Product innovation has a dynamic involving rapidly growing requirements on the one hand, and stricter regulations and rapid technological developments on the other. Vention conducts research into the challenges this poses to organisations and how they can overcome them. By participating in this research, you too will gain insight into this.

With the growing demand for connected devices, sensors and smart software, the speed of innovation increasingly determines the distinctiveness of an organisation, in addition to the need for mature products. In the energy market, for example, it is about smart infrastructure and charging solutions that need to be continuously available and secure. In healthcare, it is about connected devices and monitoring solutions where compliance and reliability are prerequisites. In industrial environments, the challenge often lies in modernising existing solutions or adding smart functionality to physical assets.

At the same time, there are several factors that greatly increase the complexity of innovation for (connected) products. These factors are not unrelated. Choices on architecture and technology affect security and compliance, and decisions on collaboration and intellectual property largely determine manageability.

It is precisely these interdependencies that make product innovation more complex and increase the risk of delay. Research such as 'Challenges with IoT product launches' therefore shows that the average time-to-market for connected products at OEMs (manufacturers of proprietary products) has risen to 41 months, measured from the start of the project to the first paying customer. That is an increase of 80% in 2023 compared to 2020. This lead time is expected to increase further.

To help organisations increase the innovation speed of connected products, Vention initiates this benchmark study. The study maps how companies deal with the confluence of technical, organisational and strategic challenges in product innovation, and where this confluence leads to delays.

The research focuses on three areas that determine the speed of product innovation.

Part 1 - External developments

In the first part, we analyse the external developments that determine the framework conditions for innovation, such as the market you operate in, geopolitical uncertainty, the shift towards local production, stricter laws and regulations, and technological developments such as miniaturisation and the deployment of AI in and around connected devices.

Part 2 - Barriers to product innovation

In the second part, we identify where product innovation is currently stagnating due to internal barriers in technology, compliance, cost control and organisational design.

Part 3 - Innovation accelerators

In the third part, we focus on the choices and measures by which organisations accelerate and future-proof their innovation process, such as standardisation, effective collaboration and clear choices on core technology and ownership of intellectual property.

Why participate?

By participating in this benchmark study, your organisation will gain insight into how comparable organisations organise their innovation of connected products. The study shows which factors slow down innovation and which choices act as accelerators for others. Mirroring these insights to your own situation provides a clear frame of reference to steer connected product innovation more effectively.