Maximizing Product Development: Why Having an IP is Like Having Your Cake and Eating It Too

Product thinking is not new. For all its advantages, even companies in the traditional services sector are adopting various product thinking strategies. That’s not all, they’re encasing their service offerings as products. Apart from its advantages like better management and accurate responses to customers’ needs, product thinking drives innovations in the software product development sector. But what makes innovations, innovations?

If a couple of lines of code can provide value or fill a need, can we call it an innovation? Do innovations need to be ground-breaking? How do innovators monetize innovations?

Well.. Here are the answers.

Contrary to popular perception, innovations needn’t be ground-breaking. Many Digital innovations start small, but with a purpose. If they provide some value and answer the needs of customers, they’re good enough to be called innovations. Nevertheless, it is beneficial for a company to register its software product innovations as Intellectual Properties (IP) or protect them with an NDA. Here are the reasons why.

1. IP or NDA provides legal protection for its creators by preventing others from using or profiting from their ideas without permission.
2. The company can gain a competitive advantage by distinguishing its products from its competitors.
3. IP can open new revenue streams for the company.
4. It also helps address the growth needs of companies on the path of digital transformation and companies offering digital transformation services.

How do IPs open new revenue streams?

Consider this example.  A college had unique ways to manage its CRM, Marketing, Learning Management, etc. Soon it realized a need to build a software to manage these more efficiently. To address its needs faster and productize its best practices, it partnered with a software firm offering product development services. The partner not only converted the practices to software but also encapsulated it as a product and ensured IP protection for the college. The college has its own software product now. This is offered to other educational institutions and the college is now functioning as a software vendor offering its product, further aiding the digital transformation of the education sector. Apart from streamlining its operations and digitalizing its services, it also enjoys additional revenue from its IPs.

Common Issues Faced by Companies while Building IPs

Most businesses despite having deep knowledge and experience in their domains, struggle to translate it into product innovations. The reasons are many.

• With many goals to accomplish, it is quite difficult to give software product development, the time and attention it requires.
• Many do not have access to talent in their city or country.
• It might be costly to establish and run a software product development centre by themselves.
• The task might require knowledge and integration of other software solutions.

How partnering with a product engineering company is beneficial

• Strategic product engineering partnerships help businesses concentrate on achieving their business goals by reducing their load.
• They assist in establishing offshore development centres with good talent and at less cost.
• They guide through the process of acquiring IPs that aid in increasing their revenue.

Every company, irrespective of its domain, is keen on operating like a software company. Recent developments in technologies like AI, ML, etc are aiding such transformations. To answer the needs of businesses, these technologies are improving at an astonishingly high rate. However, applying novel technologies to various domains requires both domain and technology expertise. To answer their needs many companies choose a reliable product development partner like coMakeIT which can help them reduce costs, increase productivity, and most importantly innovate faster. Their innovations, in the form of IPs, provide them with additional revenue and protection against misuse. With meaningful engagement models like the CaaS Model of coMakeIT, their partner’s offshore teams can branch into a separate business entity, providing them with a stronger identity and business value.

Are you looking for a product or platform development partner with deep technical knowledge? Since 2006, coMakeIT | part of Xebia, has been successfully helping numerous businesses from diverse domains across the world innovate and monetize their innovations.