Renewing oneself under one's own steam can be quite strenuous for organizations. But it doesn't have to be: Fortunately, innovation is now available as a service. What it's all about:
Sure, not at all easy to navigate through a constantly changing world. And to be constantly on top of the game at the same time? Not a chance! At least not if you want to do everything yourself. Many companies regularly fail when they start to reinvent themselves. Often, they put too much of a leash on the teams responsible for this and crush them, sometimes they lack the concept, the direction or the vision. Whatever the case, in the end, nothing clever comes of it. And: Then the frustration is great!
But there are solutions: Innovation-as-a-Service (IaaS) can help. It is as simple as it is logical. When companies fail in their own quest for innovation, they simply outsource it and buy in the reinvention of their own company. Whether it's a medium-sized company or a large corporation. No one would have thought that Volkswagen would do everything itself and in-house, would they?
The fact that there are companies that help you put your structures and processes to the test and turn them from head to toe is probably still a surprise to many. It's astonishing, really, when you consider that there are also agencies that take care of communication for you, and management consultancies that calculate and optimize your own business cases.
IaaS, it has to be said, is still relatively new. The concept has gained popularity in recent years - and if you think about it, it has a few significant advantages over in-house innovation. Those who outsource, it can be summarized, still have time to focus on their core competencies. The outsourced experts do the innovation work, while the core team keeps things running.
Would you like an example? Sure! Today, every company has to communicate. Nevertheless, many mid-sized companies still don't have a communications department. And then the concept is often missing. And then communication is often left to its own devices and is not seen as part of the company's value creation. After all, if you talk to your customers, listen to them and learn from this conversation to improve yourself, you are innovating.
It's just that those who specialize in manufacturing are often not specialized in building a highly efficient communications department that meets the demands of a modern working world. Trend analyses, idea sessions, prototype development and product tests - these are the things that an innovation agency takes on, tailored to the specific needs of the company in question. Always on the pulse of the times and the latest technologies: AI, social, Web3. Because only those who know how to play the entire keyboard of the Internet can survive today in the long term - and successfully restructure their company over and over again.
Bastian Hosen is a business journalist and content consultant. He was trained at the German School of Journalism. Before starting his own business, he worked at Business Punk and Capital.
