Frequently Asked Questions - Idea Central
Q: What is Idea Central?
Idea Central is a highly configurable software solution that supports the process of managing ideas and implementing an Innovation Pipeline. The Idea Central software comprises of a core system, Idea Central, and complementary modules that round out the environment, such as the Portal Module, Rewards Module, Warehouse Module and the Orchid Module.
A pioneer product in the Innovation and Idea Management field, Idea Central is the leading software solution to allow companies to capture, develop and organize ideas, insights and concepts. Idea Central facilitates the review and feedback processes which are essential for the success of Innovation programs.
Q: How can Idea Central benefit my organization?
Idea Central can benefit your organization in many ways. It can become the driver for innovative strategies, new product development, and continuous improvements of your company's offerings and processes.
The Idea Central Overview describes the business benefits that you can achieve, and some of the types of projects that our customers support with Idea Central.
Imaginatik Research has also developed a model for Return on Innovation for Idea Management, available in the Research section of our web site.
Q: How much does Idea Central cost?
Idea Central is sold in different ways to fit customer needs. The application is usually purchased as a licensed software product with ongoing maintenance, support and upgrades. However, it can also be rented as an ASP service to support a short term project. Customers can expand the scope of their innovation activities with the Idea Central add-on modules that compliment the functionality of our award-winning Idea Management solution. Pricing depends on the type of use (rental or purchase), the use of the additional modules, and the number of users who will have access to the system.
A typical customer implementation will contain the following elements: software license, ongoing maintenance and support, training, and professional services. Imaginatik also provides hosting services to facilitate rapid deployment without the need for in-house installation - around 65% of our customers use our hosted services.
To receive ballpark pricing or request a formal quote, please contact sales@imaginatik.com and describe some background to your organization's needs. You can also call us on +1 866 917 2975.
Q: How does Idea Central differ from a discussion forum?
Idea Central is much more than a discussion forum. Our application is especially designed to support the Idea Management process, and to manage the complex human issues associated with the collection of ideas. The application facilitates the review and implementation of ideas through workflow processes which, although relatively highly structured, are natural and flexible enough so as not to disrupt the adoption of good ideas. Whilst a discussion forum supports general collaboration, Idea Central supports innovation.
Q: How does Idea Central differ from a wiki?
A wiki is a piece of server software that allows users to create and edit web page content using a web browser. Wiki supports hyperlinks and has a simple text syntax for creating new pages and crosslinks between internal pages on the fly. It is a very simple database, used typically to create directories of information. Idea Central is much more than a wiki. Our software is a specialist technology to support the Innovation and Idea Management process. It contains workflow, security, configuration, embedded rewards, and many more features that are essential for project success. A wiki, is simply... to simple.
Q: Is Idea Central a Knowledge Management application?
Idea Central is built on the principles of Knowledge Management and focuses on a particular area of KM, namely Idea Management and the innovation process. Imaginatik has done a lot of work in the Knowledge Management field, and we apply our concepts of Active Knowledge and Massive Incremental Change to our Idea Management offerings.
Q: Why should I buy Idea Central and not some other tool?
Built based on Imaginatik's extensive experience in the innovation area, our technology is differentiated from other idea gathering tools by these key benefits:
- best-of-breed idea gathering and review process
- rapid and measurable financial benefits
- alignment of innovation and creativity to corporate goals
- easy to use
- quick to deploy
- low cost of administration
Imaginatik provides a lot of value to our clients, through our software and through our business support. According to Paul Westgate, Director of Innovation for W. R. Grace, and an Idea Central customer, "It's the thinking behind the process that brings the value to the tool".
Q: Most suggestion systems seem to fail and people can be very cynical. How can Imaginatik overcome this problem?
By researching successful and unsuccessful suggestion systems, we have learned a lot about how to make these systems work. Idea Central contains a number of people-centric features to reverse the possible 'negative dynamics' of suggestion systems. Our white paper A New Approach to Idea Management describes the critical success factors of Idea Management systems.
Ultimately the majority of pure suggestion programs fail in the first six to twelve months, and there is little a company can do to avoid this tragedy. The process of ongoing idea collection itself is fundamentally flawed. To overcome this inherent process weakness, Imaginatik Research developed Event-Based Idea Management and this model has proved overwhelmingly successful in a wide range of industries.
Q: How can we ensure that employees in our company will use Idea Central?
Imaginatik's professional services ensure that you put in place what you need to be successful. We have the experience, know-how, and highly qualified individuals to support all types of implementation, and to overcome all kinds of challenges. The proof is in our client base with over 100 corporate clients including Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Chevron, Georgia-Pacific, W. R. Grace, Sun Life Financial, Cargill, and Cadbury Schweppes.
Q: How does Idea Central facilitate the implementation of good ideas?
Idea Central bridges the gap between creative thought and actual implementation via a two-step review process. Ideas to be implemented need to be selected fairly, and the review process ensures that all ideas are given adequate attention. After an initial round of reviews by a number of people, the Idea Central assessment is finalized with a conclusion which specifies the next steps for the idea, including the assignment of a person who is responsible for taking a good idea into the project stage.
Q: Our company is already innovative and responsive. Why should we invest in Idea Central?
If you can show that good ideas can come from any part of the organization, that they are dealt with rapidly, the most promising concepts are implemented, and that you can successfully share best practice throughout the organization, then perhaps you have already realized many of the benefits of Idea Central. Even if you do all these things, you may still get value from our application to speed up and extend the innovation process into new areas of your organization.
Q: How can we measure the success of Idea Central?
Many companies will measure the overall success of Idea Central by looking at the most successful ideas. Often the entire cost of implementing our solution can be justified by the cost savings or revenue growth generated through a single good idea.
Imaginatik Research has also developed a model for Return on Innovation for Idea Management. There is an Idea Management ROI white paper available on our web site, and we also have developed a spreadsheet model for calculating the ROI of Idea Central. Please e-mail research@imaginatik.com for more details.
Q: Can Idea Central be customized to my organization's business needs?
The setup feature of Idea Central includes many options that can be modified by the project leader to match the needs of each initiative. Among the options which can be configured in the idea and review forms are your organization's departments, your strategic business goals, the review criteria, and the document access rights. You can also switch some features on or off, such as the "embargo period". The review process alone has more than fifty configurable features to adapt to customer requirements, from basic to advanced.
Q: Which technical infrastructure is needed to implement Idea Central?
Idea Central is a web application. We support client access from standard web browsers (Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 and Netscape Navigator 7.2 or later) for Windows, and Safari on Mac OS X. The software does not require any client installation.
The application can be installed or hosted: 35% of customers install our software on internal servers and 65% use our hosted services. Idea Central can be integrated into Single-Sign On environments (such as SiteMinder and Tivoli Access Manager), connect to enterprise directories (LDAP), and use all corporate mail systems (MS Outlook, Exchange, Lotus Notes Mail, etc).
Hosted customers only require an Internet connection to get started. Imaginatik provides a range of hosting options, from Shared Servers with SSL encryption to Dedicated Servers with VPN connection. Imaginatik has extensive expertise in integrating the hosted environment with the client's internal environment.
For more information on technical requirements, please contact sales@imaginatik.com.
For any other question, comment or suggestion, please contact Imaginatik.