The DPP Broadcaster Summit in Berlin brought European broadcasters together to identify key challenges for the future and discuss potential solutions together with their suppliers. I participated as a panelist on the importance of innovation, and had the additional pleasures of making several new business acquaintances and enjoying morning runs in the Tiergarten.
Like art and culture, innovation can be understood in many ways. The representatives from the larger companies tended to focus on efficient means of moving new product ideas through standardised technology readiness levels. They took, in my opinion, a rather compartmentalised view on innovation, where the the vast majority of innovation happens within a dedicated R&D department.
In a startup such as ours, on the other hand, everyone in the team, from sales to development and customer support, is encouraged to constantly reflect on how we can make our product even better for our customers. Everyone prefers their own way, and being no exception I prefer our way of innovating, as it allows product creation to draw on the combined competencies and experiences of the organisation.
Another interesting theme at the Summit was tracking sustainability through supply chains, and it is likely that in a near future, suppliers will be expected to report on, e.g., the carbon emissions caused by production.
We would welcome this type of system, as it would give broadcasters a more accurate understanding of the true cost of a product. For those that would like to learn more, we recommend the report from the Summit recently published by the DPP.
By Johanna Björklund, CTO @ Adlede