Innovation in Business & Technology: Analysis and Recommendations

This report focuses on innovation in business and technology, specifically for Williams Ltd, a retail business looking to expand online. It begins by exploring innovation theories, including disruptive innovation and business model innovation, and how they can enhance the company's value. The report then delves into web-based technologies, discussing their application in creating an innovative front-end website for Williams Ltd. It examines markup languages, programming languages, web servers, and databases, as well as user experience principles. The analysis extends to the impact of future disruptive innovations and formulates innovation strategies for a new technology-based product or service venture. The report concludes with a reflection on the application of web-based technologies and user-centered approaches, the consequences of technological innovations, and provides recommendations for senior stakeholders. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the key aspects of innovation and technology in business, offering practical insights and strategic recommendations for Williams Ltd's growth and success in the digital marketplace.

Innovation in Business
&
Technology

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1. Demonstrate critical knowledge and understanding of concepts and innovation theories to
enhance value of business......................................................................................................1
2. Apply web based technologies to create innovative front end website. Discuss web based
technology solution for Williams Ltd.....................................................................................4
3. Identification and evaluation of impact of future disruptive innovation which affects
Williams Ltd...........................................................................................................................8
4. Demonstrate ability to formulate innovation strategies for a new technology based product
or service venture...................................................................................................................9
5. Reflection of in-depth demonstration of application of web-based technologies and user
centred approach, consequences of technological innovations and their impact.................10
6. Recommendations to senior stakeholders........................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Innovation refers to creative thoughts, new ideas and new imaginations in form of
method or device. It is defined as a process which involves various activities to identify different
ways for doing things (Abdelkafi, Makhotin and Posselt, 2013). Innovation in business and
technology is related with doing creativity in terms of technology by which growth of business
can be increased. This report is based on Williams Ltd which is a retail business and deals in
accessories and clothing. They are further looking forward to expand their business into online
market space by using innovative ideas. This report comprises of theories of innovation which
will enhance value of organisation. Web based technology is used for creating innovative front
end websites. Furthermore, impact of disruptive innovation technology is analysed. At last,
recommendations are given to stakeholders.
1. Demonstrate critical knowledge and understanding of concepts and innovation theories to
enhance value of business.
Innovation is defined process of making changes in existing production and distribution
methods, it includes introduction to new products, new techniques, new inventions, new sources
for production of existing products and many others. In this Williams Ltd is taken into
consideration to understand concept of innovations in business and technology. As per
advancement in technology management wants to shift into online market space so that they can
stand up with market. There are different innovation theories and concepts, some of them which
can be used by management of Williams Ltd are mentioned below:
Disruptive innovation: It refers to introduction of services and products within industry
by which they can perform in better way and provide those services at low cost, thus displace
market leaders within market space by transforming industry. Concept of this innovation was
proposed by Clayton Christensen in 1995. It basically refers to concept which creates new value
network by either creating a new market or by disrupting existing market (Laudon and Traver,
2016). Organisations such as Williams Ltd can interrupt market of large organisations by
bringing within market new versions of technology means that updated versions should be used
(like for creating website Williams Ltd can use JDK 1.8 which is latest version rather than JDK
1.7) which may seem more appealing to subset of customers. Williams Ltd can make use of
latest technology by which they can stand different among other competitors. In some cases,
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small organisations release new technology which can be inferior to that of large organisation but
focus of that technology is to provide customers with high convenience and low prices. With
passage of time, new technology will improvise to handle more demands. Large organisations
think that small organisations are making space for themselves at low end of market. This
disruptive innovation can be used by Williams Ltd very rarely. As management needs to
understand that disruptive innovation is not a tool but a force. By using this there is no predictive
power (Boons and Lüdeke-Freund, 2013). By using this theory, Williams Ltd can opt for
advanced version of any technology so that they can beat other competitors within market. This
theory is used by them as they can present their existing products in enhanced way. Consider an
example like shirts are provided by many retailers but by using animations in their website they
can fascinate more number of customers and they can also provide options for customised shirts.
