Innovation. Transformation. Change. Adapt. These words and all their synonyms were repeated ad nauseum during these past two years as people, companies, organizations, and industries were forced to make drastic changes in the face of a global pandemic. As Rajiv Sodhi, COO, Microsoft India, said, “Innovation is no longer an option, but a necessity.” That was in relation to a Microsoft-IDC study in which 77% of businesses in India said that innovation is now a “must” for them to respond quickly to market challenges and opportunities.
Of course, this isn’t an issue isolated to just one country or one industry. According to BCG’s April 2021 report, “Overcoming the Innovation Readiness Gap,” 75% of the 1,500 global executives surveyed across all industries said that innovation is top-three priority at their company—a 10 percentage point increase from 2020, which is the largest year-over-year increase in the 15 years of BCG’s Most Innovative Companies survey. Furthermore, more than 60% of companies plan to boost investment in innovation, with one-third of them planning to do so significantly.
If these companies stick to their word, we may be entering a new age of innovation. That may be a sight to behold because in our industry alone, the innovations over the past two years have been significant. Yes, that includes COVID-19 vaccines developed in record time, but it’s more than that. Healthcare delivery, clinical trials, commercialization efforts, organization management, and much more were all reimagined to work better during a pandemic and even well into the future as we embrace our next normal.
For the past decade, our annual Innovations Issue has served as your guide to all things new and next in the industry to better prepare you for the future. As innovation only grows more crucial, so does this guide. From hundreds of submissions, we picked the most gamechanging innovations you need to know about in the following categories:
- Companies (any organization developing new ways to push the industry forward)
- Divisions (new sectors formed to address a particular problem facing the industry)
- Startups (companies less than five years old pioneering new avenues in healthcare)
- Products (software, apps, programs, and anything else designed to improve how those working in the industry do their jobs)
- Services (compelling offerings that help the industry tackle new challenges)
- Strategies (never-before-tried approaches that are changing how the industry operates)
These selections are meant to aide in your own innovation journey with potential partners, worthwhile offerings, and inspiring ideas that can help you stay ahead of the game in a world that has now made innovation one of its top priorities.