Innovation is everywhere – where is the value?

Today, more than ever, businesses and leaders have a wealth of tools at their disposal to drive innovation. Investment in technology and the optimisation of the back-office continues to accelerate, particularly in areas like AI – but that doesn’t always equate to creating genuine value.

As technology evolves faster than ever before, the opportunity is compounding right in front of organisations. Here lies the challenge: organisational gaps are being amplified, whether it’s the gap between current optimisation plans and the transformation needed, the gap between the desire and actual readiness for AI, or ability to successfully adopt change, quickly.

Don’t get me wrong, businesses are continuing to evolve. 79% of business leaders believe transformation will drive growth in the next two years, as found in our latest research produced with the FT. But while it’s easy to think that transformation is already happening all around us, technology is just one component and one catalyst of value creation and true business transformation. Great ideas with no senior leader sponsorship? They never make the priority list. The latest tech trial but no plans on how to productionise? A nice demo with learnings, but offers limited business value. People not at the centre of change? Processes end up not followed, tech is left on the shelf, and old ways of working are reinstated.

With that said, as technology and AI matures, the market is changing. In the past, technology was broadly about making work easier by removing friction. Now, expectations are shifting. Agents and agentic AI mean we’ve moved beyond just the retrieval of information – now, being able to deliver outcomes is becoming the new expectation by default.

That shift is having an impact on the landscape, particularly when it comes to the traditional consulting model. Providing advice alone is a very different scenario compared to having to execute on the advice and being accountable for the end result. Today, businesses are less satisfied with ideas and strategies, and are increasingly looking for partners who have more skin in the game, and can deliver measurable outcomes that drive value creation.

Meanwhile, the business transformation model itself is also undergoing a revolution. The traditional People, Process, and Technology framework is being reframed, with technology now very much at the forefront – integrated into business strategy and driving change. Now, the process is far more likely to be technology-first, followed by the data that supports it, with the talent ecosystem underpinning the entire change program. It’s vital though that in the midst of this change, organisations shouldn’t overlook the importance of change management. Even with technology as a key priority, upskilling and alignment from key stakeholders is still absolutely essential to making change happen. By now, we all know that technology is only as successful as the people that adopt it.

“The traditional People, Process, and Technology framework is being reframed, with technology now very much at the forefront…”

Speed remains a top priority for those looking to drive business transformation – and with the tools available to us now, such as agentic AI, it is possible to prove value in weeks rather than months. This is achieved by breaking transformation into smaller, outcome-driven initiatives that prove value early, build momentum, and are underpinned by clear expectations around investment and return. We’re seeing customers move from 30% automation of manual processes to as high as 80%, which unlocks significant operational value. The focus is moving away from innovation for its own sake, towards accountability for results.

Ultimately, all transformation is underpinned by the business goals. Innovation only creates advantage when it is tied to execution – technology should always be aligned to the problem that you want to solve. We know from our own research that 87% of organisations today advocate business transformation as a way to create wider business value. As forward-thinking businesses seek out partners who can create value and deliver it quickly, the winners of the future will be those that can move beyond experimentation, and anchor innovation to tangible outcomes.