Trend Topic 2017: Why Co-Innovation is Becoming the New Hype

In today’s interconnected and increasingly complex world, it is becoming more difficult for companies to keep pace and stay competitive.

While technology continues to advance unchecked, user demands and innovation pressure are constantly rising. In many industries, the pressure is already so great that innovations are no longer seen as “game changers” but as essential for survival. In the digital era 4.0, companies are increasingly relying on strategic partnerships to gain cross-industry innovation advantages.

Innovation Challenges Companies to Rethink

Creating and driving innovation is anything but easy in the age of the Internet of Things, the comprehensive networking that comes with it, and the resulting immense amounts of data that need to be managed. The multitude of applications and technological complexity require broad expertise. A single company practically cannot accomplish this alone. This is exactly where new approaches like co-innovation and open innovation come in. But these also require a change in mindset on the part of companies.

Developing Ideas Together

Following the motto “Together we are strong!”, the concept of co-innovation involves generating and evaluating ideas with business partners, universities of applied sciences, and universities. Customers, industry partners, suppliers, and even competitors are involved on a project-by-project and flexible basis. All participants jointly develop, plan, and test new functions and applications for corresponding offerings and products. Through co-innovation, knowledge is also incorporated to further accelerate and optimize the innovation process. In practice, partners handle this through long-term alliances, joint ventures, or joint development centers.

The Co-Innovation Challenge: New Paths, Sustainable Success

ascendo ensures that the fruits of co-innovation arrive in the business world. The advancing trend of digitalization is the means to an end for generating sustainable value. The key to success is, as so often: project management by professionals! This applies both to initial customers and to the startup company itself. Therefore, ascendo particularly supports young startups with know-how and extensive experience.

ascendo brings together diverse skills, ideas, and market experiences and minimizes investment risk. ascendo establishes mutually beneficial relationships from the start and ensures that commercial value is created at the end of the journey.

Guest article by Managing Director Manuel Kathofer – ascendo Professionals Consulting GmbH

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