Technology Innovation

Some time ago, Steve Jobs was quoted as saying, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower;” and that statement has never been more meaningful than it is today. At a time when the even the most fundamental elements of business success are being reevaluated and redefined, one thing becomes increasingly clear: innovation is no longer a “nice to have;” it’s a “must have.” If innovation distinguished between leaders and followers in the recent past, today it increasingly distinguishes between survivors and the barely breathing. Innovation is the new Darwinism in business; the choice facing companies today is simple: innovate, or perish.

The companies that will survive today’s economic environment and succeed in tomorrow’s are those willing to continually reinvent themselves, their products, their brands, their processes-in short, the way they do business. Many organizations are even looking for innovative ways to innovate, replacing traditional brainstorming techniques with new, more inventive processes. Introduce the world to the new new thing, the bleeding edge technology, the better mousetrap, the reinvented paradigm and there’s a good bet you’ll remain ahead of the curve and be around to reap the rewards in the future.

The Innovators

The topic of innovation certainly isn’t new; it’s been the business buzz word for several years now. We’ve all read about it in business magazines and heard the reports on financial news stations. Harvard Business School professors lecture on it at conferences and scores of books address it. And the same companies are consistently held up as the elite innovators-Apple, Google, Nintendo, JetBlue, Toyota, Target (and today again, WalMart). And there are hundreds and even thousands more you’ve never heard of, visionary companies that are seizing the opportunities (yes, opportunities) presented by the current economic phase, breaking the rules, establishing new standards, delivering incredible value, and then starting that process all over again…and again, and again. These companies come in all shapes and sizes, and exist in every industry-technology, biotech, pharma, automotive, consumer packaged goods, retail, you name it, they’re out there, outthinking and outdoing everyone else in their fields. Whatever they’re playing field, they all have one thing in common: they innovate.

Three Not-So-Easy Choices

Today, businesses face three choices. In many cases, none may be easy to make.

1. Actively innovate. Stay at the forefront of their industry and their competitive set, doing whatever it takes to meet constantly evolving market conditions and consumer demand.

2. React. Wait for others to set the standard and play catch-up, forever scrambling to match the latest development introduced by market leaders.

3. Do nothing. Stay right where they are, do their best to survive, and almost certainly stagnate, eventually drifting into irrelevance, and finally, extinction. Innovate or perish.

Innovation of the Individual

By the way, the innovation imperative doesn’t only apply to businesses; it’s a challenge facing individuals, as well, again, even more so today. Each and every one of us who collects (or hopes to collect) a paycheck has at least one consumer, the person responsible for our professional future. Individual employees must also continually reassess their approach and establish their value, or face the same dismal fate as their corporate counterparts. In fact, while we are currently facing increasing jobless numbers, still more than 90% of the workforce remains employed. While in many cases circumstances beyond the control of the individual are responsible, what might that 10% do, innovatively, that could help them make it back into the 90%?

Work Your Innovation Chops

The time to develop an innovation orientation is not tomorrow or next week or in the third quarter. It’s now.

Begin actively searching for new, better, more productive ways of doing things. Utilize proven innovation tools-advanced ideation techniques, new technologies, breakthrough processes. Adopt an “innovation mindset,” asking yourself every day, “How could I do this better?” Turn yourself and your organization into an Innovation Machine. You will not only survive this evolutionary upheaval, you will thrive.

By: Keith Harmeyer

In many school districts the technology team spends much more time repairing equipment or answering software questions from faculty rather than planning new projects or helping teachers incorporate technology into their instruction.

In addition, according to a recent survey, IT staffing shortages continue to afflict schools keeping many of them from realizing the full potential of classroom technology as a learning tool. The survey indicated that less than one third of the respondents work in districts where adequate IT staff is present to meet their needs. On top of that, slightly more than half of those who responded indicated they spend more than half their time addressing help desk issues instead of working on long-range planning and projects. The survey suggests that the burdens placed on school technology teams are limiting innovation rather than fostering it.

Classroom Integration

Topping the list of specific IT positions the respondents said were lacking in the schools was instructional technologist, an indication that teachers are not getting the help they need to use classroom technology to improve their instruction.

Funding Challenges

Most school leaders cite funding as the number one challenge facing their technology departments and one source of their staffing problems as well. Even districts who have received grants for equipment have problems going forward. Once district received a $600,000 for laptops but is now faced with replacement and upgrade costs to the district when the grant money is gone.

Rapid Technological Advances

Another key challenge to school IT departments is the rapid pace at which new or upgraded forms of technology are emerging. For example, bandwidth needs have increased tremendously in recent years, driven by the rise of video applications, and are placing a huge burden on school network infrastructures.

The Impact of Data

One technology department staff member reports that they support over twenty disparate data systems that directly support classroom technology. The time spent supporting databases is now equal to time spent on desktop support.

Conclusion

Without the help they need from the experts in the IT department to help them integrate computer technology into their lesson plans, teachers are challenged to find classroom technology that does not require IT support. In this computer-centric, visually-oriented age, we often forget about our tried-and-true technologies, such as educational DVDs and video, that work reliably a majority of the time, even when other technologies fail.

