Innovation: Everyone Plays a Part

As leaders in a cloud solutions company, we are tasked with driving innovation to stay ahead of competitors, solve customer problems, reduce costs, improve productivity, and grow revenue. But who is responsible for innovation in a technology company? Is it the executives who set the vision and strategy? The developers and engineers who build the products and services? The product owners who gather requirements and prioritize the backlog? The sales team that is engaging with customers daily? Or is it the customer themselves??

The simple answer is that everyone plays a crucial role in innovation at a technology company.? Innovation cannot be done in a silo; it requires alignment and input across the organization and active customer engagement. ?

Executives need to set a clear vision and strategy for innovation that aligns with the company's goals and objectives.? They also need to provide the necessary funding and resources to support new product development and innovation initiatives.? Executives that do not prioritize innovation will quickly find their company becoming irrelevant as customer needs change and competitors release new innovative products and services.?

Developers and engineers are critical to building innovative products and services.? They have a unique perspective into how to leverage new technologies to solve customer problems or enhance existing products and services.? Developers should be encouraged to experiment with new technologies and given time to work on pet projects that could lead to new innovative ideas.? Many companies like Google and 3M have had success with programs that give engineers dedicated time to work on creative ideas and passion projects.

Product owners play an important role in gathering feedback, requirements, and new ideas from customers and prioritizing them in the product backlog.? They need to have a good understanding of customers and the problems they face to determine what new innovations will provide the most value.? Product owners that actively engage with customers will gain valuable insights that can lead to new innovative ideas. ?

The sales team frequently interacts with customers and prospects, hearing about their challenges and needs.? By sharing this feedback with other teams, they play an important role in the innovation process.? Feedback from customers is critical to developing products and services that actually meet their needs.? The sales team needs to make customer feedback a priority and share new ideas that could drive innovation. ?

And finally, customers themselves drive innovation by voicing their needs, priorities, and new ideas.? Engaged customers that see your company as a strategic partner will often share feedback and ideas freely, knowing that it will benefit both companies.? Customer advisory boards, user groups, and customer interviews are all good ways to gain valuable insights from customers that can spur new innovation. ?

Innovation cannot be done by any single group in isolation.? Executives, developers, product owners, sales, and customers all play an important role in the innovation process at companies.? By aligning these groups around a shared vision of innovation and actively collaborating, companies can build the innovative products and services that fuel growth. ? Everyone plays a part, and together real innovation happens.?