INSIGHT ON INNOVATION

Innovation fuels the economy, prosperity and progress. In the present age of computers, the internet and ever smarter software, its sources are to be found all around us. To tap into this burgeoning abundance, organizations cannot avoid making themselves more open to the new free-flow of business opportunities. Above all, their ideas must be effectively “worked out” in intensive interaction with the outside world, with partners, knowledge institutes, competitors and individuals. Expert users now have a prominent role to play in this dynamic. Such was already the case in the development of open-source software, but this trend has now been clearly adopted in other economic sectors. Menno van Doorn and Jaap Bloem are affiliated with the Sogeti Institute for the Analysis of New Technology VINT (Vision Inspiration Navigation Trends). In its Business Technology Update program, VINT organizes seminars on various subjects, such as Web 2.0, cybercrime, IT governance, globalization, and open innovation. The institute also hosts a large annual symposium; publishes articles, columns and tailored reports; and organizes management lunches, sessions on business-technology state of affairs as well as dinner forums. The Sogeti Institute for the Analysis of New Technology VINT was established in 1994. With VINT, Sogeti would like to inspire organizations concerning innovations in information technology and their impact. VINT operates in close collaboration with its Recommendation Committee, whose members are representatives from the business and academic communities. This body determines the research topics on which VINT publishes and monitors the quality of the reports published in book form.