Indra stimulates intrapreneurship in its professionals as a response to the new challenges of innovation

Indra has instrumented a second call for ideas to all its professionals working worldwide for this top consulting and technology company through Indraventures, its corporate vehicle for shoring up links with the entrepreneurial ecosystem and financing initiatives. Innovators 2018 was conceived to mobilize all the talent available in the company and foster intrapreneurship to generate and capture disruptive ideas that solve the five specific challenges associated with the innovation priorities set by the different areas at Indra.

In particular, Indra is seeking to have its professionals propose visionary applications for blockchain in the context of the Internet of Things; breakthrough services that improve traveler experience and their digital relationship with transport mediums and infrastructures; new data-based business models in the insurance sector; and innovative digital solutions for the tourism sector.

“We are looking to activate the innovative gene that all our professionals have and, in doing so, benefit from the amplitude and diversity of their knowledge of technologies and businesses to boost the generation of original and disruptive ideas, and also strengthen the concept of transversality to enable the transfer of prior experiences from one market to another”, explains Manuel Ausaverri, Innovation and Strategy Director at Indra, . He further underscores that “we believe that our professionals can be a valuable source of innovation to meet the challenges of the future and reinforce our technological leadership”.

To ensure a propitious transformation of ideas into real products incorporated in the company's offering, the five challenges in this year's edition were conceived based on the real needs of Indra's different markets, and will also involve the development of the business plans for the winning proposals alongside their authors, who will be able to dedicate 10% of their working hours during three months for this purpose.

“Indraventures will also participate in this acceleration program, culminating in a presentation of the business plans before the investment committee, which will analyze and decide on whether to approve each one, in which case the selected initiatives will receive the necessary resources for development”, explained David Pascual, Indraventures Manager.

This year's Innovators challenge permits teams to submit ideas, another new feature that also aims to foster cooperation among company professionals.

According to Manuel Ausaverri, Indra's Innovation and Strategy Director, “through Innovators 2018, Indra is looking to involve its professionals in the company's innovation and transformation processes and also consolidate the new, more entrepreneurial and innovative culture that is being cultivated throughout the organization. It is also essential to stimulate professionals with the concerns in this regard while promoting our ability to attract and retain talent”.

Recognition and projection of professionals

Indra's iParticipa technology platform embodies this global initiative, letting participants upload their ideas in Spanish, English or Portuguese from January 16 until March 23. Furthermore, all Indra professionals may comment, evaluate and vote on the proposals.

Indraventures and the Indra Innovation Committee, comprising corporate unit representatives, executives from all the business units and technology experts, will elect three or four finalists for each challenge, and then three winners from these finalists, in addition to a fourth winner, consisting of the idea that received the most votes from professionals through this platform. The four winning proposals will be revealed in April and receive a prize of €5,000 per initiative.

Moreover, all finalist proposals will be transferred to Indra's markets, which will assess their development potential. The efforts of shortlisted professionals will also be recognized in their annual appraisal and professional projection.

High participation and excellent results in 2017

Indra hopes that Innovators 2018 will repeat the success of the previous edition, which received nearly 500 idea submissions and the participation of over 35% of the company's workforce, contributing ideas or commenting on and/or support their coworkers with nearly 10,000 votes. Participation was unlimited and came from professionals throughout all company areas, from all countries where the company has activities, and of all professional categories, from juniors to experts, managers and directors.

The winning ideas in the first edition of Innovators harnessed advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, deep learning, IoT, big data, analytics or blockchain to improve early detection and treatment of epileptic seizures; improve airspace management capabilities, optimizing the separation between aircraft; ascertain the likelihood of winning a case before commencing legal action; and simplify the direct exchange between renewable energy producers and consumers.

Their creators are currently working on these developments, which have attracted the interest of startups, universities and other organizations.

Innovation for transforming the company

Innovators is part of the changes that Indra is implementing in its innovation model to broaden and reinforce the company's connection with worldwide technology innovation ecosystems: startups, entrepreneurs, university research groups experimenting with emerging technologies and even the company's professionals themselves, entailing a multidisciplinary network of experts around the entire world.

In addition to launching the first edition of this intrapreneurship initiative, in 2017 Indra reached agreements with the technology startup AutoDrive Solutions (ADS) and entities including Enisa and Socios Inversores; jointly launched a call with the Regional Government of Gran Canaria for supporting innovative ideas to meet the challenges of creating an intelligent island; and worked closely with research workgroups and spinoffs from numerous university. These engagements were all orchestrated through Indraventures, Indra's brainchild created to reinforce the relationship with all technology innovation ecosystem agents and boost incubation and acceleration initiatives.

About Indra

Indra is one of the world's top consulting and technology companies and a technology partner for the key operations of its customers' businesses worldwide. It is a leading worldwide provider of proprietary solutions in niche areas in Transport and Defense Markets and the absolute leader in IT in Spain and Latin America. It offers a comprehensive range of proprietary solutions and cutting edge services with a high added value in technology based on a unique culture of reliability, flexibility and adaptability to the needs of its customers. Indra is a world leader in the development of end-to-end technology solutions in fields such as Defense and Security, Transport and Traffic, Energy and Industry, Telecommunications and Media, Financial Services, Electoral Processes, and Public Administrations and Healthcare. Through its Minsait unit, it addresses the challenges of digital transformation. In 2016 Indra posted a revenue of €2,709m, employed 34,000 professionals, and had a local presence in 46 countries plus sales operations in more than 140 countries. Following its acquisition of Tecnocom, Indra's combined revenue amounted to more than €3,200m in 2016 with a team of nearly 40,000 professionals.