If you’re interested in avoiding “The 7 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make Using Video in the Classroom” and want to start experiencing the benefits of using video effectively in your classroom, your next step is to download a FREE copy of “The 7 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make Using Video in the Classroom” right now.

By: Kimberly Stohlman

Today integrating technology is the buzzword, business leaders across the world can’t stop discussing about how technology will transform our present business environment. How tech savvy companies will extinct the rudimentary one. Learning from late nineties dotcom bust, we know technology is no one pill panacea for business problems but a tool which make our management efficient and effective. Technology enables us to have more information to take our decisions but it can’t take our decision. The decisions still has to be taken by humans behind it.

Management faces some real time difficulties in managing technology – the foremost among them is – when is the right time to invest in technology. Most business fear to invest at present stage as they believe that technology is changing so fast that investment made today will become rudimentary in the near future and the investments might not able to realize the total cost incurred in it.

Secondly when and how to move to the next stage – Apart from going ahead with investing in technology for the first time, the company has to chart out a detailed plan on how it will phase out the present technological level to move to next level. Gradual transformation over the period of time holds the key in managing technology both on the shop floor and on the balance sheet.

Technology is not only changing paradigm of how to do business but it also taking it to the next level where most industry player will not only look at technology just to cut costs but also to drive innovations and efficiencies.

By: Andy Mann

It is easy to measure performance and quality and other metrics because these are all either discrete or continuous data. However, how will one measure innovation? If someone has the initiative to change things and improve processes, how does one ultimately measure if the innovation applied is successful or effective? For years and years, the business community has not really figured out a way of measuring how effective implemented changes are. But now, there is an accepted way of measuring innovation and this is done to standardize innovation policies across the business and commerce sectors.

The truth is, we cannot quantify innovation. What we can measure is the process and if the people working on a certain company or organization will embrace these processes, the company is bound to achieve its goals. The people who run the company should also be willing to take risks in spending for innovation. One type of change or improvement may not really bring about satisfactory results. However, it is very likely that the next one will.

It is a given fact that innovation can be measured by the amount of profit it brings. However, this is only taken from the organization’s perspective. From a customer’s point of view, innovation always has something to do with amazing service. If this has something to do with a product, what people will be looking for is the features. People will only say that improvement exists if what used to be non-existent before exists now.

Just take television sets, for example. We now have LCD monitors that are a lot clearer, vivid, and thinner than the first generations of television sets. To a customer, this is the ultimate measure of innovation. They get more features than what they could have gotten, had the new television not been improved. The same principle applies in technology. Now, open sources are gaining popularity, as opposed to software programs that one has to buy. Today, companies develop software programs which all their customers can use for free but cannot buy. Innovation can also be measured based on its impact on people’s lives. If you take a closer look at the evolution of cellular phones, you would see how they have changed the pacing of how mankind goes round and about their daily tasks and jobs. The cellular phone has also changed the way people communicate.

There is really an issue on how people can see how innovation is effective. It has been contested that the ultimate metric is the return on investment. Many people say that any process that does not bring about more revenue is futile. The concept applied here is that we need to improve processes and products to get more customers to buy them. However, if there re no changes, then there will be no sense to implementing these at all.

However, people also say that profit is not the only way innovation should be measured. This is precisely because there are products that have never changed for many years. Accordingly, innovation is also measured at how fast these products and services get to the customers. Ultimately, it is customer satisfaction that will dictate and measure innovation.

By: Sam Miller

Panasonic are one of the worlds leading manufacturers and distributors of microwave ovens and have come up with the latest in microwave oven technology by introducing a range of microwaves with inverter technology. The inverter circuit boards replace the old transformer and capacitor style microwaves, making the microwaves more efficient. The inverters improve the efficiency of the microwaves by making the reheating and cooking food much faster.

The greatest benefit with inverter microwaves over conventional microwaves is that when the power level is dropped the power, in an inverter microwave oven, remains constant. Conventional microwaves when not cooking on full power pulse, which means the power turns on and off, often leading to uneven cooking and cold spots.

Inverter microwave technology is designed to cook evenly, which will improve the texture and flavor of food and produce less shrinkage and no cold spots, even if reheating the food. Overall Panasonic have developed microwaves for the everybody in mind. Inverter microwaves have greater capacity and are lighter than there conventional microwave ovens, because they use circuit boards, instead of transformers and capacitors.. This means that you can get an environmentally friendly product, that is quick and easy to use.

These state of the art advancements mean that you can know have true double level cooking. The Panasonic stacker allows two dishes too be placed in the oven and both will cook evenly and quickly. Some inverter ovens have turbo defrost, which will cut the defrosting time of a product by nearly half. The sensors inside the microwave mean that the microwave selects the proper cooking time and power level by pressing one button one time. The keep warm facility means that a product you have cooked can be kept warm without further cooking.

By: Ross Wharton