What is an external TECHNOLOGY SCOUT?
Once used primarily within industries with steep innovation curves — such as technology and pharmaceuticals — a Technology Scout brings outside technology into companies that traditionally sourced innovation internally.
After all, no one company has a monopoly on all the talent in the world, and any-sized company can be more effective at innovation if it leverages great minds inside and outside the company. The acceptance of Technology Scouts has spread to other industries as more companies realise that outside guidance can be a differentiator to keep pace in an increasingly competitive and dynamic marketplace.
J Lyons Marketing is becoming globally known as a leading tech scout for lithium-ion & sodium-ion battery technologies.
The Battery Sector Tech Scouting Coverage:
Battery Cell - manufacturers primarily new chemistries
Leading Battery Modular Firms - design new smart packs with leading chemistries that match the specifications requirement.
BMS Battery Management Systems -monitoring condition and end-of-life per cell, Additionally charging stations new platforms
OEMs requiring an advanced power source
Raw materials, including recycled & up-cycled materials
Enhancement processes & coating technologies
Venture Capital & US Government funding on advancing all aspects of the battery sector
Research battery world-leading universities & government R & D agencies and corporate R & D
view > The Top 12 Tech Scouting Practices of Industrial Leaders
In our 25 years in business, JLM has learned that open innovation is not an abstract academic concept. In fact, at its core, it’s common sense. It’s about finding smart people inside and outside the company who can positively impact your business. It’s tremendously exciting to discover new technologies and partners that can drive your business forward. And it’s equally challenging as you push against a culture that was built doing things internally. This cultural shift can encourage, support and reward employees for being more connected to business objectives. That’s something that can only be accomplished with the support and persistence of upper-management.
Companies no longer need to be the only ones who discover the “Eureka" moments and great technical breakthroughs. Instead, they need to be connecting with great innovators wherever they are and leveraging their “Eureka" moments.
One obstacle that comes along with this shift is the great pride inventors take in their discoveries. When we asked scientists — the traditional inventors — to leave the lab in search of outside ideas, it’s not surprising there was reluctance on their part. However, in recent years, we have observed a significant change in the mindset of scientists as they engaged with external experts. Scientists are realizing that by working with these external experts, they can collaborate and guide basic research efforts needed to unlock complex scientific challenges facing businesses today: challenges business cannot not possibly solve by itself.
JLM is a connector for collaboration: we combine external new technology with Fortune 500 development expertise. Where a strategy may represent the most dramatic departure from its traditional research and development methods, it can also identify points were internal efforts haven’t been productive. JLM can improve the odds with investment gambles that can make or break the next new blockbuster. Now, external technologies are driving scientists to play a different role in the innovation process. So rather than being the sole creator, you’re now asking them to be orchestrators — to find interesting pieces of technology that exist outside the company, and work to bring them in and connect them to internal initiatives. In fact, at JLM, we refer to external technology as connected innovation, because at the heart of our effort, we are asking scientists to shift from an invention model to a connection model.