Rolls-Royce has always enjoyed a reputation as a pioneering organisation. Given the rapid pace of change in the digital world, particularly advanced data analytics, Caroline Gorski believes that collaboration is the best way to progress. Here’s how we are growing a sizeable innovation network.
“For more than 100 years, Rolls-Royce has had the most extraordinary capability to innovate using technology,” says Caroline Gorski. “But we are now operating in a world that is changing incredibly quickly, especially in terms of digital technology development.
“We have recognised that, in this digital world and with a data-driven economy, the power of collaboration is essential to gain both a commercial advantage and work dynamically.
“If we are going to be more innovative, adaptive, flexible and successful in the future markets, then partnerships are crucial. Delivering value from data innovation is pivotal to Rolls-Royce’s digital strategy but we can’t do it all by ourselves in a vacuum.
“In short, we need to bring the extraordinary capabilities of our organisation to the market alongside the extraordinary capabilities of some other organisations. Building an ecosystem with those partners, being outward-looking and very positive about the benefits that can come from a collaborative development process is critical to our future success.”
Sharing success
A diverse community of data innovators – including OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partners, niche start-ups, academics and a broad range of other trusted third-parties – will help us take advantage of the best open-source technologies available, and quickly respond to trends as well as the fast-changing needs of our customers. Furthermore, this collaborative approach to innovation will unlock the most undiscovered value from data and deliver relevant solutions for clients.
Caroline says that the initial target is to have “500 innovative businesses around the world on our books” by the end of 2018. Rolls-Royce already partners with Tata Consultancy Services and Microsoft, two globally recognised digital service providers. And R2 Data Labs’ recently announced collaboration with IoT Tribe North – a leading accelerator for tech start-ups specialising in artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT) – is another impressive development.
It’s a win-win situation, according to Tanya Suárez, chief executive and founder of IoT Tribe. “The evidence shows that it can be three times faster and five times cheaper to work with start-ups rather than try to develop key enabling technologies internally,” she says.
Caroline adds: “Yes, we are very ambitious with our aims and determined to move very quickly. It is a very exciting time to be at Rolls-Royce. However, there are plenty of individuals in the R2 Data Labs team who have been doing extraordinary things with data for a long time.
“Rolls-Royce has been analysing data for 30-odd years, and it’s important to stress that we are building on an amazing capability set. We are trying to go large on that – ramp it up. By accessing and collaborating with leading-edge innovators we can punch above our already considerable weight.”
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