OREANDA-NEWS. Capgemini, one of the world’s foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, today introduced its Applied Innovation Exchange (AIE), an integral system that enables organizations to take advantage of its Applied Innovation concept; a process to rapidly and securely gain competitive advantage in today’s fast-pace innovation market landscape, by compressing the cycle time from the discovery to deployment of innovation. Capgemini’s AIE currently includes a global network of nine innovation spaces, known as ‘Exchanges’, where organizations are able to immerse themselves in the understanding, experimentation and application of all aspects of emerging technologies, as well as address the business disruptions confronting them and their industries. Also, it includes a global curated ecosystem of innovation partners, and a framework of tried and tested tools to help enterprises exploit today’s market disruptions in a structured way.

The latest addition to Capgemini’s global AIE network is its new Exchange in San Francisco, the heart of IT innovation, which opens its doors today. Specializing in co-innovation with established hi tech brands and startups, it provides exposure and access to the portfolio companies of selected venture capital and private equity partners, while enabling the immersion in and application of the vast sources of industry-specific innovation resident in Silicon Valley.

With the fast pace of emerging technology introductions and compressed innovation cycle times, Capgemini’s introduction of Applied Innovation and its AIE operating model have been built on the premise that innovation without ironclad application specific to the enterprise is a futile proposition. Given the permanency of innovation in today’s market, Applied Innovation is also designed to facilitate global enterprises becoming proficient and self-sustaining in their on-going application of these innovations. Capgemini’s global network of Exchanges provides a structured and secure environment to help organizations to understand and apply emerging technologies such as Internet of Things, Insights and Data, Cloud, CyberSecurity and Vanguard IT1. Also, each Exchange houses key sectorial and process domain expertise to enable organizations to apply these innovations to their specific business context. For example, Capgemini’s Munich Exchange is home to extensive automotive Applied Innovation specialties. While Capgemini’s AIE team, based in its Paris Exchange, has developed an application dedicated to the Oculus Rift virtual reality glasses, to stroll through a 3D environment replicating large industrial infrastructures and facilities, with the objective of providing immersive and efficient capabilities for experts to prepare a high risk intervention after an incident has occurred in a very hostile environment. Other Exchanges are located in Lille, Toulouse, Utrecht, Mumbai, Melbourne and now San Francisco, with London coming soon and plans to expand further this footprint in 2016.

"Companies can no longer innovate in isolation, or be content with development and deployment cycles measured in years, or months. The risks of not acting or acting in yesterday’s innovation paradigms are far too great," comments Lanny Cohen, Global Chief Technology Officer and member of the Group Executive Committee at Capgemini. "Given the fast pace of emerging technology introductions, and the way they are removing traditional barriers to market entry, it is the rapid application of innovation which promises sustainable value for the enterprise. By focusing on the discipline of Applied Innovation, we are providing organizations with a path to address one of the most strategic and important dynamics in the market today."

Organizations benefit from Capgemini’s Applied Innovation Exchange services around the world

In the Utilities sector, driven by its mission of sustainable energy for everyone, Eneco's success will depend on its ability to innovate and transform its current IT landscape and capabilities, in order to reduce total cost of ownership and create a launch platform for its future services. Its work with Capgemini will help to see the improvement, innovation and transformation of Eneco’s current IT landscape, as well as jointly explore technology, Intellectual Property creation and develop business. Preliminary and early focus areas include: home energy management, electric vehicle charging, local energy generation and digital customer services.

"Our customers are changing the way they use energy in their homes and their businesses dramatically. Decentralized and renewable energy has become the standard. Our focus is on facilitating this transformation with new agile products and services," comments Joeri Kamp, Chief Innovation and Chief Information Officer, Eneco Group. "To do this effectively we need to move forward in integrating IT solutions with our knowledge of sustainable energy and utilizing energy infrastructures in a way that hasn't been seen yet in the energy sector. We believe the Capgemini Applied Innovation Exchange, with its worldwide ecosystem of key technology partners, startups and global network of innovation Exchanges will support us as we advance innovative, new business services and enter new markets."

