Forrester

Why Read This Report

In the technology industry, two types of labs exist, each contributing to different parts of the innovation process. The stereotypical lab, focused on pure research, is the source of good ideas from inside the company as well as ideas jointly developed with customers and partners. These ideation labs also market-test the ideas so the company does not waste resources on technologies that have little chance of success or are of only marginal benefit to the vendor. The other type, implementation labs, contribute to the later phases of the innovation process at the point when vendors bring ideas to market and try to convince customers and partners to adopt them. Implementation labs improve the quality of products and services, and they also provide information that helps teams implement the technology. Implementation labs get less attention than ideation labs, but given their substantial benefits, more technology vendors should consider creating them.