Product Innovation: Driving Change in Shaping the Future
With over 23 years of experience in the digital payments and fintech space, Bertram (Bert) is a seasoned leader and innovator in incubating and scaling technology-enabled businesses. His focus has been to leverage technology to drive digitization across multiple sectors like BFSI, Ecommerce, Mobility, Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Skilling - for India and the world leveraging the power of Digital Public Infrastructure and ecosystem partnerships. His mission has been to create economic and social impact by accelerating financial inclusion, literacy, and wellness for millions of people.
The advancement of digital technology has undoubtedly fuelled up the trajectory of productivity and economic growth. The addition of Information Technology has put a golden feather on the hat of scientific progress and reshaped the world with prompt and hassle-free connectivity. We are now able to explore the Earth more precisely with the touch of technology and enrich our knowledge. Companies are vigorously putting effort on innovation and finding ways how they can put their effective efforts on product research and development. The whole process of creation and introduction of a product or service that is a whole new concept is called Product Innovation.
Idea of Product Innovation
In the wake of digitalization, organizations are continuously trying to adopt and evolve their products to meet changing consumer demands and technological advancements. With every progressing day, industries are shifting towards more efficient tools and tactics which made it crystal clear that, product innovation is not just a buzzword, but it is the utmost necessity of this hour for survival.
Why product innovation is vital?
Keep Up with the Market: To stay afloat in the market any organization needs to understand the flow of market, and the target audience & the requirements. Innovating products enables companies to remain pertinent in their markets, facilitating ongoing growth and enhancement. The ability to innovate for a company is very crucial for its long-term sustainability.
Customer Retention: The process of product innovation demands a deep knowledge of consumer needs, market trends, and technological capabilities. Companies which attain highest results in these areas are more likely to improve their market position and achieve sustainable growth.
Discover New Opportunities: Innovation in product development fosters growth by creating new market opportunities. Moreover, it enables companies to diversify their operations and reach entirely different customer demographics.
Higher Profit: From the upcoming market research on industries, it became quite evident that, businesses that introduce new products earn higher profits than those that don’t. Companies which achieve 25% innovation or produce or introduce new products achieve a median return on sales that is over three times higher than those in the bottom 25%.
How Digitalization is Helping in Product Innovation
The rapid surge in scientific advancement became known as the digital revolution has widened the path towards digitalization. By sparking the creation of sophisticated computer systems, the business world is capable of digitally replicating and automating complex to very complex problems that were once done manually with lot of time and efforts. Today, technology dominates every facet of industry, driving significant profits through its widespread adoption. Embracing digitalization paves the way for a more adaptive, change-friendly culture that easily withstands the test of time.
4Ps of innovation are paradigm, process, position, and product. The focal point of product innovation is either ‘product-driven’ or ‘production-driven’ depending on the primary objective of the development. Innovation is not limited to products but, also includes services, processes, or business models. Digital transformation enables employees to concentrate on meaningful tasks, which are crucial for generating value within any organization. Predictive analytics and reporting tools facilitate process enhancements and improve decision-making efficiency. Cloud-based software empowers teams to engage in innovation from anywhere and in real time.
Indian Government led by Narendra Modi has launched Digital India Program in 2015, in order to empower India. The flagship campaign focuses on three aspects:
• Digital infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen
• Government and services on demand
• Digital empowerment of the citizen
If we look back to 2021, post COVID period, government had taken a step to create a digital platform to promote fair business, which is known as ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce). This platform was launched by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and GOI led by non-profit Section 8 Company. The initial investment for this came from Quality Council of India and Protean eGov Technologies Limited (formerly NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited).
Role of AI Machine Learning & Robotics in Product Innovation
In today’s digital world, everything has become machine driven. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and robotics are doing extraordinary works and paved the way towards significant product innovation across various industries. These effective tools are improving the way products are designed, developed, produced, and optimized, which helps the industry experts to achieve smarter, more efficient, and customized products.
Machine Learning empowers predictive maintenance, customized products, and streamlined supply chains. Artificial Intelligence boosts decision-making capabilities, enhances user experiences, and facilitates generative design.
