DEVELOPING ECO-SYSTEM ALONG WITH INNOVATION

Disruptions of industries through innovation have become now an old business model practiced by entrepreneurs. Today each day is an innovation day and what we find is that death of million innovations as the eco-system for the same is not developed. Well this might put the reader’s brains in thought mode but the point is often innovations fights and dies due to lack of eco system. Now let be brief you about what you mean by eco-system in innovation.  For example HD tv too a huge time to come up despite the system was ready to show HD quality. But the eco-system of HD quality production was absent which the made the innovation longer and difficult to absorb.  So if HD screen as well as HD quality of production both same together then the speed of getting returns from the innovation should have been faster.   So failure of innovation as it’s unable to generate cash flow is due to improper development of the eco-system.    Often in organization we find failures to adopt into new policies and strategies are due to lack of development of the eco-system. Another example will make it clearer. You don’t have much Hybrid car charging points but you have plenty of electric cars. This has made the success story of Hybrid cars slower. So the product innovation has come but due to lack of eco-system the industry struggles to get the success from the innovation.  

The next generation innovation needs to keep in mind that developing the eco-system is a part of the innovation and if that part is not taken care then be ready to lose your innovation within the billion dreams. Old industry becomes a hurdle for the maturity and growth of the industry. Every innovation should have 3 questions tagged to it:

·         Execution Risk Involved

·         Co-innovation risk

·         Adaption chain risk

Execution risk is always their but one needs to identify the market and its ancillaries connected with the innovation and the changes it would bring within the same. Innovation when taken without consideration of eco-system can turn out to be a highly risk matter. One needs to identify that the present problems in the eco-system and then removing the same using the innovation. Judging the level of innovation the existing system can bring is highly required to be measured. If your innovation is  a threatening incumbent then you need to measure the hurdles the present eco-system will present to it and in that case you need to strengthen you performance levels to take the innovation to the next level.

Improving the innovation is good but focus should be given improving the eco-system since without that full potential success of the innovation will not reach its desired goal. Innovation soften fight in the market and the fight is not with old technology or system or product, its always with the eco-system which will support the success of the innovation. Its well clear that innovation often dies to lack of proper eco-system. This is also being termed as that innovation is ahead of time. Well nothing is ahead of time the only mistake which is being done is too much focus on the product innovation and less on the system where its going to be applied. The tricky part of innovation to get success is fit right into the shoes of old technology so as the benefits of the innovation start generating its value. This is one of the easiest way of saving a unwanted death of innovation. Now debate will come where everyone will say that innovation replaces old ones then how can it be dependent on the old one. Well eco-system development needs to capture this area so that delay in getting values form the innovation is not extended.

Recently I find that innovation and new industries are being introduced by the entrepreneurs where a prolonged time frame is involved in getting those revolutions.  I find large and mid size organization should form a group of innovation and R&D where cost of the industry is saved and profitability is being achieved to multiple times. Many Indian companies have entered into developed economies through strategic partnership or through complete buyout and then have created new products for the industries. This have been a one way process of creating new values for changing the traditional course of the industry but there is a short coming to the same. Time factor plays a big role. Now say for example based on the current economic condition across the globe if a set of foreign and emerging economies company comes together and creates value proposition for the industry revolution.  No waste of time , no wait for opportunity encashment and driving value from such conglomerates.

Even many old industries can come together an create improvisation either in value chain process or product encashment where the eco-system is being changed which will also derive growth for these individual companies.  We are discussing about eco-system development which will give shape to the innovation of every company in all angles. If the success of HDTV was the demand if time then companies should have come together with production houses and its ancillaries to produce their qualities matching the innovation product.

This is not sharing of confidential data but enhancing the future of product innovation eco-system for the long term success of the future innovation. Most of the innovations are dependent on eco-system development and this area has been ignored. This is the key reason behind death of much successful innovation. One cannot time the market of innovation but we can build conducive environment to develop the success rate of innovation. This theory of innovation is applicable not only in product but also in process in an organization. Often new plans and policies fail as we did not focus on the eco-system of implementing the same.