The Wonders of Innovation Consulting

By Lauren Fong

One of the many efforts of being a student is to try and understand the world around you. During case competitions, conferences and other networking events, I try my best to immerse myself in the world of business. As such, it becomes natural and rather easy to gain exposure to a variety of new jargon, different ideas, and interesting concepts that I quickly jot down and attempt to incorporate in my own work.

When I first heard the term “innovation consulting”, I thought to myself in wonder. It was one that seemed intuitively sensible, but I didn’t know what it meant or what the applications of

“innovation consulting” was in the real world. That’s when research kicked in.

Innovation consulting refers to working with clients (as the term “consulting” implies), along with collaboration in the markets to develop new forms of technology, built to execute solutions. It’s the job of an innovation consultant to create processes that enrich and enhance current organizations, making it easier for them to do their jobs or resolve a problem with the help of technology and the tools they have.

Through Illuminate, I’ve learned much about innovation consulting, and how technology can be one of the most useful assets for a company to transform in the future. With three key ideas; technology strategy, sourcing and vendor management, as well as enterprise architecture, businesses and technology can engage in a unified relationship to move forward, in an ever-changing world.

Technology strategy refers to using technology in order to help clients and their businesses -

observing its development over the years. Technology may transform, disrupt or completely

change the way clients work or the way businesses currently function, so it’s important that

innovation consultants recognize the role technology plays in client’s current (and future) work.

Sourcing and vendor management refers to the work an innovation consultant does in relation to the client’s options for execution - how will their work and technologies be handled or facilitated?

Lastly, enterprise architecture refers to the changing technological landscape - and how leading companies may develop over the course of time due to technological advancements or new, revolutionary ways of thinking.

In these key ways, innovation consulting remains one of the leading drivers of technology -

infused within current business practices and work structures. Over time, as technology

continues to evolve, businesses will eventually follow suit. It’s up to innovation consultants to

pull it all together!

Sources Used: Illuminate College, Illuminate Universe Modules (Technology Strategy &

Innovation Consulting Forum).