When people think of innovation and disruption, the Silicon Valley remains top of mind to this day. Even though its demise was predicted often enough, the San Francisco Bay Area has proven hard to replicate. The presence of certain factors and types of players make this area unique, and companies from all over the world have plugged into the ecosystem in numerous ways. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, we can learn from those who have been here the longest.
Silicon Valley stands apart in many ways, and certainly there are multiple answers to this question. I believe that one of the most important ones is the fact that companies still choose to be in Silicon Valley. Companies are here because they know other companies are here, too. People know that they will find like-minded people. This leads to an accelerated ecosystem of efficiency. On a tiny geographic area, venture capitalists find investment opportunities, startups find talent, and corporations find technology partners.
View the session Why A Swiss Telco has an Outpost in Silicon Valley for an example of corporate innovation that has lasted for over 20 years.
For some business models, such as venture capital, a Silicon Valley presence makes sense immediately. Corporates in other industries often struggle to find their perfect fit. If you decide that your company should be in the middle of it, the next question is, in what form. Corporate venture funds have become a trendy way for companies to innovate, but companies can start leaner and profit with much lower investments, too. Some have a permanent trend or technology scout in San Francisco. Others conduct research and develop prototypes here, sometimes in collaboration with the local universities.
Differing goals make it hard to compare, let alone rate, innovation practices across the board. However, it could be argued that the longer a company has been present in Silicon Valley, the higher the chance that that approach is not completely wrong.
When Swisscom established its Outpost in 1998, the bleeding edge of technology was the internet. As technology evolved and the ecosystem developed, so did the Outpost evolve and develop over time. Today, its goals include trend scouting, business development, marketing, venturing and R&D.
While the Outpost’s current setup fits Swisscom Switzerland’s needs of today extremely well, it is fair to assume its goals are not set in stone and its focus will shift in the future. After all, it would be ironic, if the constantly changing landscape of innovation can be navigated without adapting to it yourself.
View the session Why A Swiss Telco has an Outpost in Silicon Valley in order to learn how Swisscom’s approach has been helping it remain market leader since the founding of the Outpost in Silicon Valley in 1998.