Increasingly, the essence of many innovations lies in a mastery of the connections within a complex network of knowledge concerning applications and domains. For example, those who deal with decentralized energy supply systems must understand sources such as wind, sunlight, biomass and cogeneration plants — as well as associated control systems, energy storage systems, and communication interfaces. Those who control this range of variables most effectively will be the winners. In another example, the miniaturization of the analytic devices that are used for process automation and laboratory diagnostics addresses the interfaces between biology, chemistry, physics, electronics and data processing. As a result, innovations in this area require a mastery of interdisciplinary and cross-departmental knowledge.

What can we conclude from this? First, that the days of closed doors in the laboratory are over. Research on almost all promising issues is being conducted worldwide. Consequently, the overriding aim is to bring together the world’s best minds in order to create innovations. Intelligent brains don’t have more nerve cells than average ones; they have more synapses. By analogy, today’s innovators need synapses connecting them with colleagues within their companies as well as with universities, research institutes, key customers, and start-ups. This intensification of “open innovation,” in addition to its own research activities, is one of the key tasks of Corporate Technology (CT) at Siemens. Second, an integrated technology company such as Siemens must also aim to promote interdisciplinary activities, exploit cross-sector synergies, utilize shared platforms and standards, and attain a leading position in the areas of technology and patents — and here too, CT plays an important role.

And third, today’s innovators should not overlook the fact that new markets bring new challenges with them. In the future, emerging markets such as China and India will take on leading roles in the global economy, but these countries’ requirements are different from those of today’s highly industrialized countries. Above all, products in these countries must be robust and reliable, simple to use and maintain, and priced in line with consumers’ buying power.

At Siemens, we call these solutions “S.M.A.R.T. products,” and the development of these products is a major focus of our researchers at CT. Above all else, the creative entrepreneurs of our time must be open to the world, interdisciplinary, and market-oriented. They are characterized not so much by an obsession with detailed professional or process knowledge as by their courage to explore new paths, develop bigger ideas and, above all, take a hard look at major problems that demand solutions. The crucial questions they ask themselves are: “How can I do this better? And what must I do in order to become better myself?” That’s because here, as elsewhere, the operational motto is: “If you stop getting better, you’ll soon stop being good.”