Open innovation – more than just a slogan

Large companies have their strengths: they have financial clout, a known name and established processes. However, what is an advantage in industrialisation and marketing can be detrimental to the upstream links of the value chain. Stable, established structures with high investments are poison for innovation activities that radically question existing revenue models, products and services.

The pharmaceutical and automotive industries have drawn their own conclusions from this. Here, the giants rely on cross-company innovation processes and a clear division of labour. The little companies – start-ups and SMEs – develop, the big players produce and market.

Now this form of 'open innovation' is setting a precedent in the ICT industry. In an innovation roundtable, IBM and CTI Invest are looking for start-ups that could complement the IBM ecosystem with their specific expertise.

The latest activities of Swisscom have followed a similar vein: last Wednesday, the company announced that ETH spin-off Uepaa Swiss Alpine Technology will be assisted in marketing its smartphone solution for locating alpine accident victims.

And the very next day a press release announced that Swisscom had acquired the eponymous business app of Neuchâtel young company Tweasy, which supports SMEs in online marketing.

For innovative founders and companies, the spread of the ‘open innovation’ philosophy along the value chain is good news. Partnerships with industry giants facilitate growth financing.

As a result, they also lead to new rules in the venture capital and private equity business. Gone are the times when professional financial investors could pick and choose as they wished.

The St. Gallen investor network b-t-v has recognised the tidal change. In the coming months, it wants to focus specifically on start-ups that redefine and customise conventional processes and businesses in the financial services sector.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Jost Dubacher

Managing Editor, startupticker.ch