As organisations are becoming more digital, their reliance on IT is unwaveringly increasing. Customers’ wants and needs are changing, and companies need technological processes to meet the new requests. Issues like the pandemic only emphasise the importance of technology, which is defined as the spine of present business success. The pace of change in the business world is happening faster than anyone would’ve expected. Organisations should adopt the latest forms of business models and technology to become more productive. Nowadays, companies are dependant on digital solutions to bring buyers into the mainstream.
The pandemic triggered a global socio-economic crisis, and businesses worldwide adapt to a new ecosystem. Studies show that the value of the economic crisis is about $9 trillion. In this context, the market is witnessing significant shifts in business models and customer behaviour. Organisations (tech or non-tech) are more comfortable with their employees working remotely, and while some experienced great disruptions in 2020, they’re slowly bouncing back. All businesses experience short or long-term impact, but they can stand up in the new normal if they take the right actions.
The pandemic has a negative impact on the global GDP. But embracing innovations and thinking strategically can help businesses move forward. Adopting innovation can greatly influence economic and psychological dimensions and encourage business managers to look forward to analysing what solutions can meet the changing demands on the markets they operate.
This article analyses the multiple facets of IT in organisations, why innovation is lagging, and what businesses can do to embrace innovation. Innovation is vital, but it’s not easy to build and adopt.
Innovation challenges companies face in 2021
Even if business leaders say they’re doing new things and think creatively, statistics show that there’re plenty of obstacles in the world of innovation, despite the organisations’ enthusiasm for it.
Only 1 in 4 board directors prioritises innovation, even in the present context. 95% of the new products launched on the market are unsuccessful, and 54% of companies struggle to connect their innovation strategy with their corporate strategy. In the given situation, 80% of business executives think their business model with experience some kind of disruption in 2021.
For companies to identify the strategies that can provide them with results, they need to identify the challenges they can experience in the process of embracing innovation.
Misalignment and politics
All organisations deal with disagreements, poor alignment, and politics when it comes to innovation. For example, the sales department may think innovation is part of marketing, and it doesn’t have to adapt operations. Internal disagreements can make an entire advancement to be postponed until a competitor finds a way to adopt the change sooner and bring the idea on the market. Organisations that experience politics and poor alignment issues can collaborate with an innovation expert to help all team members feel invested and involved in innovation. From the executive board to interns, everyone should be encouraged and celebrated for the ideas, strategies, and products they develop to support innovation.
Companies are worried about their reputation
Start-ups have a reputation for their out-of-the-box thinking, but large organisations embrace quite the opposite cultures. It’s hard to imagine a large company take into account an employee’s idea that promotes strangers riding in cars with strangers (Bolt or Uber). Culture problems plague all kinds of businesses because they’re worried about their reputation. The fear of failure can prevent companies from embracing innovation because innovation is always associated with risk. When ingenious ideas are dropped, most executives roll their eyes, no matter how brilliant they are. The key to adopting innovation successfully in 2021 is to create a culture where failure is understood, and risk is acceptable. It doesn’t mean that businesses should go on wild goose chases all the time and spend resources on every new idea. But a team of people can analyse the ideas to identify the ones that have the potential to help the brand stand out on the market.
Organisations miss the signs of change
Since 80% of business leaders consider their operations to be disrupted in 2021 due to innovation, they see the signs when their organisations are threatened. But many brands also miss these signs or react too late. In the business world, it’s all about noticing or ignoring the market signals and hesitating to make a decision that can turn profitable. Businesses need to focus their efforts on spotting the signs of risk or opportunity because taking action at the right moment is crucial for a business’s success. Using data is only a way of recognising the need for innovation and signs of change.
Corporate innovation trends companies should consider in 2021
Intelligent composable business
The pandemic shows that nothing should be taken for granted. Prior to 2020, companies built their operations on efficiency, which became fragile the moment the market required flexibility. In 2021, companies need to prepare for multiple scenarios to support flexibility. Intelligent composable business has been promoted as the future of business because it’s a natural acceleration of the internet-based business that functions at present. It implies companies structuring their business around interchangeable building blocks they can easily rearrange according to their needs.
Internet of behaviour
Everyone knows how the internet of things functions and how companies use user data to gain insight into their customers’ preferences and behaviours. The internet of behaviour provides organisations with specific behavioural information that can redefine companies’ value chain and streamline the user experience.
Autonomous things
Autonomous things are devices that require no human interaction as they’re using AI algorithms to function. The pandemic caused the market for these devices to boom, and research suggests that in 2021 there will be a shift from automation to autonomy.
Innovation ecosystems
Many companies are interested in adopting a holistic multi-faceted method because they want to boost their flexibility, become more agile, and drive growth. This means they’ll use different frameworks to cover the full potential of innovation, and this can be called an innovation ecosystem.
Businesses dealt with unprecedented obstacles in 2020, but innovation can provide them with direction in these changing times.
