Insights
Today more than ever, innovation favors the agile. Companies that resist change tend to lag behind companies that are willing to try new and improved business concepts as part of their growth strategy.
In a roundtable discussion hosted by U+ partner ILO Institute, a career R&D leader at a major pharma firm shared his knowledge about how companies should lean into experimentation and a willingness to potentially fail, in order to innovate and grow.
Analysts have confirmed that AI is vital to ensuring an efficient and cost-effective transition to clean energy, and expect AI applications will save investors $1.3 trillion over the next 30 years. Read on to learn about the AI solutions that will help transform the energy industry, and read about our Top Energy Innovators for 2022.
Agritechnology, or AgTech, has evolved rapidly, creating a vast array of opportunities for sustainable growth in agriculture and farming. From improving crop yields to boosting productivity and generally cutting down production costs, AgTech benefits economies, people, and our planet.
Beating the odds and achieving product-market success requires much more than a great product. In our latest installment of U+ Innovation Strategies, we gathered insights from U+ Managing Partner Sean Sheppard during his recent Conference Board webcast. Read about the lessons Sean has learned and the knowledge he’s gained over his career as a serial entrepreneur and leading innovator of over 100 products for U+.
We’re excited to launch the U+ Innovation Strategies series, featuring key business insights from across our leadership team. In a recent webcast hosted by The Conference Board, U+ Managing Partner Sean Sheppard explained why minimum lovable products should be the gold standard for bringing your initial product offering to market.
To successfully handle the challenges of implementing a new innovation program, you need to create internal political support that helps your organization stay unified. In a roundtable discussion hosted by U+ partner ILO Institute, our speaker provided three key methods to instill and maintain the political support needed to keep your teams on track throughout the innovation implementation process.
Sometimes called a product’s “mini-CEO”, a digital product manager oversees every stage of an innovation’s lifecycle. Read on to learn more about this emerging discipline, and hear from product expert and bestselling author, Dan Olsen.
Technological breakthroughs in sustainability are impacting how organizations across the globe approach their environmental, social, and governance objectives. Discover the technological and consumer trends that are driving this change—and check out our top sustainability innovators in 2022.
Financial technology is changing how the world spends, invests, and manages money. As one of the hottest industries in recent years, fintech will likely continue to attract VC cash and delight consumers into 2022 and beyond. In our report, The State of Fintech 2022, we explore the forces shaping this rapidly growing industry and reveal our top fintech innovators to watch.
Organizations experience change at every step of their journey. In a roundtable discussion hosted by our partners at the ILO Institute, one senior executive suggested that the right way to deal with market changes is to anticipate and prepare for the inevitable surprises.
We want to help corporations innovate successfully—that’s our raison d’etre, and we do this very well. Our experience working with our clients’ in-house software developers has given us deeper insights into their capabilities to build new ventures, and enabled us to optimize our collaborations with these teams. Along the way, we’ve learned that listening to software engineers is as important as listening to customers. Corporate environments tend to limit or restrict product development input from IT teams, so you may need to look outside your organization for resources that can take your innovation from idea to revenue generator.
The standard “inside out” approach to corporate innovation requires clearly formulated goals and a well-understood model for achieving them. By contrast, “outside in” innovation is a more open process that prioritizes seizing market opportunities whenever they arise. Our partners at the ILO Institute hosted a roundtable discussion on the relative merits of each innovation style; here are some of the key insights we gained from the talk.
Driven by next-gen innovations across sectors like energy and agriculture, the $10 billion global sustainable technology market is expected to grow more than seven-fold by 2030. Read on and learn why the best sustainability programs put innovation front and center.
Sustainability is not just vital to ensuring a healthy planet and society—it’s good for business, too. Learn how your company can better shape and work toward its sustainability goals in these highlights from a roundtable discussion hosted by our partners at the ILO Institute.
In this insight from our partners at the ILO institute, we’re talking baseball—specifically, we’re looking at Brooklyn Dodger GM Branch Rickey’s two innovations that changed the game for the better. Not only did he hire the legendary Jackie Robinson—the first Black player in the modern MLB—Rickey also built the farm team system. Read on to discover the value that Rickey’s mindset can bring to your innovation projects.
Continuous investment in fintech development is delivering fast and sizeable ROI to savvy financial service providers. But this area hasn’t been without its issues—for instance, larger firms’ unsuccessful efforts to develop and launch new lending models, including microfinance. Our partners at ILO have hosted numerous roundtables with innovation leaders in this rapidly evolving segment, and we’re sharing several valuable insights gained from these discussions right here.
Data privacy concerns can dramatically hinder or prevent your organization from using business-critical tools. A recent gathering hosted by our partners at the ILO Institute discussed a highly effective approach to overcoming this challenge: turning your company’s data "donors" into data consumers.
