AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES CAN MASTER INNOVATION CHALLENGE THROUGH 'SMART DISRUPTION'

Optus Business study shows established and digital-era companies must collaborate to achieve their transformation objectives.

• Smart disruption involves organisations of all shapes and sizes sharing transformation insights and experiences to create mutual value
• Establishing collaboration-ready business models is critical to achieving and scaling innovation to adapt to constant digital disruption

Australian businesses are struggling to fulfil their innovation ambitions but can do so by adopting smart disruption to foster innovation, grow productivity and improve competitiveness, according to new research released today from Optus Business.

Optus Business defines smart disruption as disrupting your own business to better anticipate evolving customer needs by innovating to meet them, and is achieved by partnering with organisations of all sizes and stages of maturity to share insights and experience to create mutual value.

Smart Disruption: a perspective on innovation for Australian organisations disproves the belief that in today’s economy, Digital Natives (companies born in the digital age) are smart and growing, while Established Organisations (companies born pre-digital) are not. Instead, the study revealed a number of opportunities for Established Organisations and Digital Natives to support each other on their transformation and innovation journeys.

John Paitaridis, managing director of Optus Business said: “We found that digital start-ups and established organisations can – and want – to learn from one another. These groups need to embrace a new mindset of collaboration and partnerships, where learnings are freely shared.

“Established organisations have the systems, processes and scale that start-ups need as they grow; while the culture, agility and energy of start-ups is what established organisations are looking for to drive innovation.”

Mr Paitaridis said: “Few organisations can master innovation on their own. When businesses, of all sizes and maturity, build a network of partnerships, they extend their own skills and capabilities and benefit from the knowledge of others.

“Currently in Australia, only one in 20 start-ups succeed. Start-ups need support from industry – mentoring, advisory and access to markets – and established organisations that provide this support will benefit from access to innovative methodologies, agile ways of working and exposure to a digital-first mindset.

“What our research showed is that both types of organisations know this, they want to partner; they’re just not sure how to go about it.”

In Smart Disruption: a perspective on innovation for Australian organisations, Dr. Lara Moroko, Macquarie University, academic consultant for the research, outlines three practical measures to achieve smart disruption.

“The engine for smart disruption exists in Australia, with a deep and diverse spectrum of skills in Established Organisations and Digital Natives. All businesses can achieve a state of smart disruption by building teams with deep innovation capabilities that can collaborate internally and externally; evolving business models to be collaboration ready; and actively creating, supporting and opting in to collaboration platforms,” said Dr. Moroko.

“Australia’s future economy needs to be grounded in effective partnerships and industry collaborations that drive innovation and address skills and operational gaps. Forums and idea generation sessions, advisory boards, and specific investment programs, like Innov8 , Optus’ corporate venture arm and the Macquarie Park Innovation District, are examples of what we can implement today to enable a culture of smart disruption,” Mr Paitaridis said.

To learn how Australia’s Established Organisations and Digital Natives approach business transformation, and how smart disruption can be achieved, download the full report www.optus.com.au/business/smartdisruption

ABOUT THE RESEARCH

Smart Disruption: a perspective on innovation for Australian organisations is a qualitative study exploring how Established Organisations and Digital Natives are approaching business transformation in Australia.

Interviewing senior-decision makers – including CEOs, CIOs, CXOs, and CDOs – from prominent established and digital native organisations, the report provides a framework all organisations can use to achieve success in this new era of business.

Findings identified four types of business in Australia, defined by where they are in their transformation journeys:

• Digital Natives – Agile, fast-moving, and innovative. Understand how to operate in an environment of constant change, but lack the systems and processes to scale. Operating in rush mode, and find it difficult to prioritise
• Advanced Natives – Periods of intense growth have led to rapid adoption of more systems and structure, making it increasingly difficult to be agile. Striving to maintain a culture of innovation, but suffering from legacy IT and increased internal and external scrutiny
• Established Organisations – Beginning their transformation journey, but encountering internal challenges: a focus on the bottom line, and legacy IT
• Advanced Organisations – Strong adoption of change programs, with a focus on customer, innovation, and technology. Digital is now part of who they are, not what they are trying to become.

Media contacts:

Steve Batten

Optus Corporate Affairs

T: (02) 8082 7850

E: Steve.Batten@optus.com.au

David Dunn

Ogilvy PR

T (02) 8437 5312

E: David.Dunn@ogilvy.com.au