This week’s selection of recommended reading makes a lengthy list. I found each article very interesting. But, if I had to choose the one as a must-read then it would be the ‘Collaboration key to innovation’. It really is a great piece by Professor Ian Jacobs, Vice-Chancellor of UNSW and Dr Kevin Cullen is CEO of UNSW Innovations.

Sincere thanks to those who have suggested articles for this edition of Roadmender Recommends.

Collaboration key to innovation

If we really want to secure Australian prosperity into the future we need take a long, hard look at why the country has long been floundering at the bottom of the OECD league table for university–industry interaction. First, we should note that the OECD measure is imperfect. It does not take into account much of what Australian universities routinely do to foster collaboration with industries, such as student internships, consultancies, professional education and student start-ups. Second, we must acknowledge that we are far from realising our collaborative potential, largely because there are so few incentives in place to help businesses engage with universities, which is where most of Australia’s research takes place. The very grant scheme designed to do just that, the Australian…READ ON

Don’t let xenophobia kill collaboration

While recent global events may cause some groups to petition the closing of borders, inviting people into our culture is key for our industry’s survival, media godfather Harold Mitchell said. When asked by AdNews about what’s coming down the pipeline in the next 10 years, Mitchell explained that while countries will grapple with xenophobia and the great difficulty of borders, he believes that in order to thrive as an industry we need to look to what the wider global community is doing, rather than looking to shut them out. “Immigrants are vital to the country, education is vital to the country, and startups are vital to the country and immigrants will be…READ ON

Collaboration key for business sector

Johannesburg – South African Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Mzwandile Masina said Chinese and African businesspeople were key in exploring trade and investment opportunities. Speaking at the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac) in Sandton last week, Masina said businesspeople were key to seizing opportunities presented by the mutual economic co-operation between China and Africa. Masina said the Business Forum served to advance the vision of the Chinese and African leaders of strengthening co-operation between China and African states to jointly meet the challenges of economic globalisation. It also furthered the common developmental objectives relating to poverty alleviation and economic transformation…

IBM steps up industry collaboration against cybercrime

IBM has opened its security analytics platform which it says will enable customers, business partners and other developers to build custom apps that take advantage of the platform’s advanced security intelligence capabilities. Opening of the analytics platform was accompanied by IBM’s launch of its Security App Exchange, a marketplace for the security community to create and share apps based on the company’s security technologies. IBM says the opening of its security analytics platform is the second major step the company has taken this year to advance industry collaboration and innovation “to battle highly organised cybercrime”. Earlier this year, IBM opened its…READ ON

6 Predictions About The Future Of Digital Transformation

Gazing intensely into their respective crystal balls, Gartner IT -1.72%, IDC, and Forrester have come up with predictions for 2016 and beyond, highlighting digital transformation and its impact on businesses and consumers worldwide. According to Forrester, only 27% of today’s businesses have a coherent digital strategy that sets out how the firm will create customer value as a digital business. Gartner says, however, that 125,000 large organizations are launching digital business initiatives now and that CEOs expect their digital revenue to increase by more than 80% by 2020. IDC expects that the percentage of enterprises creating advanced digital transformation initiatives will more than double by 2020, from today’s 22% to almost 50%. IDC predicts the emergence of the “DX (digital transformation) economy,”….READ ON

Collaboration is the secret of success in digital transformation

Modern connected business applications are driving new patterns of collaboration into the enterprise, with HR, IT and Internet of Things projects being important drivers. Understanding those patterns and making sure they work well is the secret of success in digital transformation. But who will take charge to ensure that success? Collaboration used to be something that happened within well-defined teams or workgroups within an enterprise. Think back to the 1990s, when the term for collaboration software such as Lotus Notes was, simply, ‘groupware’…READ ON

Autotask Collaboration and File Sync Solution Wins 2015 CRN Enterprise App Award

RICHMOND, England–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Autotask Corporation is pleased to announce it has been chosen as a 2015 CRN Enterprise App Award Winner for Autotask Workplace in the category of mobile productivity. Each year CRN selects the industry’s most innovative, best-in-class mobile apps that boost enterprise productivity and recognises the outstanding achievement by developers of these mobile apps with an Appy award…READ ON

To Nurture Business Relationships, Master These 10 Impact Moments

I have spent more than decade coaching, consulting, and thinking about people who effectively build business relationships inside and outside their organization. My mind keeps coming back to: What are these “best of breed” people doing differently? What is uniquely intentional and meaningful about the way they conduct relationships?…READ ON