- Indra just launched the third edition of Innovators, a call for ideas open to its professionals around the world to respond to specific innovation challenges in areas where the company wants to be a pioneer in order to strengthen its technological leadership
- Disruptive applications of UAVs, artificial intelligence for airports, blockchain to bring government closer to citizens, solutions to create a new energy model and putting fintechs at the service of SMEs are just some of the challenges posed
- In just two editions, Innovators has become the seed of a thousand new ideas, achieved each year the participation of more than 12,000 professionals of the company around the world, and created three projects that are already developing new products for the company
- Innovation and intrapreneurship are key elements for the cultural transformation that Indra is addressing in order to become the most attractive company for global digital talent
Indra, one of the leading global technology and consulting companies, has consolidated intrapreneurship as one of the ways to mobilize all its internal talent, incentivize its professionals and generate disruptive ideas with the potential to configure its future offer, after a firm commitment to the innovation in the recent years. This commitment is manifested in initiatives such as Innovators, which has just launched its third edition through Indraventures, Indra's corporate vehicle to develop the company's open innovation model, with the aim of strengthening the relationship with the entrepreneurial ecosystem and providing financial backing for initiatives.
It is a global call open to all company professionals around the world to respond to specific innovation challenges in areas where Indra wants to be a pioneer to strengthen its technological leadership.
In just two editions, Innovators has become the seed of a thousand new ideas, achieved each year the participation of more than 12,000 professionals of the company around the world, and created three projects that are already developing new products for the insurance, distribution, transport and defense sectors. These products will soon be added to the company's portfolio.
The specific challenges posed to Indra professionals in this third edition of Innovators are: disruptive applications of unmanned vehicles (UAVs); artificial intelligence for airports; blockchain to improve citizens’ relationship with government agencies and cities; solutions to create a new energy model in areas such as renewable energy, electric mobility or active management of demand; and fintech solutions to improve the treasury and the management of small and medium-sized businesses.
In order to facilitate the transition from ideas to real Indra products, these challenges are associated with innovation priorities and real needs raised by the various divisions of the company, which will also be involved in the development of the business plan of the winning proposals together with their authors, who will be able to dedicate 10% of their working time over three months to this goal.
This year, Indra has presented the improvement of the company's internal processes as one more challenge. Indra wants its professionals to share their ideas to increase efficiency, but above all to improve their own experience as employees of the company. This is just another way to involve professionals in one of the main objectives of the deep cultural transformation in which Indra is immersed: to become the most attractive and motivating company for global digital talent. Innovation and intrapreneurship are protagonists of this transformation, together with a commitment to diversity, young talent and training.
Professional recognition and prizes of 5,000 Euros
Since it is a global initiative, Innovators is organized through a technology platform of Minsait, Indra's IT affiliate, which allows participants to upload their ideas, in Spanish, English or Portuguese, from February 27 to April 12. Ideas can be presented individually or as a team and, in addition, all Indra professionals can make comments, evaluate and vote on the proposals.
Indraventures and Indra's Innovation Committee, which is made up of representatives of corporate units, managers of all business units and technical experts, will choose three or four finalist ideas for each challenge and, among them, three winning ideas. A fourth will be added as a finalist idea, which will be the one most voted by professionals themselves on the platform. The four winning proposals will be announced in July and will receive a prize of 5,000 Euros per initiative.
In addition, all the finalist proposals will be passed on to the Indra regional divisions, which will be responsible for assessing their potential and the possibility of developing them. It is also planned to recognize the effort made by the professionals who are finalists, and ten other professionals whose ideas are selected by the Innovation Committee, with a positive recognition in their annual evaluation and in their professional development.
Innovation to transform the company
Innovation and intrapreneurship are key elements for the cultural transformation that Indra is addressing in order to become the most attractive and motivating company for global digital talent.
In addition to launching Innovators, Indra has created an Innovation Community to bring together and motivate its most proactive and innovative professionals and get them involved in successful initiatives in the entrepreneurial ecosystem to inspire them, help them to enhance their creativity and their capacity for intrapreneurship.
These initiatives are part of Indra's innovation model, which aims to expand and strengthen its connection with technology innovation ecosystems globally: startups, entrepreneurs, university research groups that are experimenting with emerging technologies and the professionals of the company, which make up a multidisciplinary network of experts from around the world.
Thanks to Indraventures, Indra has analyzed more than 700 startups and reached agreements with some of them, such as Finect, a fintech in which it has taken a stake; AutoDrive Solutions (ADS), focused on the transport industry; the Italian Greenrail, to collaborate in the rail industry; and Zero 2 Infinity, which specializes in space transportation; as well as with entities such as Enisa and Investor Partners, among others.
About Indra
Indra (www.indracompany.com) is one of the leading global technology and consulting companies and the technological partner for core business operations of its customers world-wide. It is a world-leader in providing proprietary solutions in specific segments in Transport and Defense markets, and a leading firm in Digital Transformation Consultancy and Information Technologies in Spain and Latin America through its affiliate Minsait Its business model is based on a comprehensive range of proprietary products, with a high-value focus and with a high innovation component. In the 2017 financial year, Indra achieved revenue of €3.011 billion, with 40,000 employees, a local presence in 46 countries and business operations in over 140 countries.