By Nei Tremarin, CMO of the Electronic Market
Innovation has become imperative these days. People are increasingly interested in new gadgets such as apps, smartphones, cameras, 3D printers, among others. Most claim to be innovative and so is the company they work for. But, do organizations and professionals actually present this innovative spirit? Do they put into practice what is so present in the speeches? It is no use just thinking and talking about it, it is necessary to go further.
Defining what innovation is is not easy and is sometimes confused with strategy. It is common to attribute the idea to large changes, but this characteristic can also be present in small processes. In fact, alternatives found to change minor procedures can have a much more significant impact on our daily lives and, why not, on business. To innovate is, above all, to find new ways to perform old tasks. However, it is important to remember that an innovative process can be interesting and necessary for one company and, for another, make no sense.
The concept of wearable devices, for example, is recent and we still don't know what its impacts will be on the market. For now, the biggest challenge is to overcome this wave of novelty and make wearable devices indispensable in our daily lives. We followed the launch of Google Glass and were euphoric with the possibilities, but it is still not considered a must-have wearable and there are few apps really focused on wearables.
Even so, Gartner already predicts that wearable gadgets will drive 50% of all app interactions in 2017. Intel recently introduced its new generation of chips aimed at this type of device, with the size of a button. This means that the typical mobile user will share information with a variety of applications and services every day, with Internet-connected applications and wearable gadgets. The number anticipates an expressive innovative movement.
In relation to companies, what is seen is still quite divergent from the discourse. Organizations are evaluated by their concrete results for each period that take into account the current business model of each one of them, not the future business.
Innovative initiatives are shelved all the time precisely because leaders are forced to focus on the now, on the immediacy of the present, tied to the financial results of the quarter. When it comes to innovating, most companies prefer to invest in projects that are unlikely to make mistakes. Innovation is not rooted in most Brazilian companies and, in fact, is far from being a priority.
Silicon Valley is an example of how innovation, combined with the maxims of entrepreneurship and technology, can work. This region of the USA was the birthplace of great projects and served as inspiration for different global markets. In Brazil, there are also successful initiatives such as Porto Digital in Pernambuco, the São José dos Campos Technological Pole in São Paulo, Tecnopuc and Tecnosinos in Rio Grande do Sul and Celta in Santa Catarina.
The regions were inserted in the innovation scenario for their entrepreneurship.
Another positive example is the Lei do Bem, which encourages innovation by the private sector to enhance R&D (Projects and Development) results. According to FINEP, a public company linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), credit for innovation projects has increased tenfold in four years. If in 2011 R$ 1.1 billion were earmarked for this purpose, the projection for 2014 is that the figure will have reached R$ 10 billion.
The innovative measures adopted by Brazilian companies are still discreet and very focused on increasing productivity, reducing costs and reducing waste. Of course, these three pillars drive the healthy competitiveness of the market, but it is worth remembering that innovation should not always be linked to the final objective, but to the path to make processes and businesses prosper. It is necessary to have a careful look at this concept to differentiate yourself in the midst of so many companies. The more innovative the company, the greater the chances of achieving business success.
Defining what innovation is is not easy and is sometimes confused with strategy. It is common to attribute the idea to large changes, but this characteristic can also be present in small processes. In fact, alternatives found to change minor procedures can have a much more significant impact on our daily lives and, why not, on business. To innovate is, above all, to find new ways to perform old tasks. However, it is important to remember that an innovative process can be interesting and necessary for one company and, for another, make no sense.
The concept of wearable devices, for example, is recent and we still don't know what its impacts will be on the market. For now, the biggest challenge is to overcome this wave of novelty and make wearable devices indispensable in our daily lives. We followed the launch of Google Glass and were euphoric with the possibilities, but it is still not considered a must-have wearable and there are few apps really focused on wearables.
Even so, Gartner already predicts that wearable gadgets will drive 50% of all app interactions in 2017. Intel recently introduced its new generation of chips aimed at this type of device, with the size of a button. This means that the typical mobile user will share information with a variety of applications and services every day, with Internet-connected applications and wearable gadgets. The number anticipates an expressive innovative movement.
In relation to companies, what is seen is still quite divergent from the discourse. Organizations are evaluated by their concrete results for each period that take into account the current business model of each one of them, not the future business.
Innovative initiatives are shelved all the time precisely because leaders are forced to focus on the now, on the immediacy of the present, tied to the financial results of the quarter. When it comes to innovating, most companies prefer to invest in projects that are unlikely to make mistakes. Innovation is not rooted in most Brazilian companies and, in fact, is far from being a priority.
Silicon Valley is an example of how innovation, combined with the maxims of entrepreneurship and technology, can work. This region of the USA was the birthplace of great projects and served as inspiration for different global markets. In Brazil, there are also successful initiatives such as Porto Digital in Pernambuco, the São José dos Campos Technological Pole in São Paulo, Tecnopuc and Tecnosinos in Rio Grande do Sul and Celta in Santa Catarina.
The regions were inserted in the innovation scenario for their entrepreneurship.
Another positive example is the Lei do Bem, which encourages innovation by the private sector to enhance R&D (Projects and Development) results. According to FINEP, a public company linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), credit for innovation projects has increased tenfold in four years. If in 2011 R$ 1.1 billion were earmarked for this purpose, the projection for 2014 is that the figure will have reached R$ 10 billion.
The innovative measures adopted by Brazilian companies are still discreet and very focused on increasing productivity, reducing costs and reducing waste. Of course, these three pillars drive the healthy competitiveness of the market, but it is worth remembering that innovation should not always be linked to the final objective, but to the path to make processes and businesses prosper. It is necessary to have a careful look at this concept to differentiate yourself in the midst of so many companies. The more innovative the company, the greater the chances of achieving business success.
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