Advantages: There are certain advantages of disruptive innovation, they are mentioned
below:
 It will assist Williams Ltd to expand their market via usage of market via innovations in
new and existing services or products.
 Opportunities will be present to them which will open door for possibilities for new
platform which will enable them to grow.
 Williams Ltd will evolve as learning community which will welcome alterations rather
than fear to take risks.
Disadvantages: There are certain drawbacks, which of this innovation, so it is necessary for
Williams Ltd needs to consider. They are shown below:
 Competitive products will be present within market. Existing products are updated to
meet the required standards. Like if Williams Ltd is about to bring their own jeans within
market, within market jeans are already available, there is nothing unique.
Business model innovation: It refers to development of new, unique concepts for
support of organisation. It represents ways in which organisation can make money. Primary goal
of this innovation is to recognise latest revenue sources by enhancing value of products and ways
in which they can be delivered by customers. Digital disruption has decreased life cycle of
business model and do innovations respectively which acts as key to financial success. This is
the reason that Williams Ltd must opt for this business model innovation, this will assist them to
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remain competitive within market and attain growth (Coviello and Joseph, 2012). There are
certain advantages and disadvantages of business model innovation, they are mentioned below:
Advantages: Business innovation model will provide various advantages to Williams
Ltd, they are described below:
 Financial sustainability will be enhanced, it will assist an entrepreneur to identify how
much profit has been generated every month and accordingly formulate strategies.
 Organisation can grow or survive even if they break down every month but for this they
need to completely depend on debt financing for their expansion. Williams Ltd can build
cash reserve which can be invested to conduct research or acquire new equipment.
 By execution of unique business model, Williams Ltd can create their own reputation
within market thereby encouraging customers to first-time purchase (Joe, 2010).
Disadvantages: Certain drawbacks are there of this innovation; they are elaborated
below:
 Williams Ltd can go out of money if they make lots of investments and do not get those
products in market within time.
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 If quality of products is not maintained, then this will ruin reputation of organisation
within market.
By using these innovation model, Williams Ltd can have opportunity for growth. Though
they have certain drawbacks but nothing comes as perfect, therefore it is essential for them to
choose theory which they feel is apt for them.
2. Apply web based technologies to create innovative front end website. Discuss web based
technology solution for Williams Ltd.
Web technologies refer to package which not only addresses development of website but
it also includes software development, its maintenance, testing, database management etc. Web
based technologies are used to establish and use different mechanism by which various
computers can share resources and communicate with each other (Johannessen and Olsen, 2010).
They are considered as building block for computer network. Williams Ltd needs to have
computers by which they can communicate with network devices. It is essential for them to make
sure that messages are exchanged between sender and recipient, feedback is given and received
and it is acknowledged. There are different aspects of web technologies, they are mentioned
below:
Markup languages: These languages include Cascaded style sheets (CSS), hypertext
markup language (HTML) and Extended markup languages (XML). These languages depict
layout, format and style of programs and web pages. These are markup languages which can be
used by designer of Williams Ltd to make website. Website can be made innovative by adding
different features such as animations related with their services.
Programming language: These languages include Visual Basic .Net, Java, C# and Perl.
These languages can be used by Williams Ltd to design their applications and websites. Though
each language has their own set of cons and pros but developers know how they can use these
languages to attain their desired goals. These are programming languages which can be used for
designing of website, by adding unique features like comparative analysis of their services with
services offered by others can make it innovative.
Web servers: They comprises of different components which comprises of software
servers (consist of Hypertext transfer protocol) and hardware (comprises of Hypertext markup
language and other data). They are used to carry out communication among web servers and
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computer. These servers can be dynamic and static. By using this website can respond to
requests which are made by customers and server will send response to those request within
seconds.
Databases: Websites need database management system, they are known as database
which acts as a vault for web server data. Examples of databases are MySQL, Oracle and
Microsoft Access. Mostly CSV, XML and JSON are used. They store data in different ways. As
per their own requirements Williams Ltd can use database to store information of customers.
