The lack of innovation will certainly put your company at risk.

You might fall behind while everyone around you is miles ahead because they decided to innovate.

Does a reluctance to change remind you of any stage in life?

Whenever we think of stubbornness or difficulty adapting to new trends, we almost automatically recall our grandparents, who, due to a certain stubbornness, don't adapt to innovations.

With organizations, the scenario is no different; this stubbornness or a lack of close attention to market innovations can be dangerous, as it means you might fall behind while everyone around you is miles ahead (because they decided to innovate), and of course, it can project an image of being outdated in the market. In short, this behavior can put you in a dangerous position, especially when everyone around you is innovating at an ultra-fast pace.

Innovating is directly synonymous with evolving!

Embracing the risks that innovation presents is a strategic move, as your company's present and future growth literally depends on it. History shows us that those who don't anticipate changes suffer from them, while those who ride the wave of change find opportunities, including scaling their businesses to proportions that wouldn't have been possible before.

If you are a business leader looking to manage risks, it would be advisable to initiate and maintain a program of continuous innovation. Programs consist of projects, and through projects, you will change your culture. If you don't know how to start innovation projects, get training and assistance. Your innovation projects are insurance policies for your company's future – so make sure you are aware of the risks.

The end of SAP's Enterprise Support is approaching; keep an eye out and get ahead of your competitors. Read more in our blog post.

It is vital that business leaders foster an environment where innovation is a natural part of the company culture.

“It is vital that our organizations are able to attract people with the right technological skills, but also develop those skills internally; in addition to recruiting people with digital skills, organizations need to focus on training their employees to be adaptable, creative, and critical thinkers.”says PwC Chairman and Senior Partner, Kevin Ellis.

Why is business innovation important?

• First, let's look at the facts: you can go bankrupt in the blink of an eye!
  That's right, companies like Blackberry, Yahoo, Kodak, and MySpace simply exited the market or lost a significant portion of their value due to a lack of attention or resistance to innovation.
  
• Low employee productivity and retention difficulties.
  In a survey published by Valor Econômico involving over 12,000 people, more than half of those working in outdated companies (52%) reported feeling frustrated with their employers due to the technological devices they have access to, and 13% stated that this contributes to their desire to work elsewhere. In companies with a high level of technology, only 3% reported feeling frustrated.
  
  Did you know that an outdated ERP system harms your employees' performance? Discover SAP Fiori.

• Risk of internal information manipulation, meaning your company is exposed!
  The research indicates that one consequence of technological delay is that employees may act independently – which can result in security risks for companies. In Brazil, more than half of the professionals surveyed use personal smartphones, and 30% use their own laptops for work, figures above the global average. 
  
  The vast majority (71%) also downloaded applications and software without company authorization or IT team support, believing them to be better than what was provided or because the company offered no alternative. A majority also admitted to bypassing security protocols to be more productive.
  
• Business innovation is important for a simple reason: value. 
  For your business to thrive, it's crucial to continuously innovate and improve. Successful business innovation means finding new revenue opportunities, optimizing existing channels, and ultimately generating greater profits. It should also give companies an edge over their competitors.
  
• Loss of competitiveness and opening up space for competition.
  The main problem we see for corporations that sideline innovation is a loss of market competitiveness. Without exploring new possibilities, a company remains stagnant while its competitors invest in new developments. Consequently, the corporation falls behind.
  
  For example: “Everything that has been invented in the last 150 years will be reinvented using AI in the next 15 years,” predicts Randy Dean, business director at Launchpad.AI in San Francisco. So how will it be possible to keep up with such a technological reality in such a short time if I don't have a plan to deal with it?
  

With the increasing potential to leverage digital technologies across industrial value chains, even sectors that seemingly have little affinity for innovation, such as mining, for example, are showing concern about how they expect to position themselves in the future to avoid their businesses being swallowed by competitors.

For a simple reason: This could mean the difference between staying in the game with a chance to stand out or disappearing. For 60% of surveyed executives, their businesses will disappear or merely survive without investments in new technologies.

In a PwC study of global CEOs, nearly 25% had innovation at the top of their priority list for the coming year.

Are you already preparing your business for the age of innovation? Your competitors probably already are!

Click below to understand the main consequences and the risks you face due to a lack of a holistic view in your operations.

I don't want to fall behind the competition

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