Nokia Siemens Networks wins Fraunhofer award for technology management

Leading institute recognizes outstanding achievement in managing complementary innovation efforts across teams

The “focused, highly effective global technology and innovation management by Nokia Siemens Networks” has won it a ‘Successful Practice Award’ from the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT). The award recognizes the company’s approach to global technology and innovation management. The approach ensures every single value-adding idea is captured from employees, and experts are made available to evaluate and implement these ideas. In addition, it provides necessary resources to turn ideas into beneficial solutions for the market.

Nokia Siemens Networks has a community-driven approach to idea management, bringing together different teams and internal think tanks, to work with customers on new ideas; technology-to-business acceleration, getting new ideas into existing products; and Startups@NSN which rapidly develops new product prototypes. The company encourages its employees to use its internal cloud-based global idea management tool to propose new ideas. The company’s approach supports its long-term research, resulting in new patents, standards and beneficial products.

“Nokia Siemens Networks has implemented a differentiated approach to managing technological innovation across different areas and applied them in a consistent manner,” stated Toni Drescher, group manager in Technology Management of Fraunhofer IPT. “For example, the company has applied global networking in a leading way for technology and innovation management. These approaches don’t just sound good on paper; Nokia Siemens Networks puts them into practice and lives them with enthusiasm."

“This award is confirmation of our sharp focus on innovation in the fast-changing telecoms technology landscape,” said Sigurd Schuster, head of technology road-mapping at Nokia Siemens Networks. “We have implemented global processes to collect and manage innovative ideas internally, and we track consistently how innovation management impacts our technology and business results. Managing innovation well is critical to improve our business results, and puts us at the leading edge of exciting new technologies.“

The award process started in spring 2010 with about 300 technology companies in all domains entering the fray by submitting their technology management processes. In a rigorous and lengthy assessment process, Fraunhofer IPT interviewed the most promising contestants before inspecting shortlisted companies. Including Nokia Siemens Networks, only five companies received this prestigious award at a ceremony on 16 February, 2011. The assessment focused on strategy, organization and methodology of technology management, as well as technology intelligence, planning, assessment and controlling.