Innovation Centers Critical for Success, Even in a Digital Age. A Frost & Sullivan White Paper

Transcription

1 Innovation Centers Critical for Success, Even in a Digital Age A Frost & Sullivan White Paper

2 frost.com Introduction... 3 The Value of Innovation Centers in an Increasingly Dispersed World... 4 Key Criteria for a Successful Experience... 4 How to Select a Design-and-build Partner... 5 Conclusion... 6 Contents

3 Introduction In today s virtual work environment in which mobility is key and everyone seems to be working from a location that is different from that of their colleagues, customers, and business partners a lot of emphasis is placed on the need to enable remote workers to communicate and collaborate with their distant teammates. But even the most leading-edge organizations should not ignore the value of innovation centers that make it easy for companies to show off their latest products and services, offer a peek into their labs, and allow customers and partners to interact live with people and things. This is especially true for large companies in the technology industry, where innovation is at once critical and increasingly digitized. Leading vendors, including IBM and Verizon, are recognizing the value of building end-to-end collaboration spaces that support employees, customers, and partners by bringing together people and technology to drive innovation and creativity. Such spaces which can occupy an entire floor of a building or a single office suite are ideally designed with comfort and accessibility in mind, while incorporating the latest in conferencing and collaboration technology. The goal: to seamlessly enable in-person and virtual collaboration among designers, engineers, academics, executives, and other global teams, while surfacing the results for customers and partners. Cutting-edge innovation zones are purpose built to welcome guests with soft lighting, comfortable but practical furniture, coffee and snack stations, digital white boards, smaller break-out rooms, and so on. But they should also include advanced collaboration technology, including video conferencing, interactive displays, and unified communications solutions, to enable remote participants to work with in-person teams and bring in experts, analysts, and other contributors from around the world. Designing and implementing these spaces requires a strategic approach that starts with a vision; includes a flexible infrastructure and workspace design; integrates carefully selected technologies with easy-to-use control systems; and includes 24/7 support to keep operations running smoothly at all times. All rights reserved 2016 Frost & Sullivan 3

4 The Value of Innovation Centers in an Increasingly dispersed World Frost & Sullivan research reveals that business is increasingly mobile and global. A recent survey of more than 400 US-based businesses shows that more than half of all employees are considered virtual, meaning they do not work in a corporate office and instead spend the majority of their workday at a remote site, home office, client location, or on the road. This shift has led to a dramatic increase in the reliance on unified communications and collaboration (UCC) tools, including advanced conferencing and white boarding capabilities, in order to support virtual workers and help them support their business partners and customers. And, indeed, making it easy and cost effective for employees to share information, work together on projects and teams, and feel as though they are in the same room or office even when they are miles or continents apart is critical for success in today s workplace. But some businesses still need to offer customers and partners the chance to touch their products, literally and figuratively. This is especially true for large technology vendors, which spend an enormous amount on R&D and whose reputations are based on innovation. There is no better way to impress prospective buyers and channel partners than to show them the latest and greatest technology coming out of your labs, letting them experience the products hands on, with guidance from the developers and product managers involved in the project from day one. But that may not be as easy as it sounds these days, when many tech companies have resources, developers, and labs spread around the world. With dispersed product teams, it can be impossible to invite a visitor to a single location to experience the full breadth of development: the designers and marketers might be in the United States; the engineers and coders might be in India, Poland, and Ireland; and the manufacturing might be conducted in China. As a result, many companies are turning to Innovation Centers to showcase their technology in the most compelling way possible. These sites make it easy and effective for customers and partners as well as shareholders, analysts, and members of the press to see, evaluate, question, and test drive new products and services. Here, prospective buyers and other important constituents can touch and play with new devices and applications; ask questions of designers, developers, marketers, and executives; get a sneak peek into planned innovations and product roadmaps; and see the technology in action to assess its viability in the marketplace. In these centers, large tech companies can launch new products from their internal teams, or help a symbiotic business or start-up develop and launch a new solution that runs on the host s technology in the background. Both are compelling ways to create more mindshare and engage deeper with the public at large. Key Criteria for a Successful Experience An Innovation Center is all about the experience. Companies should use them to create a sense of wonder and excitement among guests and staff alike. That means paying attention to the entire space, as well as the technology within it. Ideally, the space should look and feel almost like a store, with new technology, gadgets, and applications not just on display, but available to touch and interact with. It should be filled with light and open spaces, with comfortable chairs and smart looking tables and display stands; large, accessible, high-definition video screens; custom controls for audio and video endpoints; a theater for screenings and talks; and a number of small collaboration spaces for ad-hoc discussions and development. Some companies even include a coffee and snack bar, ensuring visitors can relax and recharge even as they absorb the technology. 4 All rights reserved 2016 Frost & Sullivan

