Computing: Two UK Companies Make the Top Technology Pioneers List at Davos 2008

Imaginatik and Garlik were among the companies recognised at the World Economic Forum

January 31, 2008—By Neon Kelly

Imaginatik’s software is designed to help businesses solve problems and generate ideas through wide-scale internal discussions.

The applications allow managers to present specific issues to the entire staff, or even to those outside the company. Participants can then make suggestions via any media, including text, video or audio files, or via links to relevant web sites.

Once the ideas have been collected, the software manages a structured decision-making that helps executives to organise a follow-up plan of action.

Big-name clients include Chevron, Pfizer and IBM, and Imaginatik claims customers see an average return on investment of 927 per cent.

The core of the business is to draw on intellectual capital from across the organisation, according to the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers report, published at the Davos conference last week.

“Imaginatik’s software and consulting services help firms to discover significant sources of additional revenue, while also providing tangible cost savings, process improvements and an increased product pipeline,” says the report.

But the key to successful use of such tools is not in the software itself, Imaginatik chief executive Mark Turrell told Computing.

“What I will be looking for in the next two years is evidence that firms are properly investing in the change management and the human processes required to support these enablers,” he said.

“It will also be interesting to see if these techniques spreads from the corporate enterprise, which have the most visible need for them, down to the small and medium-sized businesses.”

Imaginatik was founded in 1994 and was one of the first companies to explore the use of IT to enable collaborative working.