| Boston, MA - April, 2006: In 2006 Delphi Group, Perot Systems’ research, consulting and conference division, explored the markers of enterprise innovation with a market study targeting a cross-industry sample of organizations (evenly split between those of less than $500 million in revenues and those greater than $500 million in revenues). The survey looked at a variety of issues relating to innovation in the enterprise. The results of this survey are summarized in the white paper, Innovation from Art to Science (Part 1) which can be downloaded at http://www.delphigroup.com/research/whitepapers.htm. Charts reveal the innovation tools currently used by enterprises, common methods for innovation and tools for measuring innovation.
“We take innovation for granted as something that happens naturally when we apply ourselves to the task of creatively thinking about a market challenge to deliver a new product or service,” writes Delphi Group president Thomas M. Koulopoulos in the white paper. “That view is far from the truth. Most often, innovation ends up involving high measures of serendipity and simple brute force.”
Part of the difficulty in understanding innovation is pinning down a definition. The Delphi Group survey approached the challenge of defining innovation from the standpoint of, ‘I’ll know it when I see it,” asking respondents what sort of innovation they had most often been involved with personally.
Interestingly, the group was split on whether innovation is a product/process or an organizational experience. 40% of survey respondents indicated that innovation reflects a new vision or strategy for the entire organization, as opposed to a product or process improvement. A third believed that innovation is part of creating radical new products or processes. Another 29% had experienced innovation as incremental change to a process.
56% of the survey responses indicated that innovation is most likely to be promoted by tools for Knowledge Management (KM). Tools for KM, which have become prevalent over the past decade, are a platform for sharing practices and experiences in ways that accelerate the process of innovation. “This response indicates that KM is a bright light on the horizon,” said Koulopoulos. “We expect to see KM continue to be a key element of Innovation Management and ultimately a core competency for any organization which intends to excel in its efforts to innovate.”
These findings point to a broad application of innovation across nearly all aspects of an enterprise’s product, processes, and vision. “The survey response indicates that innovation is not just a lofty ambition for the next great product; it plays a continuous role in all aspects of a business,” said Koulopoulos, “Innovation is a systemic approach rather than a periodic or cyclical phenomenon.”
About Perot Systems
Perot Systems is a worldwide provider of information technology services and business solutions. Through its flexible and collaborative approach, Perot Systems integrates expertise from across the company to deliver custom solutions that enable clients to accelerate growth, streamline operations, and create new levels of customer value. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Perot Systems reported 2005 revenue of $2.0 billion. The company has more than 17,000 associates located in North America, Europe, and Asia. Additional information on Perot Systems is available at http://www.perotsystems.com/.
Delphi Group, Perot Systems’ research, consulting and conference division, has provided technology management advisory services to the Global 2000 since 1989. Through focused market research, consulting and value-driven educational programs, Delphi Group illuminates the role of technology in the digital enterprise.
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