Innovation No Longer Defined by Big Investments, but Rather Everyday Things Done Differently

Canadian startups are infamous for their relative risk-aversion but that doesn’t necessarily make them any less innovative than their peers elsewhere.

A recent IDC survey commissioned by Salesforce suggests that 80% of Canadian small businesses believe innovation is a priority. Further, the survey found that innovation “is no longer defined by big investments in R&D centres, but rather everyday use of technology to do things differently.”

Today’s innovative Canadian companies are open-minded when it comes to technology and adopt it more quickly than their peers; they’re deeply invested in mobile technology; and will fairly consider any technology that may help them serve customers better or operate more efficiently, even if it’s brand new and unproven, according to the survey.

On the mobile front, 64% of innovative Canadian companies are making their business processes and resources more mobile friendly, while 79% of innovative Canadian companies say mobile workers use tablets in addition to mobile phones. 

While mobile is magnetizing, innovative companies in Canada are shifting away from email, the survey suggests—29% of innovative companies are moving away from email in favour of more cutting-edge alternatives, while 47% use technology to reduce the amount of internal email communication amongst employees by using ​internal ​social technology, which they believe enhances virtual collaboration.