They can be used to store data which is present on website as well as which has been provided
by user. The content and field which will be made within website are made using database so
that at latter moment of time these details can be accessed.
There are certain technologies which can be used by Williams Ltd for front end
development. They include, HTML, JavaScript, AngularJS, Node.Js, Jquery, VBScript, Flash,
Responsive Web Design and many others (Laudon and Traver, 2016).
There are definite UX (user experience) principles which must be followed while
designing front end website. They are mentioned below:
 Acknowledge requirements of customers: The design principle UX is to focus on
customers while designing process. The centre of work is to provide customers with
enhanced experience. Therefore, it is necessary to look into what user’s requirements are
and what they want.
 Have a transparent hierarchy: UX principle makes sure smooth navigation while
carrying out design process. There are different hierarchy; initial is to identify way in
which information is organised within design. Example, when website is opened,
navigation bar will be seen which will comprise of main section. After clicking on bar
sub-categories will open which will provide more details about website or it can also be a
app. It is necessary that important content should be placed prominently.
 Acknowledge accessibility: Designer need to make sure that design is accessible by as
many as possible people. Developer can opt for contrasting colours in text on
background. By analysing different websites designer can get a view of what can be
added in their own website like colour, content, animations, drop down list and other
features innovative website can be developed (Laukkanen and Patala, 2014).
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 Feedback matters: For this design must be interactive. This means that when user clicks
somewhere within website of Williams Ltd then an acknowledgement must be made so
that user understands that command has been addressed. This will inspire communication
between machine and humans.
 Confirm before commit: Anything can happen at any moment. With respect to digital
technology, person can place an order unintentionally like many times parents have asked
for refunds when their kids accidently order products from Amazon. This should not
occur with design of Williams Ltd as they do not want to give their customers bad
experience. For this they can have option of double confirmation (Laukkanen and Patala,
2014).
 User is in control: Focus of user is to have flexibility and control within a design so that
any kind of errors can be avoided. Like upward icon which takes user to starting can be
considered as its example. Cancel is another one which assists to cancel the action done
by user. These options must be included in design of Williams Ltd.
These are some user experience design principles which organisation needs to make sure
that are implemented in their website (Layton, 2018). As per Jesse James Garrett, user centred
approach comprises of five different elements, they are shown below with respect to Williams
Ltd:
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Figure 1: The Five Elements of User Experience
(Source: UX — A quick glance about The 5 Elements of User Experience, 2019)
 Strategy: It includes reason behind why website or application is created, for whom
it is created. Goal of this stage is to define needs of user of Williams Ltd.
 Scope: It addresses content and functional requirements. This means that it includes
what content must be present within website and what all features must be present.
These requirements need to be aligned with goals of Williams Ltd. Functional
requirements will deal with features, how they work and way in which they are
interrelated with each other (Mavros and Matis, 2013). These features will include
ways in which objectives of user can be attained. Content requirements consist of
information which Williams Ltd needs to provide value. This includes audio, videos,
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text, etc. Without content which has to be included in website, designer cannot decide
time required to complete designing process.
 Structure: It defines way in which user interact with product and ways in which
system react when user uses it. Structure is divided into information architecture and
interaction design (Mohr, Sengupta and Slater, 2010). Info architecture addresses
arrangement of content, their organisation and how humans can understand website of
Williams Ltd. Interaction design comprises of functional requirements, ways in which
user interact with website and response which is generated from system.
 Skeleton: It identifies visual form on presentation, screen and arrangement of all
elements of website of Williams Ltd which forms functionality of system with respect
to interface provided. Interface design presents and arranges elements of interface by
which users can interact with system. Navigation design assist users to navigate
throughout information present within website using interface. Information design
defines way in which information is presented to users which facilitates
understanding among them.
 Surface: It is defined as sum total of decisions and work which has been done within
website. It specifies ways in which site will look, its layout, colours, typography, etc.
It deals with visual design which includes controls, content, what user can do within
site and how they can do it. Basically it deals with interface provided by website of
Williams Ltd.
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