Innovation is about more than just building new products, but rather creating real value by addressing previously unmet market needs alongside proper funding and timing. Many valiant (and half-baked) attempts to innovate continue to fill an overcrowded business graveyard—over 95% of new products fail. Read on and learn how to manage the risk of failure and drive innovation to success.
Insurers exploring their software options are asking themselves the (potentially literal) million-dollar question: should we buy or build our company’s software apps? Unsurprisingly, there’s no clear one-size-fits-all answer, so let’s explore your options and help guide you in the right direction.
How can you best engage your company's decision-makers in your innovation programs? A major Hollywood studio worked with our partners at the ILO institute to advise leaders in the studio’s innovation program.
U+ shares insights on the current state of blockchain technologies and their value in applications across food and beverage supply chains in this unique Q&A style feature report.
Across all industries, customer experience (CX) is vital to thriving in today's highly competitive market. Learn how to build a strong CX framework in this step-by-step guide.
To develop effective new habits and expand your horizons in thinking and planning around business-model innovation, you need to ask yourself three important questions. Learn what those questions are in the highlights from a recent gathering hosted by our partners at the ILO Institute.
This year, InsurTech companies are zeroing in on a new generation of digitally native consumers. This means re-evaluating tech stacks and integrating innovative tools to stay competitive. Discover why digital transformation is essential to insurers now more than ever, and see the top insurance innovators to watch in 2022.
For healthcare companies, the road to launching a successful digital product is a challenging one. Here are some guidelines to start you off on the right foot.
Digital innovation is helping pharmaceutical companies meet rising customer demand while generating billions of dollars in value to tech-savvy market players. Learn about progressive telehealth solutions and Direct-to-Consumer services, and read about some of the leaders in this rapidly expanding space.
U.S. federal law requires hospitals across the country to make their prices substantially more accessible to consumers. In this Insights article, we explain what that means for your healthcare business, and how you can benefit from it.
While many companies struggle with workplace changes caused by The Great Resignation, U+ has found success by embracing policies centered around its employees' needs and expanding its remote-based international workforce.
Baby Boomers are a lot more tech-savvy than you might think. Let’s explore how the wealthiest living generation interacts with technology, particularly when it comes to healthcare.
Digitalization has entered all industries and all types of businesses. At the same time, the number of private equity firms increased over the past years, making their execution capabilities even more important than the amount of capital they are ready to deploy
While the healthcare industry is behind in terms of digital transformation when compared to others, most healthcare professionals are innovating with urgency this year. Let’s find out why and what the technologies being adopted are.
Whether local or global, the marketplace is becoming highly competitive. As a result, successful exploration of new ideas is crucial to the growth and efficiency of a company and the most essential way to protect market share.
Bringing a new product to market requires a team of experienced innovators with startup DNA and stage-relevance experience. Stage-relevance, whether through building your own team or partnering with one, is crucial to every company's success.
The most successful innovators aren’t Disruptors, they’re fast followers. They closely monitor emerging user trends, leverage their customer ecosystem and build what customers are already adopting.
Healthcare is the latest industry to experience a sudden, spectacular merging of technology and business. Know the reasons why healthcare services going online is more than just a trend.
Continuous learning is the key to achieving business goals, developing a competitive edge and reaching business success.
Staying actively engaged with customers while getting the highest possible ROI on your marketing spend is the never ending challenge faced by companies both big and small.
Insurance has gotten a lot more interesting over the past few years. Helmed by progressive leadership, a growing number of insurance companies are making strategic investments in digital innovation.
The automotive industry is rapidly turning sci-fi concepts into reality. Until relatively recently, concepts as electric vehicles (EV), driverless cars, and contactless service stations were the stuff of fiction and speculation.
Even after the pandemic subsides, UAE retailers who continue to rely on in-store sales will have a negative impact on their revenues...
COVID-19 has rewritten the retail rulebook. Health and safety concerns are now a purchase driver...
Silicon Valley luminary, venture capitalist and serial tech entrepreneur Sean Sheppard elevates capabilities of corporate venture builder U+
Sustainable Insurance aims to reduce risk, develop innovative solutions, improve business performance
The road to achieving the Circular Economy may be full of obstacles, but many startups and global players are advancing along it. Learn about the trends shaping the future of this ecological, and profitable, concept.
Learn how telecommunications companies are at the heart of a new digital and social transformation through their investments in technology.
With the constant evolution of business and customer care online, insurance companies need to hire or work with a digital architect and develop a digital strategy to modernize their core business.
We delve into recent investment activity and share the latest interesting trends and innovations in this exponentially growing business sector.
We take a deep dive into the innovations, challenges, and opportunities within the multi-billion dollar Insurtech industry.