Regardless of which country is the most innovative, businesses all over the world are plagued by an “Insight Deficit” within their R&D departments. This is because engineers and developers generally don’t have access to the full breadth of information necessary to make informed decisions—product data, competitive insight, customer surveys and more. As a result, products take longer to get to market, production requires more re-dos, and competition may often seem one step ahead. Without easy assimilation of relevant and actionable insights, organizations aren’t as nimble or flexible as they could be.
Having better and immediate insight into data across systems and departments helps companies improve agility in their innovation, and to innovate “incrementally,” that is, building on each incremental innovation. They can understand more about what has occurred before—and why—plus incorporate feedback from customers, internal review teams. They can adjust processes and perhaps swap in new materials to improve each cycle of development. Overall, having more insight into these facets allows R&D departments to better justify the investments they make.
Like those competing in London, innovation requires teamwork. And R&D teammates can’t work together if they don’t have the ability to access the collective knowledge available to them. Is your R&D department working as a team—or is your organization lacking insightful innovation?