The science of innovation: The continuous search for innovation in products, business models, processes, and constant investment in research and development are not disposable options in the business world. Increasing competition demands more and more from companies, and the use of emerging technologies has proven to be a key differentiating factor.
Companies that want to perpetuate themselves in their operating environments cannot be satisfied with efficiency alone. Competitive advantage is now built on your ability to monitor, predict and outperform your market movements using new technologies.
What are emerging technologies?
These are technologies with great potential for impact and growth and most of them already have practical applications. These technologies generate great interest from investors and entrepreneurs, and in practice, can change the way companies operate in the next 5 or 10 years.
New business models, new value propositions, brand perceptions, shopping experiences, new production arrangements, etc. are possible. Below we list 3 examples of the top emerging technologies with the highest growth and evidence today. You will get to know the concept and the main benefits of business assertiveness.
AI — Artificial Intelligence
Briefly, AI aims to reproduce human cognitive abilities in machines. The subfields developed from there range from computer vision technologies to machine learning and cognitive computing. With them, machines can recognize patterns, images, and speech and refine their algorithm.
AI technology can be applied to inventory control and replenishment, quality control, and elimination of checkout processes at checkouts.
IoT — Internet of Things
The internet of Things allows the connectivity of physical objects to the internet. It enables the collection and transmission of data in real-time.
Big data and analytics
They are solutions that work with large amounts of data to return more refined information. They are served as subsidies for decision-making.
Adoption curve
Not everything is rosy in the application of new technologies in the business world. Just using an emerging technology does not guarantee the success of an enterprise. First, it is necessary to understand that every technological innovation follows a curve of adoption by the public.
The time to adopt a new product will depend on your target market and the communication and marketing strategies adopted. Psychology professor Everett M. Rogers developed, in 1962, the theory called diffusion of innovation, known as the adoption curve.
Its objective was to describe behavior related to adherence to innovations. The individuals are classified into 5 different profiles, according to their greater or lesser speed to adhere to innovation.
They are innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. The study of these profiles and the development of specific marketing strategies for each moment of the adoption curve are essential for the successful diffusion of the innovations intended by a business.
The science of innovation
Disruptive innovations turn inaccessible and economically unfeasible products into great sales successes. This goes against common sense that innovation is all about new inventions or creative skills.
The science of innovation seeks to systematize the way innovations are managed in organizations. It’s based on the information and past experiences and the performance of its market:
- Customers;
- Competitors,
- Benchmarks.
That includes all aspects of the business, integrating research and development activities into something commercially viable, and increasing its value proposition. Do you want to know which cloud architecture Is the best for your SaaS startup? Access our article on IaaS or PaaS: What’s best for your SaaS startup?.