Within the Applied Innovation Exchange based in Paris, Capgemini supports the Innovation and Research team of SNCF, the French national railway company, in performing applications for their connected watches:

"SNCF, always more digital, must remain at the forefront of innovative technologies. It is the reason why the management team of Innovation and Research for SNCF innovates permanently to create new services that are useful for travelers. We want to surprise and to satisfy at best the expectations of our customers who are more and more connected. The information must not be sought by the travelers; it must be sent to them so that their journey becomes truely seamless," explains Patrick Ung, New Technologies Project Manager within the Innovation & Research department of SNCF.

As Boys & Girls Clubs of America seeks innovative ways to attract, engage, and support youth, the U.S.-based organization that provides access to over 4,100 chartered Club facilities, is working with Capgemini to establish a visionary technology platform to create self-directed, high-impact learning experiences in digital literacy:

"To meet the needs of today’s youth, who are digital natives, Boys & Girls Clubs of America is committed to engaging kids and teens in ways that are relevant and engaging to them, while also helping them reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens," said Dr. Damon Williams, Senior Vice President, Program, Training & Youth Development Services for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "Digital engagement and the development of digital literacy tools and programming are high priorities for us. Digital innovation is mandatory, and through Capgemini and its Applied Innovation Exchange, we have experienced the art of the possible, explored new ways of operating and are advancing on a new framework for the future."

In the finance and banking space, Capgemini has been providing innovation services to Euroclear, the financial industry’s trusted provider of post-trade services, to help it to respond to new customer needs:

"Capgemini has a structured and collaborative approach to innovation which allowed us to leverage their strategic insight, industry research and SME2 network to identify and deliver new business and technology solutions. The focus on innovation in our relationship has enabled us to launch new services like mobile apps for our customers, apply big data analytics to various business use cases, and integrate partner solutions into our ecosystem," explains Anne Swaelus, Managing Director Delivery Excellence ADM Division, Euroclear Group.


A growing global ecosystem of partners enables rapid innovation discovery and application

By leveraging the innovations from the most significant global technology players and strategically partnering with organizations to ensure access to a robust and expanding base of the most relevant portfolios, which could include IP, services or solutions, Capgemini is well positioned to respond to market disruptions from whatever source they may emanate. Engaging directly with a global network of startups, academic institutions, research organizations, venture capital and private equity firms, provides organizations with a comprehensive route to proactively address key business challenges and opportunities. In addition, Capgemini’s AIE ecosystem has also incorporated access to several of the most advanced commercial business models allowing direct and relevant application of business technology innovation. The Capgemini AIE ecosystem is an operating framework constantly evolving with access to relevant innovation sources from across the globe to enable the on-going discovery of relevant and viable innovations.

Iterate Studio, with its extensive reach into the global startup community, joins the ecosystem bringing a unique approach to startup discovery, curation, testing and experimentation, plus industry and process domain specialization: "Iterate Studio is a key partner to Capgemini and its Applied Innovation Exchange. We navigate the large and complex digital start-up ecosystem via our platform, enabling curation and experimentation with startup technologies for Capgemini’s multinational clients. Together with Capgemini we are able to help multinationals to apply innovation in an accelerated manner, while materially reducing risk," comments Jon Nordmark, CEO, Iterate Studio and Iterate.ai.

MaRS Discovery District also joins the ecosystem. One of the world’s largest urban innovation hubs, MaRS helps companies bring breakthrough ideas to market and scale globally: “MaRS and Capgemini are long standing innovation partners. Working with Capgemini’s Applied innovation Exchange takes our partnership to the next level. The global reach of the Capgemini innovation lab network strengthens our ecosystem and amplifies our networks. It also increases international exposure and market access for our ambitious startups and rapidly growing young companies developing breakthrough solutions. We see tremendous potential in this collaboration with Capgemini and the Applied Innovation Exchange,” said Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, CEO, MaRS Discovery District.

In July 2015 Capgemini Consulting and Altimeter released a global report revealing that leading businesses continue to struggle with innovation. The current R&D model is viewed as ‘broken’ and teams at large, traditional corporations, are ill-equipped to rise to the challenge of digital Darwinism. Capgemini’s new and tested introduction of Applied Innovation, and its global Applied Innovation Exchange, breaks the traditional model; instead taking a multi-party collaborative approach and balancing external and internal thinking to assist organizations in cultivating and applying innovation within their enterprises, and specifically to their most strategic business processes.