Exploitation and Impact in Research Projects

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Exploiting research outcome at Engineering

Massimo Canducci Research and Innovation Division Engineering Ingegneria Informatica S.p.A.

06 Sept 2012

• The leading Italian independent, privately-‐owned software and Information Technology services company

• 7% of domestic market

• 6,400 staff in Europe and South America

• A global player in the EMEA area and LATIN AMERICA

• 1,000 large accounts on all vertical markets

• Consulting, business solutions, technology solutions, IT management services

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Brazil

Argentina

Belgium

Lebanon

Italy

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Engineering

/ group highlights

36.1% 32.3%

Public Administration

21.1%

10.5%

Telco

Industry Services

and Utilities

Finance

Engineering is a partner with strong vertical business skills and a cross-‐cutting view of technology and solutions

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Engineering

/ group positioning on the market

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

775.7

758.6

724.0

VALUE OF PRODUCTION

EBITDA

ORDER BACKLOG

88.6 92.0

92.2

423.6 507.9 543.6

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Engineering

/ group results

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Engineering Group

/ the model

Research and Innovation Division

Identity Management/PKI

ERP

Fonderie Multimediali

Broadband Media Services

Enterprise Content Management

Research

Open Source

Competence Center

Inno

vatio

n

Utilities

Industry

Public Administration / Health

Finance

Telecommunication

Software Factories

Business Unit

Tablet Platforms

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• Founded in 1987

• 150 research projects executed

• 30 active projects

• 250 researchers

• 120 solution architect/technology specialist (ERP excluded)

• 6 branches: Palermo, Torre Annunziata, Roma, Orvieto, Padova, Trento + 2 subsidiaries hosted by Universities (Lecce, Benevento), 1 branch abroad: Bruxelles

Research and Innovation Division

/ identity card

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Research Activities

/ a network of scientific collaborations

Bolzano

Trento

Palermo

Napoli

Sannio

Roma III

Politecnico Torino

Politecnico Milano

London

CERN

Fraunhofer

INRIA

Manchester

IRCAM

SAP

Ti.LAB

CR Fiat

Microsoft Pisa

Engineering Research and Innovation

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Computing Infrastructure

Trustworthiness/ Security

Service Engineering

Intelligent Systems

Usage

User Experience

Research Activites

/ research areas

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Research and Innovation

/ innovation model: starting a virtuous circuit

Research Innovation Production

Ideas for Research Projects Innovative technological/architectural Solutions

Research Projects Results Architectural and technological Tests Needs from the Market

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Exploitation

/ principles

• Engineering is a System Integrator on the market.

• The involvement in research projects is an investment.

• The main goal, at the end of a research project, is the placement on the market.

• To be successful we start from the beginning of the process: the proposal.

Market

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Exploitation

/ actors

• R&D: Research and Development Manager: ideas concepts, proposal experience, good relationship with potential partners

• BUDM: Business Unit Development Manager: ideas concepts, market experience, good relationships with clients

• R&D lab: Architects and Developers in R&D division, great experience in research projects

• BU lab: Architects and Developers in Business Unit, great experience in market projects

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Exploitation

/ phases

• in Proposal: find the right “idea” considering the Call properties and the needs from the market. (R&D, BUDM)

• during Project: develop the project goal also considering the future placing on the market. (mixed team R&D lab -‐ BU lab)

• after Project: deliverable consolidation, improvement, specialization. (BU)

• at the end: idea / prototype / product / service placing on the market (BU)

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Exploitation

/ general approach

We are using a model in which a Business Unit and the R&D labs participate together in a research project.

This is different from the usual "technology transfer" approach (sequential, first R&D “innovates” and THEN transfers to one or more business units).

The key point is the word “together”.

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Exploitation

/ advantages

Integrate the teams from the start, creates a better alignment of development to business needs,

It also creates a better awareness at business unit level of what an R&D partnership can do.

It helps to setup a partnership with other organizations.

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Exploitation

/ example 1 - project PERSEUS - www.perseus-fp7.eu

Description:

• domain: maritime surveillance • 29 partners, 42 M€ cost, 27 M€ funding • This is a large demonstration project

and for Engineering we have Defence and Space (D&S) unit and R&D labs

• The goal is to interface the national maritime surveillance from Spain, Portugal, France and Italy and then Italy, Greece to create a continuous surveillance management of the Mediterranean - targeting illegal immigration, trafficking etc

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Exploitation


Approach:

• D&S brings in their solution and technology that already exists and is implemented at Italian level

• Through the project, EII R&D and D&S collaborate (also with other organizations from the other countries) to define a data model and an architecture enabling all the systems to talk to each other

• D&S implements some versions of these interfaces (called PERSEUS connectors) to actually make the Italian system talk to the other systems

• R&D refines the data model based on the real-life results of these interfaces

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Exploitation


Results:

• Perseus is a pilot with real-life exercises (i.e. operations of surveillance in the Mediterranean) with boats, planes, satellite information, weather information etc.

• For EII, this is beyond technology transfer, it is a collaboration at development level.

• The collaboration also increases the visibility of our company on the EU scene.

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Exploitation

/ example 2 - project SEMIRAMIS - www.semiramis-cip.eu

Description:

• The purpose is to deploy a pilot across Europe to enable citizens that move from one EU country to another (for instance students from one university to another, a family moving with one parent changing jobs etc) to transfer their administrative information between two city administrations, two universities etc

• In this information transfer we have two challenges: • communicate the information related to a

citizen but • let the citizen to have control on this transfer,

meaning that depending on who receives this information, the citizen can control which part is provided.

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Exploitation


Approach:

• We used the same model - collaboration between a business unit (EngiWeb – a company in Engineering Group) and the R&D labs.

• EngiWeb had the solution (a system to manage user access to information), but it is used mainly within single (large) organizations.

• The combination of R&D and the business unit means that through Semiramis, the EngiWeb solution will be extended to function across different organizations and countries.

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Exploitation


Results:

• Engiweb had a new release of the solution, ready to go on EU market.

• Collaboration outside of Italy is designed to bring additional commercial opportunities for the EII solutions.

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Exploitation

/ lessons learned

• Technology transfer is made easier when collaboration starts earlier.

• Real-life can happen - for instance, when a business unit transforms into a spin-off. This does not mean technology transfer approach used is dead, it increases the competency acquired at R&D level who can then take it into another collaboration as well as creating joint market opportunities between the spin-off and the main company.

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Exploiting research outcome at Engineering

Massimo Canducci Research and Innovation Division Engineering Ingegneria Informatica S.p.A.

06 Sept 2012

Exploitation and Impact in Research Projects

Technology

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