Angelo Morelli is the global lead for New-Product Development and Innovation for Accenture Communications, Media and Technology. angelo.morelli@accenture.com
Emmanuel Lalloz is the global marketing lead for Accenture Communications. emmanuel.lalloz@accenture.com
The world is moving through a period of rapid and revolutionary advancements in information communications and technology capabilities, even at a time when the global economy is moving backward. Both optimism and frank awareness of the challenges ahead were themes of the 2009 Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona in February. On the one hand, as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer put it during his keynote address to the Congress, no matter what the economy holds in store over the next few years, technology-fueled innovation is on a steep, upward trajectory of success.
On the other hand, many commentators at the Congress shared the sense that such innovation in the mobile industry depends on moving to a more open development environment less restricted by incompatible operating systems and devices. While sharing Ballmer's general optimism, other executives at the Congress expressed concern that the current development environment and the proliferation of operating systems may lead to islands of products and services, which can stifle rather than accelerate innovation.
Accenture believes that stimulating innovation in the communications, media and technology industries is also much more than a technology issue. The world will continue to see proliferation of services and "screens"—the types and numbers of networked devices. That means, however, that behind those screens there needs to be a lot of work done from a consumer-centric point of view, making the experience of using the products and services both powerful and simple.
As Telefónica's executive chairman César Alierta said in his address to the Congress, the industry's success "will come from providing the consumer with a much better experience based upon providing value.”
As companies plot their strategies for achieving high performance over the next few years, they should be thinking about at least three things: They need to think new, think easy and think connected.
Make it New
Innovation doesn't stop during an economic downturn. In fact, it's more important than ever. Accenture research into previous recessionary periods shows a clear ability of the better market performers to pull away from their competition during, and then especially immediately after, a recession. A commitment to innovation is a big part of that differentiation.
New Accenture research—released during the 2009 Mobile World Congress—indicates, however, that companies in the communications, media and technology industries are struggling when it comes to effective, cost-efficient new-product development. Our research found that 70 percent of telecommunications carriers, high-tech companies and media firms stopped development of at least some of their services and products last year. The biggest reason: budget overruns linked to slow and inefficient development processes and a shortage of people with the experience to generate innovations or manage the new-product development process.
In today's economic environment, it's crucial for companies to increase their return on investment in innovation and product development. So the waste implied in a high rate of abandoned projects is a cause for concern.
On the positive side, our research found a correlation between companies that meet or exceed their new-product launch plans—a group we term innovation masters—and those that leverage third parties and specialized providers in an open development environment. Whereas average new-product launch times across our global sample was six months, companies leveraging an open development model were significantly more likely to have launch times under three months.