5 When designing such a space, tech companies should be sure to consider four key elements: Strategy It s critical to spend time up front designing your Innovation Center to deliver the results that best fit your business. Think about everything from your corporate culture, to the types of technologies you plan to showcase, to the range of visitors you expect to host. Pay close attention to video, lighting and design, allowing for plenty of break-out spaces, places to recharge (people and devices), and opportunities to create wonder. Interactive Environments Innovation Centers should make it easy for people to interact with the technology you are showcasing, as well as with one another. Although their value comes in the real-world experience they offer, it s imperative to incorporate video and audio technology to enable that interaction among the people on site, as well as people who might be located miles or continents away. Include large, high-definition screens, wrap-around sound, simple controls, and video and audio conferencing capabilities so that anyone can join the discussion from anywhere. Use interactive white boards to bring technology specs and design to life. And make sure to offer small gathering spaces so that small groups can break off and collaborate on the fly. Enterprise Management Custom controls for all audio and video endpoints, combined with automation where appropriate, will make everything from theaters to video conferencing to small-group collaboration run more smoothly. Ideally, you ll want to make it easy for the center s staff, your other employees, and your customers and business partners to navigate their way through the space you don t want the technology getting in the way of your own technology showcase. Round-the-clock Global Support You want your Innovation Center to be open outside of traditional business hours and that requires global, 24-by-7 support. Frost & Sullivan research shows that managed video services are growing at a CAGR of 12% globally, as more and more companies realize the value of outsourcing all or part of their video conferencing infrastructure and endpoints to an expert service provider. They re recognizing that letting an expert manage their video conferencing and related technologies allows them to focus on the technology initiatives that are core to their business without losing quality or control. How to Select a Design-and-build Partner Any number of service providers can deliver basic video conferencing capabilities, but a successful innovation center requires much more than that. First, look for a partner that can help you develop a strategy by offering advice on what technology to include, maximize the user experience, deal with any architectural constraints, and improve workflows for video and other forms of collaboration. Make sure they understand your vision and that they can align their solutions with your goals. Then, confirm that the partner can help you identify and integrate a wide range of hardware, software or cloud solutions to best match your needs. You ll also want a partner that can design custom controls, as well as meet your needs around standards and security whether it s within a single innovation center or across an entire campus. Ask if they can leverage business analytics and unified communications to create a standard user experience, both inside the Innovation Center and throughout your organization, that will incorporate best practices for all your collaboration needs. All rights reserved 2016 Frost & Sullivan 5

6 Finally, find a partner that can promise and deliver complete, round-the-clock support. Managing the quality, reliability, and security of all the audio and video components in a modern Innovation Center can be a daunting task for even the largest technology vendors. Outsourcing day-to-day management to a provider that is certified on a wide range of popular hardware, software, and infrastructure can free up your internal IT staff for other projects more central to your core operations. But you ll also need a partner with experience in designing the right environmental conditions and other technical components (including lighting, controls, and programming) to make everything work, every time. Conclusion In an increasingly global, mobile, and virtual workplace, large technology companies cannot ignore the value of an in-person site for customer and partner development. As vendors continue to expand their innovation teams to all corners of the earth, they must provide a way for prospective buyers and partners to literally get their hands on new products and services, and to interface with developers and designers so that they can ask questions and get answers from the experts. Innovation Centers allow companies to showcase their newest technology in a controlled environment designed expressly for the purpose of highlighting their best and brightest work, or that of their partners. Customers can play with new software and devices in a comfortable, fully optimized space: the technology will always perform at its best, under great lighting and network conditions; experts can be immediately called upon from anywhere in the world to supply detailed product and design information; and customers can meet, in person, with company executives and salespeople in a relaxing environment that encourages them to explore new tools and innovations. To successfully craft an Innovation Center, companies must work with a partner with experience in designing an environment that will produce the desired results. This includes paying attention to both the physical environment everything from furniture and lighting to refreshments and controls and the virtual one, using video conferencing, interactive white boards, and other advanced collaboration technology to include people from all over the world in real time. Companies that get it right will see a significant return on their investment and a bump in their position as thought leaders in their industry. 6 All rights reserved 2016 Frost & Sullivan

7 Auckland Bahrain Bangkok Beijing Bengaluru Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dammam Delhi Detroit Dubai Frankfurt Herzliya Houston Irvine Iskander Malaysia/Johor Bahru Istanbul Jakarta Kolkata Kotte Colombo Kuala Lumpur London Manhattan Miami Milan Moscow Mountain View Mumbai Oxford Paris Pune Rockville Centre San Antonio São Paulo Seoul Shanghai Shenzhen Singapore Sydney Taipei Tokyo Toronto Valbonne Warsaw SILICON VALLEY 331 E. Evelyn Ave., Suite 100 Mountain View, CA Tel Fax SAN ANTONIO 7550 West Interstate 10, Suite 400 San Antonio, TX Tel Fax LONDON 4 Grosvenor Gardens London SW1W 0DH Tel +44 (0) Fax +44 (0) GoFrost myfrost@frost.com MELANIE TUREK Vice President Enterprise Communications Frost & Sullivan P: E: melanie.turek@frost.com Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today s market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the Global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies? For information regarding permission, write: Frost & Sullivan 331 E. Evelyn Ave., Suite 100 Mountain View, CA Sponsored by whitlock.com