A company’s knowledge assets (also called intellectual assets) will continue to grow in importance relative to the company’s overall market capitalization. Recently, Gartner reported “by 2007, intangible intellectual assets will account for more than 90 percent of the value of the Global 2000 enterprise, up from 20 percent in 1978 and 70 percent in 1998.”
Organizations under continual pressure for revenue and profit growth will increasingly seek to convert their knowledge assets into new revenue streams. Any and all types of internally generated knowledge may have commercial potential externally and can be re-packaged into viable knowledge-based products and services. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. A McKinsey & Co. study found that while the 40 technology and innovation companies it studied could add 10 to 20% to their operating income through better exploitation of their intellectual property, only a small number even reached the 0.5% mark. In another study, it was estimated that each year, U.S. companies forego over $1 trillion in lost opportunities due to their inability to commercialize the value of their patent assets. While organizations desire new revenue streams that leverage their existing intellectual assets, they end up harnessing only a small fraction of their portfolio’s true worth. We believe that these studies indicate a much broader, industry-wide inability to manage and commercialize intellectual property and intangible assets.
The challenge of maximizing the value of intellectual assets lies in the difficulty of successfully identifying, valuing, and bringing to market the IP that resides within the organization. Clearly what is missing is a proven approach for converting knowledge assets into real dollars. This is where Iknow can make a difference.
Iknow’s Services
Iknow has guided numerous clients toward substantial new revenue streams derived from their intellectual property and intangible assets. Our client-tested tools and techniques provide the framework for optimizing an organization’s intellectual asset portfolio. We provide the following services:
- Knowledge Asset Identification. Often, we find that even the most knowledge-intensive companies and industries don't have a clear understanding of the various types of intellectual assets they have within their organizations, the number or extent of their assets, and the business value of the assets. The first step in any knowledge monetization initiative is to identify and inventory the company's intellectual assets.
- Knowledge Valuation. We assess the marketability of the knowledge assets and conduct primary and secondary market research and appropriate benchmarking to develop reasonable IP valuations.
- Knowledge Commercialization. We determine the optimal business models for generating income. Three main ways of commercializing knowledge are knowledge-enriched products and services, advisory and consulting services, and publishing. We evaluate and recommend new business models, many based on the Internet, to provide effective vehicles for marketing and delivering knowledge; some examples include B2B exchanges, online communities, auctions, dynamic pricing, and electronic marketplaces.
- Patent Portfolio Optimization. We document the existing patent portfolio, assess its value, and develop recommendations for commercializing individual patents and groups of related patents.
- Support for Licensing and Sale of IP. We provide support across all phases of IP licensing and sale.
Iknow Project Summary – Knowledge Monetization
A recent knowledge monetization assignment is described below to give you an idea of the type and breadth of work we can undertake. A complete project summary can be downloaded by clicking on the document's title or on the image to the left.
Identifying New Knowledge-Based Product and Service Offerings
Creating a platform for strategic growth
The President of a leading integrated digital marketing and communications company wanted to identify new opportunities that both leveraged their internal competencies and targeted their current customer base. She chose Iknow to drive the identification of new product and service offerings. (PDF, 86 KB)
Please see our Project Portfolio for more examples of recent client assignments.
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Contact us today and let Iknow create knowledge-based competitive advantage for you!
