Most of world's innovations projects do not see light of day

Over-commitment, lack of leadership and absence of suitable internal processes are hampering the successful execution of innovative ideas, says Oracle report

AI will be one of the drivers of innovation projects in the region. Reuters

Poor internal collaboration between departments means global companies are failing to fulfil more than half of the innovations they propose.

Innovation barriers are particularly pronounced among big companies, even those with high growth rates, said a report by California tech giant Oracle.

Coping with the sheer volume of input has also been a problem. “Over-commitment is preventing companies from bringing their innovation initiatives to life, with one third [of businesses] admitting to being overwhelmed by too many projects,” Oracle said.

However, insufficient commitment coupled with a lack of clear ownership were also obstacles, the report said.

Some 85 per cent of companies experiencing significant growth are investing in innovation. But 21 per cent admit a lack of commitment in areas such as finance and management are holding back progress.

“Employees will always be a critical factor in any innovation programme,” said Neil Sholay, vice president of innovation at Oracle. “But they need an effective and supporting culture of innovation to be successful.

“This starts with a clear vision from leaders and the prioritisation and funding of chosen projects,” he added. “Being innovative isn’t just about ideas, it’s about execution.”

The survey polled more than 5,000 decision-makers in cloud solutions and software with the respondents representing companies across 24 markets.

Artificial intelligence will be one of the drivers of innovation projects in the Middle East and Africa. The region’s AI market is projected to reach nearly $574 million by 2022, according to researcher Statista.

Despite ambitions to embed innovation processes, 22 per cent of organisations said that suitable workflows had not yet been successfully established. Companies need to upgrade their traditional  workflows or styles of project execution, matching the speed at which technology is changing, the report said.

Meanwhile, 19 per cent of companies said they were being held back by a lack availability of suitable technology.

Another 22 per cent of the respondents said that an under-investment in technology is holding back their innovation largely due to a lack of vision among executives.