By Claus Thomsen
CIO, Lundbeck
Af Claus Thomsen
CIO, Lundbeck
Reaching the grand old age of 102 can mean that you are set in your ways and stuck in old habits of thinking. This is also true for companies.
However, being tied down to traditions and day-to-day operations has gone out of fashion. So what do you do when the hyped yet unrealistic expectations of digital innovation become obstacles instead of opportunities? You go shopping for digital innovation - both at home and abroad. That is what Lundbeck is doing at any rate.
− We are a company that is extremely good at leveraging our core competencies, but we cannot live up to the sky-high expectations of digital innovation. Not by ourselves. This is why we have chosen to enter into external partnerships, and to take advantage of the improved opportunities and innovative technologies available in the outside world. In this way we can supplement our internal competencies. We can then focus on doing what we are best at - implementing new digital technologies at Lundbeck - and then we can go shopping or find partners for the rest, says Claus Thomsen, CIO at Lundbeck.
En levealder på 102 år giver dybe rødder og forfaldenhed til at tænke den næste tanke vanen tro. Det gælder også for virksomheder.
Men traditionsbundenhed og daglig drift er ikke på mode. Så hvad gør man, når hypen og de selvskrevne – men urealistiske – forventninger til digital innovation forvandler sig til barrierer frem for muligheder? Man køber den; den digitale innovation. I in og udland. Det gør Lundbeck i hvert fald.
− Vi er en virksomhed, som er ekstremt god til at levere dét, der er vores kernekompetence. Men vi kan ikke leve op til de tårnhøje forventninger om digital innovation. Ikke alene. Vi indgår derfor eksterne alliancer og benytter os af de forbedrede muligheder og innovative teknologier, der er til rådighed ude i verden for at supplere vores interne kompetencer. Vi fokuserer på det, vi er bedst til – nemlig at implementere nye digitale teknologier i Lundbeck – og så køber eller partner vi os til resten, siger Claus Thomsen, CIO i Lundbeck.
The global pharmaceutical company’s research efforts keep a keen eye on the development of innovative medicine for patients living with brain conditions. These innovative products form the core of the entire business, and as a result take up most of Lundbeck’s innovation strategy, which only briefly mentions digital innovation.
− We are not afraid to buy digital innovation. We make use of purchases or partnerships as part of our innovation process because we have been forced to accept that our organization is never going to be innovative enough to invest in an innovation centre down in the basement. The pace of development in the area is moving too fast compared to the money that could be channeled into such a project. At the same time, we also have to accept that we can neither compete with nor attract the leaders from the most innovative start-ups in Silicon Valley; as they are far ahead of us. On the other hand, we can purchase knowledge from them or work together with them in other ways, says Claus Thomsen.
According to Lundbeck’s CIO, the Danish pharmaceutical company’s technological competencies are second to none, and its business understanding is first class. However, the innovative mindset is influenced by the fact that we work in a regulated industry and many of the company’s employees are from the old school, as Claus Thomsen puts it. This is why he believes that external innovation will become the new norm and that IT will have a new function - scanning the world’s IT ecosystem for new innovations instead of actually innovating yourself.
Den globale medicinalvirksomheds forskningsindsats har skarpt øje på udviklingen af nye, innovative lægemidler til patienter, der lever med sygdom i hjernen. De innovative produkter er kernen i hele forretningen, og derfor optager de også det meste af pladsen i den innovationsstrategi, der kun omtaler innovation af den digitale slags med få ord.
− Vi er ikke blege for at købe digital innovation. Vi benytter os i høj grad af opkøb eller partnerskaber som et led i vores innovationsproces, fordi vi må erkende, at vi i vores organisation aldrig kommer til at være så innovative, at vi får et innovationscenter nede i kælderen. Udviklingen går simpelthen for hurtigt i forhold til, hvor mange penge vi kan kanalisere den vej. På samme vis må vi erkende, at vi hverken kan konkurrere med eller tiltrække hovederne fra de mest innovative start-ups i Silicon Valley, for de er bare så langt foran os. Til gengæld kan vi købe eller samarbejde på anden måde omkring deres viden, siger Claus Thomsen.
Ifølge Lundbecks CIO ligger den danske medicinalvirksomheds teknologiske kompetencer lunt i svinget. Og forretningsforståelsen er i top. Men det innovative mindset er præget at vi er i en reguleret industri og mange af virksomhedens medarbejdere er klassisk skolede, som Claus Thomsen beskriver det. Han tror derfor på, at ekstern innovation bliver det nye, og at it vil få en ny funktion – nemlig at scanne verdens start up-økosystemer for ny innovation i stedet for selv at innovere.
