by Carolina Vanoni – Excellence Innovation
In an increasingly interconnected global context, where new technologies are now present in most everyday activities, digital transformation has become a key element for companies that want to maintain a competitive edge in the market. This evolution is driven by the need to adapt quickly to increasingly dynamic markets, as well as to seize the opportunities offered by technological progress itself. An important aspect to consider, however, is the speed at which changes occur in the digital field, a feature that often requires the adoption of more agile and innovative approaches, so as to be able to adapt rapidly to new challenges and make the most of the opportunities offered by digital technologies.
The role of digital transformation in companies
Digital transformation in companies takes shape through the digitisation and automation of internal processes, the development of digital services and customised platforms, as well as the improvement of the user experience through innovative and integrated solutions.
For this reason, the combination of Open Innovation and digitalisation enables organisations to introduce the new technologies needed to keep up with the times more quickly, effectively and sustainably, thus fostering an overall evolution of the adopted business model.
What is Open Innovation and why is it a decisive catalyst
Open Innovation represents a fundamental solution for responding to market changes. Unlike traditional models based exclusively on internal resources, Open Innovation – thanks to collaboration with external ecosystems made up of start-ups, research centres, universities and industrial partners – allows companies to innovate more rapidly and thus obtain a competitive advantage in their operating context. More specifically, three different open innovation models should be distinguished:
- Inbound Innovation: acquisition of technologies and ideas from outside the company.
- Outbound Innovation: sharing and transferring one’s own solutions and inventions to the outside.
- Coupled Innovation: mutual collaboration with various strategic partners.
All these forms are essential, as they make it possible to speed up the innovation process, reducing time and costs and strengthening the company’s competitive value.
Tangible benefits of combining Open Innovation and digitalisation
The adoption of Open Innovation practices offers tangible benefits in promoting digitalisation within the company. In particular, the following can be identified:
- Acceleration of the innovation and digitalisation process, since it becomes easier to access complementary external knowledge, reducing development times and increasing the speed to market of new products, services or business models.
- Greater flexibility and ability to adapt to market developments, thanks to flexible technological infrastructures introduced by digitalisation and by the collaborative networks typical of Open Innovation.
- Reduction of research and commercialisation costs, made possible by co-creation mechanisms with partners and users that allow resources to be shared and customer needs to be better understood.
- Development of new market segments through the use of innovative technologies and the exploitation of ideas that also come from outside the company.
- Creation of new revenue streams through business models based on digitalisation and cooperation with external players.
Strengthening corporate reputation and visibility by presenting oneself to customers as an innovative, forward-looking organisation.
Open Innovation strategies for Digital Transformation in Banks and Insurance Companies
In the banking and insurance sector, digital transformation can be accelerated through various Open Innovation strategies which, if properly integrated, make it possible to renew business models, improve the customer experience and increase operational efficiency.
A first highly relevant strategy is collaboration with fintech and insurtech start-ups. Structured collaborations with companies in this sector make it possible to speed up the development and launch of new digital services such as embedded finance and digital onboarding. In addition, these partnerships facilitate the rapid adoption of solutions based on AI, Big Data and blockchain, thereby improving risk assessment, operational efficiency and the personalisation of the offering.
Another significant lever is represented by Open Platform models and the API economy, since opening systems through standardised APIs enables the creation of digital ecosystems where third-party services integrate easily. Specifically, the use of open platforms allows customers to manage banking and insurance products through a single interface, fostering omnichannel capabilities and comparability of offerings.
A further key element is co-innovation and the active involvement of developer communities. Co-innovation, often implemented through hackathons, incubators and acceleration programmes, allows different financial institutions to collaborate directly with developers and technology partners in order to co-develop new products. More specifically, creating a community of developers who are active on open platforms is to be considered a crucial factor, as it enables continuous service evolution, speeds up time-to-market and stimulates the company’s competitiveness.
In parallel, implementing initiatives to share resources is a strategic move. Thanks to this type of strategy, it is possible to create open cooperation networks in which the sharing of data, skills and technologies supports the creation of modular digital services, based on a “coopetitive” logic, which consists in creating an environment of collaboration and competition at the same time. These partnerships also make it possible to respond more quickly to regulatory challenges and new customer needs, raising the level of security and compliance.
Last but not least is the management of aspects related to training internal staff in terms of digital culture. Indeed, training and the development of advanced digital skills are crucial to making the transformation enabled by Open Innovation sustainable, especially considering the speed at which emerging technologies such as generative AI are evolving. At the same time, promoting an innovation-oriented culture facilitates the adoption of new operating models and the integration of digital innovations.
All these strategies, if adopted by financial institutions, help develop a more digital, interoperable and collaboration-oriented offering, thus enabling banks and insurance companies to evolve and fully harness the potential of emerging technologies.
