What once took years in the lab can now mature in mere months. The pace of innovation is accelerating. The scope is diversifying. With scientific output doubling every six years and increasing in complexity, it’s becoming harder for R&D-led organisations to keep pace of emerging technologies and assess their potential threats or opportunities.
At this very moment, scientists might be developing a breakthrough that could dramatically impact your organisation. The question is: will you identify it before your competitors do?
"We have blind spots. Our services tell us what has already happened. What we’re really looking for is what’s coming next."
— Future Technologies Group (CTO Office), International Defence Company
The Limitations of Traditional Horizon Scanning
The surge in deep tech advancements has exposed the limitations of conventional horizon scanning methods:
- Signal to noise ratio: The massive volume of inbound data makes it difficult to distinguish useful insights from irrelevant background information.
- Blind spots: Innovation is emerging from increasingly diverse fields, many of which are outside an organisation’s usual monitoring scope.
- Scaling issues: The expanded scope of monitoring activity creates an overwhelming burden on the organisation to sort and prioritise data.
- Operationalising data: Instead of supporting decision-making, large influxes of information can lead to decision paralysis.
Horizon scanning must evolve to meet the demands of today’s dynamic tech landscape.
Technology Radar: A Next-Generation Horizon Scanning Model
Outsmart Insight has developed a Technology Radar model that specifically addresses the limitations of traditional horizon scanning in an era of rapid technological change. This model taps into the collective intelligence of thousands of scientists and academics from world-renowned research institutions, ensuring that signals are captured directly from the front lines of emerging technologies.
Key features of the Technology Radar model include:
- Relevance and timeliness: Signals are filtered and qualified based on their potential impact, eliminating background noise and focusing on the most important developments.
- Expert insight: Unlike automated services, our deep tech experts provide a level of understanding that allows R&D-led organisations to evaluate technological threats and opportunities more effectively.
- Accessible reporting: The findings are presented in a format designed to be useful for both technical and non-expert audiences, enabling strategic decision-making across different levels of the organisation.
Case Study: BAE Systems Technology Watch
BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence integrator, needed a reliable method to track breakthrough technologies in labs and adjacent industries. They partnered with Outsmart Insight's Tech Radar service to stay ahead of rapid technological advancements.
The project began by developing a custom taxonomy – a framework for classifying information – aligned with BAE’s strategic goals. Outsmart Insight then deployed a dedicated team of 68 scientists across key disciplines like robotics, autonomous systems, advanced materials, and computing systems to capture signals from multi-domain sources.
A rigorous three-pass evaluation process filtered out irrelevant data, ensuring that only the most critical insights were passed along. The findings were then published in an engaging, magazine-style format, branded for BAE Systems.
BAE Systems has been an Outsmart Insight client for six years, consistently using Tech Radar to maintain a competitive edge. You can explore their Technology Watch: Net Zero Edition for an example of our work.
Technology Radar for Your Organisation
Our Technology Radar model is adaptable to a wide range of industries and disciplines. With a network of thousands of scientists, we can assemble a dedicated team to monitor deep tech developments according to your specific strategic goals.
To learn more about how your organisation can stay ahead of emerging technologies and gain a competitive edge, please get in touch.