Product development in the pharmaceutical world is notoriously slow. On average it takes 12 years from an idea to a finished product, and it of course would be a big advantage if you could shorten this process. By using external innovation partners, Lundbeck sees a great potential in turning years into months.
– Digital transformation is basically all about disruption and finding new ways of doing things. It might on the surface seem a backwards step to buy your way to innovation, but by tackling the process in a whole new way, we can reap enormous rewards. Our research is complex and requires great insight and data management skills. All our work with data collection and processing has been significantly improved by our partnerships with innovative and specialized start-ups, explains Claus Thomsen.
Produktudvikling i pharma-verdenen er notorisk langsommelig. I gennemsnit går der 12 år fra idé til færdigt produkt, og det er selvsagt en kæmpe fordel, hvis du kan forkorte processen. Med eksterne innovationspartnere ser Lundbeck et stort potentiale i forhold til at gøre år til måneder.
– Digital transformation handler dybest set om disruption. Om nye måder at gøre tingene på. Det kan umiddelbart virke bagvendt at købe sig til digital innovation, men netop ved at gribe processen an på en helt ny måde, kan vi høste enorme fordele. Vores studier er komplekse og kræver stor indsigt og datakraft. Hele vores arbejde med dataindsamling og behandling er blevet væsentligt forbedret af vores samarbejder med innovative og specialiserede startups, forklarer Claus Thomsen.
Lundbeck supplements and strengthens its internal competencies using external partnerships that boost and improve innovation processes and opportunities.
The company focuses its efforts on running the company and buys innovative digital solutions as an integral part of its innovation strategy.
Allocate internal man-hours to find out what you need in the area of digital innovation.
If your company is complex in nature, working on operations, implementation and innovation can take resources away from where your focus should really be. This is why you should do what you are best at - and as an organization make conscious choices.
Go into the outside world and find partners in the innovative start-up environment – because in all probability you cannot work with innovation as well as they can.
Lundbeck supplerer og styrker sine interne kompetencer med eksterne alliancer, der booster og forbedrer innovationsprocesser og -muligheder.
Koncernen fokuserer på styrken i at drive forretningen og bruger køb af digitale innovative løsninger som en del af innovationsstrategien.
Frigiv intern tid til at undersøge, hvad I vil med jeres digitale innovation.
Hvis din virksomhed har en vis kompleksitet, kan arbejdet med både drift, implementering og innovation forhindre det rette fokus. Gør derfor dét, I er bedst til – og træf som organisation et bevidst valg.
Tag ud i verden og samarbejd med innovative start up-miljøer – for I kan højst sandsynligt ikke arbejde med innovation lige så effektivt selv.
Dive into best practices of digital innovation – one of the most widely used and coveted terms in business today.
The publication is the result of NNIT’s latest survey on digital innovation and draws on the answers of 250 respondents in the spring of 2018. Also, we have supplemented the report with interviews of 6 innovative CIOs, who contribute with their insightful input and experiences.
In the publication we delve into the best practices and experiences of these businesses to uncover, what makes the difference between the Navigators, who have taken digital innovation to heart, and the Base Campers, who are making the preparations for future digital expeditions – but aren’t quite there yet.
All that remains is the question – is your company geared towards digital innovation?
Dyk ned i best practice inden for digital innovation – en af de mest anvendte og eftertragtede termer i erhvervslivet i dag.
Publikationen er resultatet af NNIT’s seneste barometerundersøgelse om digital innovation, som trækker på besvarelserne fra 250 respondenter i den førte halvdel af 2018. Vi har desuden krydret rapporten med interviews af 6 innovative CIOs, der bidrager med deres skarpe input og erfaringer.
I publikationen dykker vi ned i virksomhedernes best practices og erfaringer for at afdække, hvad der udgør forskellen mellem Navigatørerne, som for alvor har taget den digitale innovation til sig, og Base camperne, som er i gang med at forberede sig til fremtidige digitale ekspeditioner – men som endnu ikke er helt i mål.
Det eneste, der står tilbage, er spørgsmålet – er din virksomheder gearet til digital innovation?
Get relevant sparring and optimal solutions for your Digital Transformation in the fields of transformation, agility, experiences and security.
Få relevante sparring og optimale løsninger til din digitale transformation inden for transformation, agilitet, produktivitet og sikkerhed.
Transformation &
Growth
Transformation &
Growth
Agility &
Always on
Agility &
Always on
Experiences &
Productivity
Experiences &
Productivity
Security &
Compliance
Security &
Compliance
