Apple "most innovative" company for third year, Booz & Co. finds

[Rick]

For the third year running, management consulting firm Booz & Co. has named Apple the world's most innovative company in its annual report, Global Innovation 1000 Study: Making Ideas Work. Booz & Co. bases its rankings on an analysis of the "fuzzy front-end" of innovation -- the ability of a company to turn ideas into commercial successes.

A direct link to the full report can be found here (pdf) while key findings and methodology are explained here (pdf). The study analyzes the globe's 1000 largest corporate research and development spenders during 2011.

Although Apple spends a sizeable amount on R&D ($2.4 billion), the Cupertino-based company only ranked 54th in terms of annual research spending. In fact, one of the report's key findings (and the reports before it) are there is virtually no correlation between budget, innovation and success. Only three of the top 20 spenders were considered top innovators. Overall, pharmaceutical companies, technology companies and auto makers pepper the list of top R&D spenders.

Toyota, the highest spender with nearly $10 billion invested in R&D, ranked seventh in overall innovation. Meanwhile, IBM -- a company well-known for its futurist-inspired "blue sky" projects -- weighed in at 17th with $6.3 billion spent.

When it comes to innovation, Google retained its number two spot from 2010. 3M also held firmly in place as the third most innovative company of 2011. Other tech companies who made the top 10 include Microsoft, IBM, Amazon and Samsung -- all of which spent more than twice as much on R&D than Apple, despite its standing as the king of innovators. 

Overall, money handed out for research and development continues to increase steadily, even in the face of widespread economic difficulties. According to the report, 2011 represents the most money ever collectively spent to turn ideas into commercial products and services -- a whopping 10 percent increase to $603 billion over the previous year.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/50769-apple-most-innovative-company-for-third-year-booz-co-finds.html

 

[Ranger1st]

Wonder how much they spend forcing everyone else out of innovation via litigation..

 

[hahahanoobs]

Apple: looks before function.
Apple customers: like shiny things.

The OS is horrible. Jelly Bean running on a Galaxy S i9000 is far more enjoyable.

 

[ReederOnTheRun]

By their definition, "innovation -- the ability of a company to turn ideas into commercial successes", Apple actually probably is the top company. When it comes to actually making new and innovative products the way the rest of the world knows it, Apple has been falling short every since Jobs died.

 

[Guest]

WTF? my last 10 comments on this board are getting deleted... they are not attacking, racist, sexist, or offending...WTF, techspot is getting VERY horrible on editing.

 

[avoidz]

Bet Booz & Co. got a nice Cupertino junket out of that report.

 

[Darkshadoe]

I believe Apple innovated the way companies now sue other companies. Congrats!

 

[Guest]

Booz is a name ? Really ? Is it short for Boozer ? And what do his friends call him, Boozy ? No wonder they have a weird way of interpreting innovation, which most of us understand as a uniquely new idea. For example, the iPhone 5... the fifth version of the same thing, much the same as the previous version - is this really innovation ? I think not.

Now make it waterproof and flexible and that would be innovative. Oh, and fix the maps and the camera.

 

[m4a4]

Ahahaha.. the way normal people define innovation they are not even close to the top. It would be laughable to think people actually call apple innovative these days...

 

[Guest]

When did the definition of "innovative" change to : Steal other peoples' ideas and make them your own and sue the hell out of other companies for minor things.

Hey that sounds more like greed.

Maybe they should make a list of the most greediest company too.

 

[dipankar]

I don't think the company who rated the apple most innovative doesn't know the definition of innovation or either they have taken bribe from apple to put them in top rank. What does apple has innovate till now while comparing to the other giants like ibm or intel etc. They still don't manufacture microchip processor. There products like iphone, ipod or ipad etc most of them aren't their own manufactured hardware parts like apu or any semiconductor chips. Then which field has management consulting firm Booz & Co. find them most innovative as compare to the other. Really this is laughable after reading this article.

 

[noel24]

http://www.sportowo.pl/main/picture.php?f=pict_max&I=002451
Over 40 years old design and counting. Innovative my S.

 

[Guest]

If you can call using child labor innovating then they take the top prize. Before anyone chimes in with Foxconn makes stuff for other companies too. That's true but only Apple makes the kind of demands that no other company makes due to volume and the onlt way they can meet those demands and keep up with profit is use child labor.

With all the human rights abuses going on in China what's a bit of child labor on the side all backed up by American companies foremost by Apple?

 

[justmeblue5ft3]

ReederOnTheRun And what are the fabulous new products that others have come up with other than their own version of Apple's products such as the iPad, iPhone and iPod, as well as the many copies of the rest of their product line up?

 

[Guest]

Haha, $9 billion and Samsung still can't make a better phone!

 

[Mister_K]

Haha, $9 billion and Samsung still can't make a better phone!

Define "better"

 

[NTAPRO]

WTF? my last 10 comments on this board are getting deleted... they are not attacking, racist, sexist, or offending...WTF, techspot is getting VERY horrible on editing.

U mad?

 

[Adhmuz]

Innovation has lost its meaning in this article, since when is releasing a product you already make with a new number on it innovative, or make a screen smaller on a product... Hold me back. Innovation died years ago, people all just want the same crappy phone they already own, call it new and thats all the innovation they need.

 

[treetops]

Their presentation to customers is innovative. But the product is overpriced and a year or two behind competitors.

The product is anything but innovative, they are barely getting 4g and you cannot plug in your apple phone into a USB without a adapter. That is like selling a toaster that needs a adapter to plug into a wall socket.

 

[RH00D]

They did say it was based on turning "ideas into commercial successes" and that really is something Apple is good at. But honestly, there are almost zero big companies that "innovate" anything. Almost every innovation or technology is created by an individual or collection of researchers or scientists in a lab somewhere that will never get credit or mainstream recognition.

 

[gamoniac]

I believe Apple innovated the way companies now sue other companies. Congrats!

There is a long article on NY Times on how Apple literally innovates the way to evade taxes. Now almost all other companies, like Walmart, are copying their accounting techniques. Yes, they stil pay a lot taxes, but they could have and should have paid more. Link here -- http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/b...x-states-and-nations.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

[ShadowDeath]

I stopped caring with some third party companies review now days. I mean seriously... Apple just NOW got the panorama camera on their phone and now Google has the sphere camera.. Just that alone should put Google ahead of Apple. Then again, Samsung's Galaxy S III commercial says it best... iSheep.

 

[Guest]

The uninformed public might like Apple and the junk they peddle but it does not make them "innovative" as a company.

In other news, North Korea as a shining example of democracy (for the 50th year in a row).

 

[wiyosaya]

This flies in the face of some recent comments from Wall St. analysts who say that crApple has not been innovative and is on its way out. Mini iPads are not really innovation, IMHO.

 

[HellcatM]

Every time I start to read something like this I almost expect to see "this was brought to you by the Onion News Network" or "you've been punked" at the end.

Guest, you're right. Look at what kind of crap people call music now a days. This hip hop **** with lyrics that a 5 year old can write. Look at the movies that people like, adam sandler and will farrell are the two worse and un-funny actors on the face of the earth. Look at the TV shows that are hot, dancing with the stars, american idol, the voice and x factor? Give me a break? the syfy channel barely plays scifi anymore. and apple is a big company and people buy their ****. See the trend?