Robotics automates production processes, simplifies prototyping efforts, and develops intelligent devices such as assistive technologies. Combined synergistically in these fields - accelerating product development - they enhance efficiency while opening up new possibilities for creating personalized smart solutions that meet the ever-changing demands of consumers effectively transforming a myriad of industries.
Product Innovation in Progressive India
The modern concept of digitalization has triggered product and service innovation in India. In India, the digitization process of essential documents such as Aadhaar and PAN has profoundly reshaped governance, financial inclusion, and public service delivery.
Aadhaar serves as a unique biometric identification system that underpins various services by enabling seamless authentication for welfare programs, banking activities, and e-KYC processes. This redresses unnecessary fraudulent attacks while enhancing efficiency.
Similarly, digitalizing the Permanent Account Number (PAN) has made tax compliance simpler by streamlining return filing procedures, loan applications, and improving financial transaction tracking. Combined with initiatives like DigiLocker promoting document digitization efforts overall enhance transparency accessibility convenience leading towards digitally inclusive Indian economy.
To cater to the health sector and help citizens with accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare, the Indian Government launched Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission (ABDM). It is a path breaking initiative that has crafted a unified digital health infrastructure. It is an umbrella platform where digital tools like telemedicine, electronic health records (EHR), and health information exchanges and combines to give fair and effective health services for all.
Challenges in the Path of Product Innovation
Business leaders and industry experts often face difficulty in balancing creativity with financial limitations and manage risks very effectively meeting all the market demands with innovations. They are trying to focus on emerging technologies, promote cross-team collaboration, and tackle resistance to change.
Furthermore, they are trying to protect intellectual property, maintaining quality, and scaling new products while ensuring profitability in the path of success.
Future Outlook
AI/ML, robotics, and IoT will propel the future of product innovation by creating smarter, more personalized, and sustainable products. The integration of data-driven design approaches, automation techniques such as 3D printing will expedite development processes. Meanwhile a commitment to sustainability will minimize waste generation while promoting eco-friendly solutions poised to revolutionize industries aligning these new age innovations with global sustainability objectives at large.
.jpg "Bertram D’souza, Chief Product & Innovation Officer, Protean eGov Technologies Ltd.")
The advancement of digital technology has undoubtedly fuelled up the trajectory of productivity and economic growth. The addition of Information Technology has put a golden feather on the hat of scientific progress and reshaped the world with prompt and hassle-free connectivity. We are now able to explore the Earth more precisely with the touch of technology and enrich our knowledge. Companies are vigorously putting effort on innovation and finding ways how they can put their effective efforts on product research and development. The whole process of creation and introduction of a product or service that is a whole new concept is called Product Innovation.
Idea of Product Innovation
In the wake of digitalization, organizations are continuously trying to adopt and evolve their products to meet changing consumer demands and technological advancements. With every progressing day, industries are shifting towards more efficient tools and tactics which made it crystal clear that, product innovation is not just a buzzword, but it is the utmost necessity of this hour for survival.
Why product innovation is vital?
Keep Up with the Market: To stay afloat in the market any organization needs to understand the flow of market, and the target audience & the requirements. Innovating products enables companies to remain pertinent in their markets, facilitating ongoing growth and enhancement. The ability to innovate for a company is very crucial for its long-term sustainability.
Customer Retention: The process of product innovation demands a deep knowledge of consumer needs, market trends, and technological capabilities. Companies which attain highest results in these areas are more likely to improve their market position and achieve sustainable growth.
Discover New Opportunities: Innovation in product development fosters growth by creating new market opportunities. Moreover, it enables companies to diversify their operations and reach entirely different customer demographics.
Higher Profit: From the upcoming market research on industries, it became quite evident that, businesses that introduce new products earn higher profits than those that don’t. Companies which achieve 25% innovation or produce or introduce new products achieve a median return on sales that is over three times higher than those in the bottom 25%.
