Digital Scientists is your product innovation lab based in greater Atlanta. Improving the human experience since 2007. BOB KLEIN Chief Executive Officer & Founder bob.klein@digitalscientists.com @bobklein 404.654.3855 digitalscientists.com
DIGITAL SCIENTISTS OUR TEAM By the numbers 11 years in business 24 thinkers, makers & doers 1 Amazon Prime Day product 3 office locations 2 office dogs (and 1 robot) 1 product on Shark Tank 150 cups of coffee a week
DIGITAL SCIENTISTS RECENT AND FAVORITE PARTNERS A few of our friends
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS WHY COLLABORATE Why Collaborate and Partner with Outside Teams? For organizations, surviving in the face of change requires their leaders to do two critical but contradictory things: 1) Exploit existing assets and capabilities through continual incremental innovation and change 2) Explore new markets and technologies where their existing assets and capabilities can give them competitive advantage over new entrants C. A. O Reilly III and M. L. Tushman, Lead and Disrupt-How to solve the innovator s dilemma, Redwood City, CA: Stanford University Press, 2016.
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS WHEN & WHY What really drives partnering for innovation? Speed Skills Capacity Threats Learning New technology New markets
QUESTION COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS Poll Question What is the primary driver for you to partner for innovation? Speed Skills Capacity Threats Learning New technology New markets
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS OPEN INNOVATION Open Innovation Research Development Commercialization Company Boundaries IP in-licensing s in-sourced (e.g. Co-branding) Core Market Focus Company Boundaries Ideas & Technology IP out-licensing Technology Spin-outs
QUESTION COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS Poll Question Where have you had the most success partnering with an outside team? Research Development Commercialization
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS INNOVATION SOURCES Outside Teams? Top Management Innovation steering committee, Chief Innovation Officer or other senior executives, who set the strategy and direction of innovation. Central R&D Within - Unit R&D Innovation Lab Intrapeneur All Employees University / Researcher External Opinion Leader R&D entity that is centrally managed and financed by the company. R&D entities that are located at different business levels of the company. Innovation lab consisting of a cross-functional team to carry out independent innovation or to serve as an innovation hub in an innovation hot spot such as Silicon Valley. Employees who work on their own innovation projects (usually part-time) with the support of the company. Includes all employees of the company who work on innovation either full-time or part-time. Universities or researchers who are sponsored by the company or have an innovation agreement with the company. Policy makers or opinion leaders who are part of the company s external advisory board. Consulting / Design Firm Consulting or design firms that provide innovation-related insights and services. Extended Enterprise Technology Vendor Startup Other Firms Independent Innovator Crowd Customer Firms that are in the value chain of the company, such as the company s suppliers. Vendors of advanced technologies, such as Internet of Things technology providers. Startups that are solicited through innovation scouting, incubation, acceleration, corporate venture capital, acquisition, etc. Other big firms that innovate with the company through collaboration, licensing, joint venture, etc. Independent innovators who can be reached through 3rd party or corporate innovator networks. Crowds that can be solicited via crowd-sourcing platforms, Hackathons, innovation competitions, or developer networks. Customers who provide feedback regarding the company s innovation, and participate in co-creation or proof-of-concept. N. Thompson, D. Bonnet, and I. Yun YE, The Foundations of Corporate Innovation in the Digital Age, Capgemini Consulting & MIT Center for Digital Business, 2018; MIT-Capgemini corporate innovation analysis (from literature review and interviews)
QUESTION COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS Poll Question Are you currently using or working with an outside team? Yes No
QUESTION COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS Poll Question Which outside teams would offer you the most opportunity for innovation? University Consulting / Design Firms Technology Vendors Startups
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS TYPES OF INNOVATION Innovation Sources by Type Core All employees [30], Customer [31] Adjacent Transformational Independent innovator, Crowd [32], Startup, Technology vendor, Intrapreneur, Extended enterprise, Other firms Central R&D, University/researcher [32], Extended enterprise [11], Innovation lab N. Thompson, D. Bonnet, and I. Yun YE, The Foundations of Corporate Innovation in the Digital Age, Capgemini Consulting & MIT Center for Digital Business, 2018.
