Centre for Technology Management

Technology Intelligence

The Centre for Technology Management has defined 'technology intelligence' as

"the capture and delivery of technological information as part of the process whereby an organisation develops an awareness of technological threats and opportunities." (Kerr et al., 2006)

Intelligence helps to shape the technology strategy of firm, influencing areas such as development and technology acquisition.

Technological information has become an increasingly important advantage for technology-based companies facing shorter technology life cycles and a more globally competitive business environment. Companies have dedicated progressively more resources to the development of bespoke technology intelligence systems, realising that intelligence activities are important assets for business success.

Intelligence comes from external sources, but it may also be contained within the organisation - explicitly or tacitly - if it has already been acquired by an internal party. Firms need to be able to find and use this information quickly and easily, as well as acquiring the information they need from external sources.

Researchers created a three-level model comprising the framework, system, and process of acquiring technology intelligence. The model was tested through case studies of technology intelligence systems in 14 technology-based companies.

TI briefing note For a quick overview of the Technology Intelligence model, download this short briefing note [532k pdf file].

TI guidebook The tools and techniques to assess technology intelligence systems are presented in the TI Management Guidebook. [Book description] Italian Translation Korean Translation

Training

• October 2012. One day workshop, IfM, Cambridge
• (In Italian) One day workshops are occasionally held in Milan, Italy, in collaboration with Strategie & Innovazione , Please, refer to their website for information.

Current research on TI

The role of intermediaries in Technology Intelligence and Open Innovation Networks

This project built on the previous work on TI and Open Innovation. People play a central role in TI systems. Through intermediaries a company can exponentially grow its contact base and receive interesting information about connections while deploying limited resources. Intermediaries support also but companies can be inundated with options. Many service providers are available, proposing themselves as the intermediary of choice. It can be difficult to decide with whom to collaborate. Also finding the right person within the organisation to act as an intermediary can be fundamental. The work has been carried out in collaboration with a consortium of industrial partners, including: BP, CIRA, Crown Cork, Doosan Babcock, EPSRC, GSK, IXC-UK, NESTA, Oakland, Pepsico, Quotec, Shell.

Report: Getting help with open innovation

The findings of the research have been captured in a report published in December 2010. The report aims to help companies select the most effective source of help with open innovation. It describes the capabilities companies need in order to implement open innovation successfully and the range of assistance offered by different types of innovation intermediaries. It suggests a structured approach to selecting the most appropriate intermediary for a particular company's needs and illustrates this with case studies and examples. The report also aims to help intermediary organisations to present their services more clearly to their clients.

Printed copies of the report are available for purchase (see IfM 'books'). Or you can download an electronic copy for free.

For more information on current activities, please contact Dr Letizia Mortara

Publications

• ∑ Yoon, B. and L. Mortara (2011). (in Korean) "Creative Technology Opportunities Exploration based on Technology Intelligence." TIM alive 1(1): 30-37.
• ∑ Lee, S., L. Mortara, C. Kerr, R. Phaal and D. Probert (2011). "Corporate document mining for technology intelligence: An analysis of needs, utilisation and possibilities." International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning 7(2): 110 - 127. See at publisher http://inderscience.metapress.com/content/p73443ww12wrn415/
• Dang, R. J., L. Mortara, R. Thomson and T. Minshall (2011). Developing a technology intelligence strategy to access knowledge of innovation clusters. Strategies for innovation. An integrative management view for companies and networks. In M. Hülsmann and N. Pfeffermann. Berlin Heidelberg, Springer-Verlag 51-68. [ISBN: 978-3-642-17222-9] At Google books
• Mortara, L., R. Thomson , et al. (2010). Developing technology intelligence strategy at Kodak European Research: scan & target. Research Technology Management. 53(4): 27-38. ISSN: 0895-6308 At publisher
• Lee, S., L. Mortara, C. Kerr, R. Phaal, D. Probert and B. Yoon (2009). Technology intelligence for innovation: Needs and possibilities. R&D Management. Vienna, Austria.
• Mortara, L., C. I. V. Kerr, et al. (2009). Technology intelligence practice in UK technology-based companies. International Journal of Technology Management. 48 (1): pp.115 -135. ISSN: 0267-5730. See at publisher
• Mortara, L., C. I. V. Kerr, et al. (2009). A toolbox of elements to build technology intelligence systems. International Journal of Technology Management. 47(4) pp. 322-345. ISSN: 0267-5730. See at publisher
• Lee, S., Mortara, L. Kerr, C., Phaal, R. and Probert, D. (2008), Discovering technology intelligence from document data in an organization, In Yoo, S. (Ed.), EKC2008 Proceedings of the EU-Korea Conference on Science and Technology, Springer Proceedings in Physics, Vol. 124, ISBN: 978-3-540-85189-9. See at publisher
• Kerr, C. I. V.; Mortara, L.; Phaal, R. & Probert, D. R. (2006) A conceptual model for technology intelligence. International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning, Volume 2, Number 1, pp. 73-93. ISSN: 1740-2832 See at publisher
• Shehabuddeen, N.T.M.H. and Probert, D.R. (2004), 'Excavating the technology landscape: deploying technology intelligence to detect early warning signals', IEEE 2004, Singapore.
• Management guidebook: Mortara L., Kerr, C.I.V., Phaal, R. Probert, D. Technology Intelligence – Identifying threats and opportunities from new technologies, IfM, Cambridge (2007), Series: Product and service innovation. Published workbook available from IfM books
  Book description (pdf)