pool of innovation contributed towards new approaches to improving processes and services maximizes impact on the overall digital transformation success.
Looking for an innovation management software to attain a business breakthrough and keep up the pace with digital transformation? Check out Wave – An innovation management tool establishes a culture of innovation in your firm to ideate and collaborate towards business transformation and stay ahead of the competition and in sync with the developments.
If you’d like to learn more about this topic, please feel free to get in touch with one of our experts for a personalized consultation.
