How leaders can navigate digital innovation

In today’s age of artificial intelligence, blockchain and Web3, business leaders are acutely aware of the importance of digital innovation.

They know that evolving with technology is essential to ensure their companies can survive and thrive long-term.

However, being able to navigate digital innovation can be difficult, even for leaders with a strong understanding of technology, especially when they must manage the risks and challenges that arise along the way. 

In this blog, we’ll clearly explain how leaders with any level of technology know-how can position their organisations for success.

The importance of digital innovation

Even some of the most advanced tech companies have crashed and burned because they’ve failed to continue innovating.   Some high profile examples of those that have struggled or failed include:

• • Blackberry Blackberry was once a leader in the smartphone market, but when it failed to adopt touchscreen technology it was surpassed by Apple and Samsung.
  • Kodak Kodak fell from grace upon the emergence of digital photography because competitors were quicker to embrace the new technology.
  • Myspace Social media network Myspace had a strong first-mover advantage, but wasn’t able to innovate as fast as Facebook.
  • Blockbuster Blockbuster dominated the home movie rental industry but by failing to see the opportunity of online streaming, the company was overtaken by the likes of Netflix.

Create a digital innovation plan

To avoid falling behind like the companies mentioned above, it’s important to be proactive and come up with a digital innovation plan. 

The first thing a leader must do is decide on which areas of their business can be transformed and then decide where most of their time and energy should be focussed.

Once these areas have been identified, it’s a matter of creating a plan that is sustainable and efficient.

The four D’s of innovation

When creating your grand plan, consider ‘the 4 Ds of innovation’. These four stages are:

1. 1. Define This is the first step in the innovation process, where the problem or opportunity being addressed is clearly defined, along with the desired outcomes and any constraints or limitations that need to be considered.
   2. Discover In this stage, potential ideas are discussed and evaluated. This may involve market research, prototyping and testing.
   3. Develop Blockchain can help facilitate the exchange of information between different systems and platforms, enabling greater interoperability and collaboration.
   4. Demonstrate In the final stage, the solution is demonstrated to stakeholders, including customers, investors or regulatory bodies. It’s now when the solution should be made ready for rollout.

Technologies to consider

Various technologies can play a part in an enterprise’s digital transformation and innovation strategy, however those that will certainly play a key role in the near future include:

• • Blockchain Blockchain is crucial to digital innovation because it provides a secure and transparent platform for recording, storing and sending data. Its decentralised nature makes it resistant to tampering or manipulation, which is ideal for use in a large range of applications.
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) Artificial intelligence is crucial to digital innovation because it allows computers to analyse and understand large amounts of data, make decisions based on that data, and learn from their experiences, enabling them to perform tasks that would otherwise be too complex or time-consuming for humans to handle.
  • Internet of Things (IoT) The Internet of Things (IoT) enables the connection and communication of physical objects and devices over the internet. This enables organizations to gain insights, automate processes, and improve efficiency in a variety of applications, from supply chain management to customer experience.

Rewired.one partners with large enterprises, startup businesses and government agencies to unlock the full power and value of blockchain technology.

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Seek help from digital innovation experts

From consulting to engineering, the team at rewired.one guides enterprises through every step of their digital innovation strategy.

Our experts can guide leaders through feasibility and business case preparation, as well as prototyping and development.

 

Your process starts with a discovery session, to understand what’s next. Request to book one for free, right now.