Fears of two-year shelf life has businesses struggling to innovate

Half of digital companies* (49%) are worried that their biggest revenue-creating products and services will no longer be attractive to the market within two years, according to research by Currencycloud, the leading international payment platform.

In order to stay relevant, two thirds (60%) believe they must innovate constantly, reveals Fostering innovation: from ideas to action, which surveyed 500 senior executives across UK and US digital businesses.

The findings show that, in spite of efforts to innovate, half (51%) of companies find it difficult to keep up with the pace of change in their industry. What’s more, nearly half of respondents (47%) believe they are frequently too slow in bringing new ideas to market.

Despite the lag in enthusiasm during development, a third (29%) of businesses are able to turn innovations into growth, indicating that the ability to action new ideas has a significant part to play in driving success in the digital economy.

Todd Latham, CMO and VP of Product at Currencycloud, commented: “The pace of change today is so high that organisations simply can’t rest on their laurels. Our research finds that obsolescence is now a very real threat for organisations, so innovation needs to move from something that happens in R&D, to a core business competency.”

The research found that coming up with innovative new ideas is less of a challenge for organisations than execution, with over half (54%) saying they struggle to turn ideas into reality. Yet, once an idea is off the ground it becomes harder again to keep up momentum, according to half (50%) of the companies interviewed.

Partnerships with external organisations can offer businesses a solution to bridging the gap between idea and action by removing the need to do everything in-house. Almost two-thirds (59%) said that collaboration with external parties can lead to the best innovation.

Todd continued: “Digital companies have kickstarted innovation in businesses, but thankfully we’re now past the David versus Goliath ‘disruption’ story. Technology-led innovation is epitomised by the platform economy, and in this world, innovation is all about rethinking how things work, combining the best components to create brand new and exciting products and services. Collaborating with others gives businesses the tools to address some of the challenges our research has highlighted, but also stay relevant in a busy business landscape.”

Half of digital companies* (49%) are worried that their biggest revenue-creating products and services will no longer be attractive to the market within two years, according to research by Currencycloud, the leading international payment platform.

In order to stay relevant, two thirds (60%) believe they must innovate constantly, reveals Fostering innovation: from ideas to action, which surveyed 500 senior executives across UK and US digital businesses.

The findings show that, in spite of efforts to innovate, half (51%) of companies find it difficult to keep up with the pace of change in their industry. What’s more, nearly half of respondents (47%) believe they are frequently too slow in bringing new ideas to market.

Despite the lag in enthusiasm during development, a third (29%) of businesses are able to turn innovations into growth, indicating that the ability to action new ideas has a significant part to play in driving success in the digital economy.

Todd Latham, CMO and VP of Product at Currencycloud, commented: “The pace of change today is so high that organisations simply can’t rest on their laurels. Our research finds that obsolescence is now a very real threat for organisations, so innovation needs to move from something that happens in R&D, to a core business competency.”

The research found that coming up with innovative new ideas is less of a challenge for organisations than execution, with over half (54%) saying they struggle to turn ideas into reality. Yet, once an idea is off the ground it becomes harder again to keep up momentum, according to half (50%) of the companies interviewed.

Partnerships with external organisations can offer businesses a solution to bridging the gap between idea and action by removing the need to do everything in-house. Almost two-thirds (59%) said that collaboration with external parties can lead to the best innovation.

Todd continued: “Digital companies have kickstarted innovation in businesses, but thankfully we’re now past the David versus Goliath ‘disruption’ story. Technology-led innovation is epitomised by the platform economy, and in this world, innovation is all about rethinking how things work, combining the best components to create brand new and exciting products and services. Collaborating with others gives businesses the tools to address some of the challenges our research has highlighted, but also stay relevant in a busy business landscape.”