Innovation can battle the credit crunch

IT departments must be allowed to identify and solve business problems, says Gartner

Innovation can help to kick start company growth, but the right tactics must be followed.

Innovation
Mr. McGee said companies need “IT innovation of the third kind.” The first kind of IT innovation occurs when IT practitioners improve technical solutions to meet IT needs that were identified and initiated by IT people. This can be done through infrastructure modernisation with faster Internet speeds, cheaper storage, or improved flexibility through virtualisation.

The second kind of IT innovation occurs when IT practitioners design innovative IT solutions to meet business needs that were identified and initiated by business people. This can be achieved with more CRM channels, smarter business intelligence analytic tools, or better mobile devices.

“The third kind of IT innovation takes place when IT practitioners design innovative IT solutions to meet business needs that were identified and initiated by IT people,” Mr. McGee said. “While innovation itself is the first imperative, focusing the value of IT to your organisation over the coming years will require attention to five more imperatives.”

The six imperatives for innovation of the third kind include: Innovate, Globalise, Connect, Socialise, Advance, and Industrialise.

Businesses must change their approach to innovation to overcome the threat of economic instability, says analyst Gartner.

Building strong lines of communication between technical staff and enterprise leaders can help to drive company growth, according to the research group. The key to successful innovation is to have IT workers tackle business problems that they themselves have identified, as opposed to those spotted by other departments.

This approach will help align IT managers to the future needs of an organisation, rather than focusing on in-house infrastructure improvements or issues identified by upper management. By looking ahead to the challenges of the next five years, companies can negate the effects of the current economic climate.

“The worst consequences of this recession can be reversed, and the road to business growth can be rediscovered by countering innovation with innovation,” said Ken McGee, vice president at Gartner.

But it is important to adopt these tactics sooner rather than later if the greatest benefits are to be gained, said McGee.

“If you wait for the official declaration that this recession has ended before you plan for growth, you will have lost months or even a year of opportunity to return to business growth."