In this episode of the Back @ IT podcast, Aaron Back welcomes guest Venkat Ramaswamy, professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Business and a recent main stage speaker at Cloud Wars Expo. They discuss the co-innovation ecosystem and address the changing needs of your customers’ customers.
Highlights
02:40 — Ramaswamy details his 20-plus years of experience in co-creation and creating valuable business partnerships.
04:04 — The old way of thinking fed rigid infrastructures into industry partners without collaborating for better solutions. The innovation model represents a fundamental shift in how solutions are developed and applied.
05:45 — The cloud has helped usher in a new standard of data-driven business decisions.
07:25 — Ramaswamy discusses “where value is generated” and how co-creation through cloud tools can pinpoint where partners can create the most value.
09:18 — Co-innovation forces companies to adopt alternate perspectives to successfully work alongside partners.
10:54 — Aaron addresses how businesses can address a lack of data through synthetic data and staying grounded as new technologies emerge.
12:33 — Ramaswamy breaks co-creation down into three key components:
- People are always trying to create together, but successful co-creation includes an element of speed and adaptability to changing conditions.
- Co-creation needs to be scalable.
- Co-creation covers the entire scope of a business’ systems and interactions.
14:27 — Among tech companies, co-creation must keep the end user in mind, implying that cloud vendors need to stay in touch with their “customers’ customers.”
16:41 — Aaron turns the discussion to co-creation around governance models. New ideas and technologies force companies to rethink or risk becoming stagnant and losing market share to competitors. Even customers must adapt past a “we’ve always done it this way” mentality.
20:39 — Ramaswamy addresses common pitfalls that companies find themselves in when transforming their governance models and the importance of starting from an “experience-first” perspective.
22:29 — Organizations must understand where and how interactions are happening before unlocking value through those interactions.
23:37 — People need democratized access to information, skills, and expertise. Data transparency, two-way communication, and reflexivity are all keys to fostering positive impacts.
26:32 — Co-creation isn’t like stacking LEGO blocks that may coexist but never fully mix together; it’s more like paint colors combining to create an intense new product. Ramaswamy discusses “risk-managed value and co-creation.”
28:25 — Aaron examines the relationship between CXOs, technologists, and end-users.
30:34 — Ramaswamy shares his “absolutely crucial” ingredient for effective co-innovation: visualization. Beyond words and images, helping people visualize new experiences and risks is integral to fostering innovation.
On-demand video from the event is rolling out now, with more than 40 hours of cloud education content — featuring 100-plus speakers — to be made available in the coming days. All content is free to Acceleration Economy subscribers with an on-demand pass.
