Environmental Scanning for Business Strategy

Why is environmental scanning important?

Environmental scanning is the process of comprehensively and continuously scanning and analyzing external factors that may impact an organization's business environment. The process involves the scouting, scanning, and monitoring of trends, technologies, startups, potential partners, and competitors.

By staying informed and ahead of changes in their external environment, organizations can identify opportunities and threats, and make informed decisions about their business strategy. Environmental scanning can be conducted using a variety of tools and techniques, such as market research, competitive analysis, and trend analysis. Having a structured framework to gather, organize and create innovation intelligence enables informed and evidence-based strategic decision-making.

Identify weak signals in real-time

Access millions of data points from thousands of verified sources with ITONICS Insights. The Insights engine uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology to automate scouting by sorting through vast amounts of data. Get filtered data from RSS Feeds, news, patent databases, and scientific publications relevant to your search intent.

Distributed global scouts can scan your business environment for new startups, trends, emerging technologies, and relevant competitor developments on one single point of truth. Anytime, anywhere. Advanced search features enable quick filtering of data to get clarity.

Centralize your research, establish standardized processes, and build a unified insights ecosystem.

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Now anyone can be a scout

Teams worldwide can scout for signals of change using ITONICS Insights, Webclipper, and the Inspirator app. Stay on top of continuously evolving environments and make sure you know which of today's weak signals could shape tomorrow's trends and technologies.

Manage the overload of information and reduce the noise to identify the most relevant drivers of change. Radars enable global teams to assess trends, technologies, and more to mitigate risk and keep companies ahead of the curve.

Clients such as Bosch, DZ Bank, or KTM use ITONICS to scout and collaborate with promising new partners, achieving company-wide alignment.

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Evaluate the impact of drivers of change with your teams

Involve your entire organization in identifying, discussing, and rating trends, technologies, startups, or competitor developments relevant to your company’s future. Ratings leverage collective intelligence and get teams invested in innovation.

With ITONICS’ support, Cisco was able to accelerate its technology foresight process by implementing the Cisco Technology Radar platform, allowing 150 technology scouts worldwide to share their insights.

Provide your community with specific focus points and motivate management to prioritize certain opportunities.

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Support cross-company foresight programs

Augment scouting, scanning, and monitoring activities to arrive at data-driven decisions faster. Use ITONICS trends and emerging technologies content available out-of-the-box to kickstart your environmental scanning. Identify what's driving change in your industry, vertical, geography, and beyond – short, mid, and long term.

By establishing a continuous pipeline of research on new players in the market, teams can pinpoint potential partners and key competitors. Enable teams to connect external knowledge as supporting evidence to internal knowledge.

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Content and research on trends, technologies and startups

Kickstart your environmental scanning with ready-to-use trends and technologies compiled by our analysts.

Manage trends, technologies, ideas and innovation projects in one platform

One solution to bring all your innovation efforts together, enrich it collaboratively and evaluate it across different views.

Insights and automation with the ITONICS Innovation OS

Save time with AI-enabled environmental scanning that sorts through masses of data so you can focus on what matters.

Explore trends and uncover new opportunities for growth using interactive radars.

Technology radar with emerging technologies

Visualize emerging tech and identify their relevance for your business. Today, tomorrow, and in 5 years’ time.

Configurable risk radar as early warning system

Establish an early-warning system with a risk radar to monitor threats to your company.

Radar tool for scouting startups and partners

Accelerate the realization of your innovation goals by finding relevant startups to partner with.

Evaluations and ratings of trends and technologies

Customizable criteria enable team members and external experts to rate content in a way that combines collective knowledge.

Inspirator App for spontaneous inspirations and ideas

Capture inspirations on your phone while on the go. Now anyone, anywhere can be a scout.

Web Clipper browser extension for ITONICS Innovation OS

Simple browser extension to collect inspiring content from the web and easily save it directly to the ITONICS Innovation OS.

Trend scouting and technology management at Lear - Success Story

AI-powered signal sensing

In partnership with ITONICS, Lear is using AI-powered signal sensing and data-driven decision-making to continually invent, innovate and evolve new capabilities and products. Supported by AI-based algorithms, a high-volume of input data is continuously scouted to detect signals and blind spots.

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Cisco_logo

Cisco Technology Radar to foster innovation

Cisco operates in a world of increasing market volatility and globalization. With the Technology Radar they found a solution to effectively and efficiently manage novel technologies to maintain and enhance the competitive position.

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Trend scouting at DMK Group - Success Story

How to build a global trend scouting community

One of the leading dairy companies in Europe is facing new technologies, changing customer habits and fierce international competition in its industry. Early identification of new business opportunities based on relevant food trends becomes an essential task to meet future challenges. With the help of the ITONICS Innovation OS, DMK built a global trend scouting community.

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Technology scouting to drive therapeutic innovation at Merz

Since 2018, technology scouting at Merz Therapeutics has been supported by ITONICS‘ tools to more transparently gather and evaluate insights on activities in the business environment. This allows for informed decision-making to expand the company‘s portfolio.

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