How Digitalization is Helping in Product Innovation
The rapid surge in scientific advancement became known as the digital revolution has widened the path towards digitalization. By sparking the creation of sophisticated computer systems, the business world is capable of digitally replicating and automating complex to very complex problems that were once done manually with lot of time and efforts. Today, technology dominates every facet of industry, driving significant profits through its widespread adoption. Embracing digitalization paves the way for a more adaptive, change-friendly culture that easily withstands the test of time.
4Ps of innovation are paradigm, process, position, and product. The focal point of product innovation is either ‘product-driven’ or ‘production-driven’ depending on the primary objective of the development. Innovation is not limited to products but, also includes services, processes, or business models. Digital transformation enables employees to concentrate on meaningful tasks, which are crucial for generating value within any organization. Predictive analytics and reporting tools facilitate process enhancements and improve decision-making efficiency. Cloud-based software empowers teams to engage in innovation from anywhere and in real time.
Indian Government led by Narendra Modi has launched Digital India Program in 2015, in order to empower India. The flagship campaign focuses on three aspects:
• Digital infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen
• Government and services on demand
• Digital empowerment of the citizen
If we look back to 2021, post COVID period, government had taken a step to create a digital platform to promote fair business, which is known as ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce). This platform was launched by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and GOI led by non-profit Section 8 Company. The initial investment for this came from Quality Council of India and Protean eGov Technologies Limited (formerly NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited).
Role of AI Machine Learning & Robotics in Product Innovation
In today’s digital world, everything has become machine driven. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and robotics are doing extraordinary works and paved the way towards significant product innovation across various industries. These effective tools are improving the way products are designed, developed, produced, and optimized, which helps the industry experts to achieve smarter, more efficient, and customized products.
Machine Learning empowers predictive maintenance, customized products, and streamlined supply chains. Artificial Intelligence boosts decision-making capabilities, enhances user experiences, and facilitates generative design.
Robotics automates production processes, simplifies prototyping efforts, and develops intelligent devices such as assistive technologies. Combined synergistically in these fields - accelerating product development - they enhance efficiency while opening up new possibilities for creating personalized smart solutions that meet the ever-changing demands of consumers effectively transforming a myriad of industries.
Product Innovation in Progressive India
The modern concept of digitalization has triggered product and service innovation in India. In India, the digitization process of essential documents such as Aadhaar and PAN has profoundly reshaped governance, financial inclusion, and public service delivery.
Aadhaar serves as a unique biometric identification system that underpins various services by enabling seamless authentication for welfare programs, banking activities, and e-KYC processes. This redresses unnecessary fraudulent attacks while enhancing efficiency.
Technology is a part of product development or innovation that takes an agile process into action to keep building and experimenting with the best way to create a good product
Similarly, digitalizing the Permanent Account Number (PAN) has made tax compliance simpler by streamlining return filing procedures, loan applications, and improving financial transaction tracking. Combined with initiatives like DigiLocker promoting document digitization efforts overall enhance transparency accessibility convenience leading towards digitally inclusive Indian economy.
To cater to the health sector and help citizens with accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare, the Indian Government launched Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission (ABDM). It is a path breaking initiative that has crafted a unified digital health infrastructure. It is an umbrella platform where digital tools like telemedicine, electronic health records (EHR), and health information exchanges and combines to give fair and effective health services for all.
Challenges in the Path of Product Innovation
Business leaders and industry experts often face difficulty in balancing creativity with financial limitations and manage risks very effectively meeting all the market demands with innovations. They are trying to focus on emerging technologies, promote cross-team collaboration, and tackle resistance to change.
Furthermore, they are trying to protect intellectual property, maintaining quality, and scaling new products while ensuring profitability in the path of success.
Future Outlook
AI/ML, robotics, and IoT will propel the future of product innovation by creating smarter, more personalized, and sustainable products. The integration of data-driven design approaches, automation techniques such as 3D printing will expedite development processes. Meanwhile a commitment to sustainability will minimize waste generation while promoting eco-friendly solutions poised to revolutionize industries aligning these new age innovations with global sustainability objectives at large.
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