Kieran Comerford
Managing Director, Comerford Technology Management, Ltd., Dublin, Ireland

Many organizations no longer do all of their R&D in-house. Increasingly, companies innovate by using a combination of R&D and externally sourced technologies. These may be acquired by licensing or sometimes by imitating competitors. Many of the larger companies which formerly had large R&D units are now slimming them down and getting many of their ideas from outside. Bell Labs and General Electric have cut back on R&D expenditure because they are not getting a good enough return and Procter and Gamble have announced a target of 50% externally sourced technologies. Intel has acquired much of its technology from outside sources.