Forrester: Indian firms with advanced innovation practices grow almost five times faster than their industry average

MUMBAI, India, May 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- There is a direct correlation between being an innovator and market leadership, according to research released by Forrester today at its annual Digital Transformation & Innovation Forum in India.

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Firms with advanced technology-driven innovation practices grow as much as five times faster than their industry average. This makes technology-driven innovation a huge opportunity for the bold and a big threat for every other business.

Based on a survey of 111 Indian firms with 1,000+ employees or more than US$75 million in annual revenue, growth is the top business priority as to why businesses focus on innovation efforts. However, innovation approaches that are incremental or consider technology as an afterthought do not create differentiation.

Most of today's fastest growing firms use technology as an innovation driver, while not losing sight of their customers' current and future needs. Forrester labels this approach technology-driven innovation, which is defined as:

Technology-driven innovation is an advanced discipline of rapid technology experimentation to unleash disruptive change.

Indian firms tend to be very much aware of the importance of technology to drive innovation. Research from Forrester indicates that sixty-two percent of firms invest in emerging technologies, such as machine learning and digital business platforms. These technologies are expected to create the most impact on their firms' business over the next five to ten years.

"Indian firms have ridden the Digital Transformation bandwagon for a couple of years, but what's next?" said Ashutosh Sharma, VP and research director, Forrester India. "Technology-driven innovation puts rapid technology experimentation at the forefront of your efforts; not last, after current customer and business needs are understood. It will let your firm ride waves of technology-fueled disruption to change the game and create lasting competitive advantage that translates to growth and market leadership."

In addition, Forrester found that most innovation projects in India require firms to deal with a new technology that they do not currently have experience with. As many as three out of four Indian firms said that at a minimum twenty-five percent of their innovation projects require new technologies. It goes to as high as seventy-five percent for one out of eight firms.

Firms looking to differentiate with emerging technology can employ Forrester's LIFT framework:

• Look at evolving customer needs and competitive opportunities.
• Invest in technology innovation chains to prepare for sustained business acceleration.
• Find business pressure points caused by conflicts between strategies and blockers.
• Target opportunities with high breakthrough potential.

To learn how Forrester can help you with your innovation strategy, visit https://forr.com/innovation

About Forrester

Forrester (Nasdaq: FORR) is one of the most influential research and advisory firms in the world. We work with business and technology leaders to develop customer-obsessed strategies that drive growth. Forrester's unique insights are grounded in annual surveys of more than 675,000 consumers and business leaders worldwide, rigorous and objective methodologies, and the shared wisdom of our most innovative clients. Through proprietary research, data and analytics, custom consulting, exclusive executive peer groups, and events, the Forrester experience is about a singular and powerful purpose: to challenge the thinking of our clients to help them lead change in their organizations.