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS OPEN INNOVATION Open Innovation - One Example of Collaboration Research Development Commercialization Research Proof of Concept Prototype MVP Build Launch Mgmt Design Core Market Focus Software Engineering Company Boundaries Data Science Open Stack, Any environment, No PII Same Tech Stack, Similar Environment, No PII Same Stack, Environment & PII Data
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS TYPES OF TEAMS Different options to engage an outside team The type of team you need depends on your end goal 1 2 3 4 Startup Collaboration Staff Augmentation Team for Hire Collaborative Team
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS TYPES OF TEAMS 1 Startup Collaboration When does this type of team make sense? Influential Customer Jumpstart growth Explore new markets Learn new technologies Positioned to understand early disruptors Manager Solution Architect Designer Developer
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS TYPES OF TEAMS 1 Startup Collaboration Pros Willingness to work with larger firms Ability to 'steer' the product development Ability to gain some insights into new technology and new business models Cons Only so much startups are willing to share All the challenge of startups (fleeting, instability, leadership, money (VC's), chaos...) Manager Designer Influential Customer Developer Solution Architect
CASE STUDY INTERNET OF THINGS An Atlanta-based startup saw an opportunity to protect the nearly 11 million packages stolen by porch pirates by creating the first internet-connected smart security padlock that caters specifically to residential customers. BoxLock, Inc. partnered with Digital Scientists to create an IoT padlock for consumer and commercial use. Retail IoT Consumer product Startup Minimum Viable (MVP) Integrated with 3 rd Party APIs: USPS, UPS, FedEx, Amazon
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS TYPES OF TEAMS 2 Staff Augmentation When does this type of team make sense? Short term capacity help needed Acceleration of timeline needed Very specific type of help required One and done Manager Owner Solution Architect Designer Developer Developer
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS TYPES OF TEAMS 2 Staff Augmentation Pros New staff completes team with new/missing skillset Maintain control over existing team Flexible - can add or cut as needed Keep costs down Owner Cons May need to train on internal processes Need capacity to manage new staff Manager Solution Architect May slow down team for onboarding New people may not be in sync with existing team Adding skills, but may not be adding knowledge Designer Developer Developer
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS TYPES OF TEAMS 3 Team for Hire When does this type of team make sense? Many positions required Cross functional roles needed Definitive timelines Complex projects Looking to gain exposure to new ways of working *Think about cultural fit* Manager Designer Owner Developer Solution Architect
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS TYPES OF TEAMS 3 Team for Hire Pros Speed to product; Synergistic team/familiarity - work together well Ready to work on day one Access to expertise plus methodology & process Autonomy from internal politics Separation from the brand(s) Cons Management required by the owner Challenge working with internal team More costly than hiring employees No access to company specific knowledge Manager Designer Owner Developer Solution Architect
CASE STUDY DIGITAL INNOVATION - INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIER Facilities Management A Fortune 500 company needed to stay competitive with online giants like Amazon, and determined it must transition from solely a distributor / supplier to an integrated service provider capturing customer s needs and identifying opportunities for growth. Digital Scientists helped create a platform prototype of a personnel & asset manager for property managers. Multi-context dashboard interface for maintenance activities & status Predictive ordering approaches Create and collect inventory data for existing property installations Supporting voice UI appliance
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS TYPES OF TEAMS 4 Collaborative Team When does this type of team make sense? Long-term relationship Large project scope / R&D Manager Manager Internal resources limited Unable to increase scale & support existing Solution Architect Owner Solution Architect business Looking to learn new tools, methodologies & processes Designer Developer Developer Designer
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS TYPES OF TEAMS Pros 4 Collaborative Team Immediate increase in capacity to get things done Real exposure to new ways of launching products Manager Manager New insights into problem solving Experience in launching products Cons Solution Architect Owner Solution Architect May represent a challenge to the internal group Potential arguments around technologies, tools, Designer Designer process, etc. Developer Developer "We don't need any help" attitude Questions around ownership of final product
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS MAKING THE TRANSFER Making the knowledge transfer Are we getting any smarter? Transfer only happens if it is a defined output for the engagement, regardless of model Document process/practices/lessons learned Pair programming to ensure in-house team prepared to support new product Document as you go, not only at project completion Plan for training and documentation at completion
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS RECAP Key takeaways Many reasons to consider working with an outside team: Speed, Skills, Capacity, Threats, Learning, New technology, New markets The type of outside team you need depends on your end goal and how your internal team is structured Making the knowledge transfer is critical; planning for training and documentation is a necessity Start building your partner network
MASTER CALL COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUTSIDE TEAMS Q&A Questions?
Thank you Celebrating 11 years of improving the human experience
> What s next for Innovation Leader Our next live call: The Future of Retail with Pano Athnos, Online, Dec. 11 at 1 p.m. ET Our next in-person event: Atlanta Field Study, Exploring Cultivating Talent and Building Competitive Advantage. Atlanta, December 5-6, 2018 Our first 2019 event: San Francisco Field Study, Immersive Learning in San Francisco and the Valley. San Francisco, February 28 - March 1, 2019 For more information visit innovationleader.com