posts tagged ‘technology scouting’

Smart Technology Scouting – Part 2

13 April 2010 | Jennifer Ernst

Technology scouting has been happening for many years. But as companies increasingly look outside for opportunities, it becomes even more important to have clear practices associated with each step of the process. One popular technology scouting framework to address this is "Want-Find-Get-Manage”, which I've expanded for the purpose of sharing advice. And while I’ve written this talking largely about the formal technology scouting function, in reality, the principles apply for many people that help keep their companies connected to the rest of the world. As companies are developing more dependencies on external partnering, the models and standards are still very much emerging, which makes this a wonderful time for learning from each other.

Smart technology scouting – Part 1

20 January 2010 | Jennifer Ernst

Technology scouting has been happening for many years. Yet the models for how best to find and secure opportunities are still emerging as companies increasingly look outside. In this post, I share advice and principles for effective technology scouting, including defining The Why (are we scouting?) and The What (technologies and specific technology characteristics are we looking for?) Furthermore, scope is a tricky thing: if a scouting team's "find" mandate is too narrow, you're likely to miss valuable options; but if it's too broad, you end up exploring too many options that are never going to fly. How should a company assess its organizational capacity to absorb, define its time horizon for expected impct, and identify the technical needs it is scouting for?

Technology scouting and acquisition: what do YOU want to know?

9 September 2009 | Jennifer Ernst

Next week, I'll be moderating a panel on "Creating Value with a Smart Technology Scouting, Acquisition, and Licensing Strategy" at Growth, Innovation, and Leadership (a Frost & Sullivan global congress on corporate growth). Since I'll write up the discussion after the event (and, of course, post here what I can), let me know what questions you want answered -- what would like to hear more about? What questions about acquiring technology from external sources are top of mind for you?