What is innovation and how do we apply it?

Everything you need to know about the word innovation

Innovation is one of the “new” terms widely used in the business world. Sometimes these are concepts that become fashionable and we do not stop to analyze what it means, what it is really for, if it is necessary to apply it to your company or if you are applying it correctly. It may even be a word that causes us some stage fright, but don’t worry, the only thing necessary to face it is to understand it.

Today we want to solve all your questions and shed a little more light on innovation, which is neither a product, nor a service, nor magic… or maybe a little bit of everything.

What is innovation? What about business innovation?

Innovation, per se, is the transformation of a product or service by adding new elements or transforming it to its previous state. Therefore, we could define business innovation as the modification of processes to make an activity more efficient.

The habits of companies, like those of individuals, are changing. And companies must find ways to adapt to new habits. Innovation, then, is the search for and acclimatization of how to adapt to new habits.

What is innovation for?

Innovation is not an action, it is a feeling. The idea is that companies are constantly looking for ways to improve their processes to be more efficient. Innovation is created to make our lives easier, not the other way around.

Sometimes we associate innovation with economic expenditure and it is possible that there are times when it does imply the investment of a budget, but other times it is the result of stopping, thinking and meditating on how things are done and how they could be improved.

The incorporation of new ideas, services or products in your company – either internally or externally – will improve processes and therefore increase revenues, as it also affects staff productivity, your company’s most valuable asset.

Do I have to apply innovation to my company?

Yes, yes and emphatically yes.

We often apply innovation without being aware of it; as we have already mentioned, it is the art of keeping up with the times. All companies that do not apply innovation are destined to disappear.

Applying innovation to your company can be anything from restructuring employee workspaces for better communication between departments to applying a new internal digital tool.

How to apply innovation?

Here are some examples of how to apply innovation to your company.

• Creation of standardized products. All customers are looking for customization and adaptation to them. However, the creation of standardized products makes it much easier to make decisions and to know which path to take.
• Digital support. We are not discovering America. Digitalization has helped us, is helping us and will help us to make life in the company easier. A very clear example is teleworking. Most Spanish companies were not prepared for this sudden turnaround, but we all knew how to adapt and it made it easier to continue with the activity.
• Communication. When we are talking about companies with a large surface area, it is ideal to have direct communication with all personnel. This will help everyone in the company to know the objectives and goals of the organization.

In any case, to conclude this article, we will reveal the tips we use at Dicom to apply innovation:

1. ‘think out of the box’, it’s a classic, but it works. Try to go further. To go out of the conventional, out of the normal. The craziest ideas are sometimes the most sensible outcome.

2. We take into account the objectives of the company, everything has to have a sense and a clear functionality. It is essential to keep pace with our objectives (whether short or long term).

We are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals to comply with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set by the UN.

4. Creativity and digitalization are the bases that help us to apply innovation.