Cologne, November 12, 2024: Most companies struggle with the adoption of innovative technologies. Almost two-thirds (64 percent) experience difficulties in effectively evaluating the potential of new technologies. This figure rises even higher — to 72 percent — in the manufacturing and production sector. These are the key findings of the “Innovation & Technology Adoption” study conducted by management consultancy Detecon in collaboration with the market research firm Vanson Bourne. The study surveyed over 530 participants worldwide who are involved in the introduction of new technologies and live in the European, MENA (Middle East and North Africa), and APAC (Asia and Pacific) regions.

A total of 57 percent of companies say that they have refrained from introducing a new technology at least once owing to the associated challenges. Respondents see the biggest hindrances in the “compatibility with the legacy environment” and “security concerns.” “Issues with the measurement of ROI,” “lack of training,” and “lack of internal buy-in to the use of the newly introduced technology” were also cited as stumbling blocks. When measuring the success of a new technology, participants pay equal attention to “stimulation of innovation” and “increased efficiency.”

Technology implementations harbor risks
Nine out of ten respondents agree: implementing the wrong technology can be risky for both the company and the people in charge. The most frequently given personal worry, shared by 45 percent of respondents, is that they could lose the respect of their colleagues. One interesting point is the differing priorities among the regions. In Germany, 51 percent of respondents fear a demotion while in China 58 percent are more concerned about their bonus. The most significance consequence for the company is the loss of time during the implementation of the wrong technology, followed by the possibility of “reduced productivity” and “interrupted services.”

“The responses reveal that practical knowledge about the costs and impact of a technology plays a decisive role; equally pressing is the question of how — and even whether — it can be integrated into other or legacy technologies. At the same time, companies need to establish a culture that favors rapid prototyping so that new technologies can be tested at an early stage and subsequently rolled out quickly,” explains Christian Maasem, hyperconnectivity expert at Detecon and one of the authors of the study. “Everyone involved must grasp that the path to innovative strategies always involves testing and experimentation with the aim of developing solid business cases parallel to the analysis of overall profitability. Even the best theories and decision-making principles are no substitute for practical testing to determine whether an innovative technology really works and can be easily integrated and scaled.”

Christian Maasem also advocates a more systematic approach to technology launches: “Once a technology management process has been securely anchored in the environment, it can be trained as an established system that accelerates the introduction of new features and is oriented to the principles of continuous development. Moreover, it averts the risk of innovations stalling and remaining isolated factors within the company, never generating a beacon effect. In reality, significant synergies can be detected and positive effects leveraged through supportive technology management processes. Nevertheless, this presumes their consistent and comprehensive installation.

Hurdles in the development of ecosystems
Companies also perceive major hurdles during the set-up of ecosystems; 67 percent agreed that it is difficult to find the right balance in partner ecosystems. According to 39 percent of the respondents, the greatest hurdle is “a lack of data compatibility and interfaces.” “Selection of the right partners” and “balance between competition and cooperation” were also frequently mentioned at 38 percent each (multiple answers were possible).

The APAC region (including China) appears to have a head start in the building of ecosystems; only 62 percent of responses in this area confirmed difficulties in finding the balance compared to 68 percent in MEA and 72 percent in Europe. Furthermore, only 53 percent in APAC are hesitant to join an ecosystem while skepticism levels in MEA and Europe reached 62 percent and 65 percent, respectively. In addition, 45 percent of APAC participants stated that they are already in an ecosystem optimization phase (compared to 40 percent in Europe and MEA), and 11 percent (compared to 8 percent in Europe and 5 percent in MEA) have advanced to the phase of setting standards.

Security and compliance an obstacle course when using data
When asked what technologies companies use to create added value from their data, 53 percent said “artificial intelligence.” It was followed by “cloud services” at 47 percent and “IoT” and “data management,” each of which garnered a response of 45 percent. Almost all respondents (98 percent) report running into challenges in the use of their data. The most daunting hurdles noted include “security” (41 percent), “compliance requirements” (37 percent), and “poor data quality” (35 percent) (multiple answers were possible).

The study also wanted to know what skills clients think a consulting firm should have mastered so that it can foster the introduction and use of innovative technologies. “Innovative approaches” (43 percent), “excellent customer support” (41 percent), “end-to-end support,” and “industry expertise”, both of the latter two mentioned by 38 percent (multiple answers were also possible here), were noted as especially desirable.