Why ‘open innovation’ is more than creating solutions through technology
THE BUBBLEGUARD CASE: CONTACT TRACING FOR BUSINESSES
The starting point: We use technical know-how to solve a complex problem.
The reality: Reality strikes, innovation never goes as planned. A critical part of the solution is not available.
The solution: Working as an entrepreneur, flexible, agile and looking for opportunities in the spirit of open innovation.
OPEN INNOVATION
At the outset of the Corona crisis, it quickly became clear that tracking who has been in contact with whom can be a powerful means of curbing the spread of the virus. In fact, we already knew this for some time, because it is precisely through following up human contacts in Africa, for example, that the Ebola virus was not spread all over the world.
In the minds of many technology adepts, the ambition quickly arose to have contact tracing run via the smartphone. At the same time, we know that this type of tracking is a sensitive topic. Privacy concerns rightly come into play, so clearly it wouldn’t be a matter of collecting some GPS data and putting it in a database. More technological creativity was needed.
This article will give you an insight on how a number of people within the Cronos Group set out to build a contact tracing app in an open innovation spirit.
Open innovation is a term used to describe a mindset where innovation is not confined within one company or organization, but where knowledge from different partners is shared.
LOOKING FOR TECHNICAL AND FUNCTIONAL KNOWLEDGE
On the technical side, it quickly became clear that “Bluetooth Low Energy” could provide the technological basis for measuring proximity. Previous experience within the team with a game for the Devoxx conference in Antwerp, made a perfect starting point. For the game, the city was flooded with ibeacons, which could be detected via Bluetooth based on proximity.
Meanwhile, the more functional search for best practices around the topic led to the “École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne” in Switzerland where a lot of research had already been conducted into privacy-safe contact tracing. The knowledge was made available in open-source philosophy in a white paper entitled: “Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (DP-3T).” From Lausanne, the trail then led back to Belgium, to Professor Bart Preneel of the KULeuven who participated in the study. The pedigree of Bart Preneel gave the group the necessary reassurance that this was not just a loose invention, but a well-founded study.
DEEP DIVE INTO DP-3T
The model presented in the DP-3T paper is explicitly aimed at safeguarding privacy. It was decided not to work with “anonymizing” existing data from, for example, telco providers, because in practice this is never completely privacy-proof. Furthermore, the centralization of data is avoided as much as possible. The central database only exists to allow individual devices to determine whether the user has been in contact with a person who has been infected and reported this. The graph below provides an overview of how the model can work in practice.
The full white paper (and a summary) can be found here: https://github.com/DP-3T/documents
Another element that illustrates the privacy focus is to be found in the fact that tracing stops on an infected patient as soon as he or she declares an infection. It is assumed that the person in question takes responsibility and is self-quarantined. Partly due to this mechanism, the application also dies a kind of natural death as the epidemic decreases.
ON WITH THE APP
Armed with this new knowledge, the team within the Cronos Group set to work and developed a prototype contact tracing app. Internal tests with a number of voluntary smartphone owners gave good results. But it soon became clear that an Android app would not be enough to achieve the necessary critical mass. Strengthened by the first positive results, the team continued to develop a multi-platform solution in which iOS and Android devices would “recognize” each other, independent of the platform.
The team at this point consisted of five people: a back-end developer, two app developers (Android and iOS) and a UX / UI designer, supplemented by the two technical architects who were the initiators from the start. A Cronos version of the app was developed on the basis of the open source material and internal knowledge. In addition to the contact tracing functionality, this also has the option of sending messages about the epidemic and how to combat it to the users.
It was an exciting journey of discovery through new technologies, and there was more. As technology deepens into our lives, questions about ethics and privacy emerge more prominently. So this was also a time to take a closer look at those aspects of new applications.
IN COME GOOGLE & APPLE
And then Apple and Google came up with their “Privacy-Preserving Contact Tracing” solution. As the name suggests, it was also based on the DP-3T white paper. A godsend for the team, you might think. But that turns out not to be quite the case in practice.
For security reasons, the Apple/Google consortium decided that they themselves would be the gatekeepers and limit the use of their API to trusted authorities, more specifically the national governments. The concern for safety is entirely justified, that cannot be overemphasized. You don’t want every amateur app developer to suddenly start doing contact tracing. But for the Cronos team this meant a big blow. As long as there wasn’t a government agency ordering an app, they wouldn’t be able to finish it.
What started as an exciting story of a cool technological solution to an acute global problem fell to a cold stone. Lost effort, lost energy? Not at all! During the Corona months, the team built a strong network that spans both the academic and technology world. Competitors/colleagues from Switzerland to Spain worked together on solutions and improvements. At the same time, knowledge of app technology and handling privacy-sensitive information was brought to a new unprecedented level. Knowledge that will certainly prove its worth in the future. And of course it is never bad for a technology company to be at the forefront of new evolutions.
BETTING ON OPEN INNOVATION
This positive outcome could only be achieved by focusing on open innovation. It takes courage and long-term thinking to invest in solutions that you will not necessarily be able to sell immediately. Only by fully participating in an open philosophy can you tap into the gigantic amount of knowledge that has been built up in the academic world, not least at our Belgian universities.
As a CIO, it is therefore crucial to think broader than coming up with solutions to today’s problems in your company. A vision of technology, innovation and transformation is needed that fits seamlessly with the raison d’être of the organization. And what is relevant in your company can certainly also be of significance for comparable organizations. What’s more, you can even start building solutions that your competitors can use and that way together generate a bigger, better markets for your respective companies.
Senior IT architect Wim:
“When I started in IT 16 years ago, I was expected to solve problems with technology. Today we build products that solve problems, in a shared model between us as IT consultants and the companies that work with us. a fundamental shift in the way we work. ”
TRANSFORMING IT TO A DRIVING FORCE BEHIND INNOVATION AND CORPORATE VENTURING
In this way, the classic IT department can become the driving force behind innovation and corporate venturing. In a spirit of open collaboration, technology suppliers and their customers can build for the future.
Each collaborating party has its part to do in this:
- Technology, creativity and customer-oriented work can be delivered by an IT partner.
- Entrepreneurial thinking, business model development and communication are the specialty of organizations such as THINK with people.
- And then of course there is the business knowledge that is the domain of the company’s IT and business departments.
To conclude this story, I would like to dwell on the importance of the intrapreneur. 70% of all innovations originate in the workplace, and that makes sense. The challenge is to support and grow this venturing spirit, and that is hard work. It’s not enough to throw a budget at someone with an idea. The intrapreneurs need people who support them with boots on the ground. People who are there when things don’t go as expected (because they never do). And they need credibility and help when it comes to pivoting. This is only possible with real support from real people who have earned their spurs in business. Methodologies and processes can provide guidance, but the practice will always be different.
AND THEN …
Oh yeah, and what happened to the Cronos contact tracing app?
It is ready for Android and is being further tested, the IOS version receives less attention because it is a lot less effective due to the even stricter privacy policies of Apple. But it is above all the accumulated knowledge and the network that are already paying off.
