The Innovation Exchange’s Conor Carmody discusses how the initiative connects large companies with innovative SMEs to accelerate digital transformation.
Digital transformation is an important consideration for modern businesses.
Whether it’s automating processes, integrating a new technology or improving your digital infrastructure for customer satisfaction or inclusion, there are a number of ways that companies are pursuing digital transformation to stay up to date.
However, success in digital transformation can sometimes be hard to achieve. Factors such as resources and having the necessary knowledge required for the change can directly impact the outcome of a digital transformation project.
Luckily, there are supports out there designed to help. One such organisation in Ireland is the Innovation Exchange, an initiative led by Skillnet Ireland.
The Innovation Exchange takes large companies with digital transformation challenges and connects them with Irish SMEs that have innovative solutions.
“We connect Ireland’s most talented solution providers with innovation-focused corporates, unlocking opportunities for digital transformation,” says Conor Carmody, director of the Innovation Exchange.
“Through our network, corporates gain direct access to Ireland’s leading technology providers, fostering powerful collaborations that drive meaningful digital transformation. These partnerships deliver lasting impact – corporates advance their innovation goals, while solution providers become integral to their long-term growth.”
Making connections
The Innovation Exchange facilitates these industry-innovator connections through a careful process, as Carmody explains to SiliconRepublic.com.
He says that there are six primary steps to the initiative’s process, starting with a webinar presentation where a representative from the corporate entity describes their challenge to a panel of Innovation Exchange members – all of whom are potential solution providers.
Any member that thinks they can solve the challenge then submits a proposal to the Innovation Exchange, these are then shortlisted and submitted to the corporation. The corporation invites all selected proposals to pitch their ideas, which then leads to more engagement between the parties, ultimately resulting in the signing of a deal.
Carmody says that since the programme’s inception in 2022, more than 1,300 companies have engaged with the framework.
Some examples of projects facilitated by the Innovation Exchange include a recently signed deal between Gas Networks Ireland and two scale-ups, Cation Consulting and Data Conversion. Gas Networks Ireland signed the contracts with the scale-ups to help address challenges experienced by its hearing-impaired customers.
Another recent example saw Cricket Ireland finalise a contract with sport technology provider Sport:80, which agreed to implement a new all-Ireland registration system for players and clubs.
The roadblocks
When it comes to the barriers that prevent companies from achieving digital transformation goals, Carmody says that urgency can be a challenge.
“Sometimes, in a hurry, corporates don’t always see the potential of solution providers,” he explains. “Sometimes there is a level of paralysis in trying to define the requirement and needs of the corporate.
“However, we provide a team to work with the corporate to understand the urgency, rationale, timelines and budget of the technological change required.”
Carmody says that there are two main areas that companies need to consider when thinking about digital transformation.
“Firstly, organisations need to view digital transformation as a strategic business objective rather than a technology project,” he says. “To drive success, it requires linkage to strategic goals, leadership support, cultural change and clearly defined success monitors.”
Secondly, he advises that companies need to “take small steps” to get started.
“Having laid out a broad strategic picture, it is important to start to develop mini projects that allow for testing and quick wins,” he advises. “Often the temptation is to try to solve all the issues, but our success shows that implementing small pilots allows the organisation to get comfortable with success and build confidence across the teams.”
Assess and deploy
As new and disruptive technologies continue to impact the contemporary business world, Carmody says that business leaders need to act decisively to identify, understand and deploy emerging technologies. Otherwise, they may risk falling behind, he says.
“The key to success will be to assess the new technologies and understand the potential impact on the business and then be able to quickly deploy solutions,” he says.
“In assessing these new technologies, businesses should be able to gauge the impact that any new technology will have on the market and then quantify how will the market be affected and how quickly will the change happen.”
Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence (AI) comes to mind when discussing new and impactful tech.
“Probably the most pressing issue and opportunity to be addressed for business is that companies and leaders need to prepare today for a world in which AI is everywhere, acting autonomously and embedded in all business systems and processes,” he says.
“This needs to be a major factor in every business strategy discussion today.”
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