As the world continues to transform digitally, the introduction of new technologies has become commonplace. These advancements promise to revolutionize various aspects of our lives, from daily tasks to industry operations, making them more efficient and seamless. However, with the sheer volume and speed of technology hitting the market, how can one evaluate its potential impact and relevance? Here are ten crucial factors to consider when appraising new technology and how Open Innovation Challenges and Technology Scouting Platforms can aid in this process.

Evaluating New Technology: The Ten Key Factors

  1. Functionality: Does the technology perform the task it claims to? Does it streamline the process or improve the results significantly compared to existing solutions? If the answer to these questions is yes, then the technology may be worth considering.
  2. Usability: A technology with high usability will be adopted more quickly and easily by users, thereby increasing its value.
  3. Scalability: A technology that can't scale with your needs will quickly become obsolete, making this an essential factor to consider.
  4. Cost-effectiveness: The total cost of ownership, including acquisition, implementation, maintenance, and training costs, should be weighed against the projected benefits.
  5. Security: Consider the technology's security features, its ability to protect sensitive data, and how it handles potential breaches.
  6. Compatibility: If a new technology requires a significant overhaul of current systems, the costs and disruption may outweigh the benefits.
  7. Vendor Support: Reliable vendor support can make the difference between success and failure.
  8. Community and Reviews: User reviews and the technology's community can provide invaluable insights.
  9. Longevity: Consider the technology's potential lifespan and whether it's likely to evolve to meet future needs.
  10. Sustainability: Evaluate the technology's energy consumption, waste production, and whether it helps reduce the organization's overall environmental footprint.

Evaluating new technology involves a careful analysis of these factors. The goal is to find technology that aligns with your needs and facilitates your objectives, rather than getting swept up in the latest tech trends.

Discovering Technology Partners: Open Innovation Challenges and Technology Scouting Platforms

Both Open Innovation Challenges and Technology Scouting Platforms can significantly enhance your ability to discover new technology partners. Here's how:

Open Innovation Challenges involve reaching out to a broad audience to find new solutions to a problem. This approach is cost-effective, focused, and provides access to a diverse pool of innovators. It also fosters long-term partnerships, with organizations keeping in touch with participants even after the challenge.

On the other hand, Technology Scouting Platforms such as the Traction Platform streamline the search process for emerging technologies and startups. They offer advanced filtering, support due diligence, and deliver market intelligence. This allows organizations to efficiently identify potential technology partners that meet specific criteria.

How can Traction Technology help?

Traction Technology is a ground-breaking platform engineered expressly to eliminate internal innovation silos, thereby enabling enterprises to seamlessly collaborate and align their business needs with promising technologies. By providing dynamic features that promote collaboration and innovation, they aim to accelerate digital transformation in the enterprise.

Here's how Traction Technology can help:

Dashboard Chart

Discovery of Relevant Startups: Traction Technology helps established companies discover relevant advanced technologies aligned with their strategic goals and innovation areas. It curates startups based on different industries, technology trends, and areas of business interest, making it easier to find potential partners or investment opportunities and share this information across the enterprise.

Collaboration and Engagement Tools: Traction Technology offers tools that help manage the engagement process with startups. It provides a structured approach to evaluating, tracking, and managing interactions with multiple startups across multiple project and pilots, improving efficiency and collaboration.

Data-Driven Insights: The platform provides data-driven insights to help make informed decisions. This includes information on startup funding, growth indicators, customers and competitors, which can help in assessing potential startup partnerships.

Innovation Pipeline Management: Traction Technology aids in managing the innovation pipeline. It helps companies capture ideas and request and track innovation projects, monitor progress, and measure results in real time, promoting a culture of continuous innovation.

Track KPIs and Generate Custom Reports: Effortlessly track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with real time dashboards and generate custom reports tailored to your organization's unique requirements. Stay

Dashboard Chart

ahead of the curve by monitoring projects progress and engagement.

By leveraging a platform like Traction Technology, established companies can gain a competitive edge, driving their digital transformation journey and adapting to the fast-paced business environment. It supports the integration of startup agility, innovation, and customer-centric approach into their operations, which is critical for success in the digital age.

About Traction Technology 

We built Traction Technology to meet the needs of the most demanding customers, empowering individuals and teams to accelerate and help automate the discovery and evaluation of emerging technologies. Traction Technology speeds up the time to innovation at large enterprises, saving valuable time and money by accelerating revenue-producing digital transformation projects and reducing the strain on internal resources, while significantly mitigating the risk inherent in working with early-stage technologies.

Let us share some case studies and see if there is a fit based on your needs.

‍Traction Report Update: 23 ways AI could  transform your business in 2023. 

For more information

●     Explore our software and research services.

●     Download our brochure: How to Evaluate Enterprise Startups.

●   Watch a demo of our innovation management platform and start your free trial.

●     Schedule a call 

Crowd reviews

Open Innovation Comparison Matrix

Feature
Traction Technology
Bright Idea
Ennomotive
SwitchPitch
Wazoku
Idea Management
Innovation Challenges
Company Search
Evaluation Workflows
Reporting
Project Management
RFIs
Advanced Charting
Virtual Events
APIs + Integrations
SSO