Current technology-centered innovation is not well-aligned to the needs of people and institutions, says Nikhil Balram, president and CEO of Ricoh Innovations Corp. of Malvern.

In fact, we will soon see the stark emergence of a growing trend: technology-centric innovation outpacing human cognitive capacity and institutional adaptability. Deep Innovation is needed before we can tap the full promise of digital technology, Balram said in Ricoh’s third annual end-of-the-year summary.

In a nutshell, digital technology is advancing at an exponential rate, while humans and institutions built by humans adapt in a linear fashion.  Our struggle to cope will only worsen as technology accelerates, Balram warns.

“We need fresh approaches to dealing with the exponential pace of technology development and the gap versus our natural ability to adapt to it in a useful manner,” said Balram.

“The solution is what we at Ricoh call Deep Innovation – an approach in which the development of new technology is firmly grounded within the context of people and business from the start to finish. Today too often, the human context for the latest technology innovation is added as an afterthought.”

Terrie Campbell, vice president of Strategic Marketing at Ricoh, said Deep Innovation is helping the company affirm its mission to provide human-oriented services, not just technologies, to customers.

“Deep Innovation will also help us deliver information mobility, the ability for organizations to bring the right information to the right user at the right time in the right form to achieve the strongest possible business results,” Campbell said.

Ricoh suggests some areas in which companies can use a Deep Innovation approach.

Read more about Deep Innovation here.   .

_______

Top photo credit: gnews pics viaa photopin cc