AMRC | Case Study | SharpCloud

Challenge

Our research activities balance the near term needs of applying more mature technologies to solve current production challenges with the longer term need to develop solutions for future challenges. We needed to show a clear link between the low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) research activities and the future industry manufacturing challenges which it will help to solve.

Cause

Due to the breadth of technologies and sectors in which we work, it wasn’t always easy to understand the links between research activities and the trends and drivers. There is also nearly always a limit to the amount of information which can be displayed on a traditional technology roadmap.

Solution

SharpCloud is allowing us to very quickly link our technology or capability building activities, to our longer terms benefits and show the relationships between the different items within our technology roadmap. When required to delve deeper into the data, we can show either different threads of the story or a greater level of detail.

Benefits

This means that very quickly we are able to build the business case for a future technology or capability investment by linking it to the industry needs which it will facilitate. Previously this was a much more involved process where the different heads of group would have to write each business case individually.

“From a management point of view, SharpCloud has given a much greater visibility across the complete portfolio and enables the senior management team to rapidly delve into the detail of planned activities, to show how they link directly to our partner’s needs.”

Pete Osborne, Senior Research Fellow

Solution

When we started looking for software solutions to help us communicate our message we wanted something which would allow us to link together the various different strands of data across our different roadmaps, but filter the data as required to tell the different stories within it.

What we found in SharpCloud was a solution that allowed us to show the relationships between the different items within our technology roadmap stories but when required to delve deeper into the data, to show either different threads of the story or a greater level of detail.

This has allowed us to communicate more effectively, internally and with our 100+ commercial members, who are able to interact with our SharpCloud stories to help us to develop our future technology capability requirements.

This ensures that we are working on fundamental research projects today, which will allow us to continue to solve industries' future challenges.

SharpCloud has enabled us to link up many of our stories, sharing solutions across the different application areas that our members operate in, and providing a much more obvious link between the capabilities being developed and their ultimate application.

From a management point of view, this has given much greater visibility across the complete portfolio and enables the senior management team to rapidly delve into the detail of planned activities, to show how they link directly to our partner’s needs.

Benefits

Quickly allows us to link the technology or capability building activities which we are running today, to their longer terms benefits
Very quickly build the business case for a future technology or capability investment by linking it to the industry needs which it will facilitate
Better manage our portfolio to ensure we are making best use of our own resource and making the most of opportunities when they do arise
Link up many of our stories, sharing solutions across the different application areas that our members operate in

Enables our members, effectively also our customers, to play a much greater role in informing our future technology capability
Ultimately this will also make the AMRC more efficient in this regard, resulting in more value for their membership contributions
From a management point of view, this has given much greater visibility across the complete portfolio
Enables the senior management team to rapidly delve into the detail of planned activities, to show how they link directly to our partner’s needs