March 13, 2025
Innovation posts, Advices from our experts
Navigating Change: How Innovitech Adapts to Emerging Technologies
Technologies are evolving at a rapid pace. A company’s ability to adapt has become crucial to meet the needs of its clients. François Provencher, Senior Director of Innovation and Technology at Innovitech, discusses the importance of continuous technology monitoring, its strategic benefits, and the emerging trends shaping the industry.
Anticipation and Technology Monitoring
In the realm of emerging technologies, anticipation is essential: when a trend becomes obvious, it’s already too late. Given the pace of technological developments, part of our role is to be forward-thinking to guide our clients. To achieve this, Innovitech has implemented a rigorous yet straightforward strategic monitoring process, allowing us to spot weak signals before they become established trends in the industry.
This monitoring work is based on a methodical approach that involves identifying the emergence of new technologies, tracking their evolution, and then deepening their analysis to assess their potential at the right time. It requires rigorous and daily attention. Thanks to this expertise, we can differentiate fleeting trends from true innovations capable of transforming the industry.
Some trends promoted by the media are based on fragile foundations and end up collapsing, while others, more discreet, are built on solid ground and deserve special attention. This is why we integrate these emerging innovations into our monitoring efforts early on, testing and evaluating their potential through experimentation and pilot projects.
The key challenge remains knowing where to focus attention, when to accelerate the exploration of a technology, and when to pause a non-viable track. This ability to adjust a strategy based on emerging trends is part of our expertise. Through this proactive approach, we are able to provide our clients with an informed strategic vision and precisely anticipate technological disruptions.
The Technology Monitoring Radar
The technology monitoring radar we developed several years ago is a key strategic tool, constantly updated to track the rapid evolution of technologies. Designed as a circular diagram, it divides technologies into three key areas:
“Adoption” Zone: At the center of the radar, we find technologies ready to be integrated. The closer a technology is to the center, the faster it should be adopted. When an organization identifies a technology as essential but has not yet adopted it, it becomes a critical strategic issue. The speed of adoption then becomes crucial to gaining an edge over the competition.
“Test” Zone: Before adoption, pilot projects are used to assess the feasibility and potential of a technology in a real-world context. This testing phase allows us to measure its true potential, its limits, and its feasibility in a specific context. It is essential for validating strategic choices before committing resources to broader adoption.
“Monitoring” Zone: This area includes less mature technologies. Their evolution is closely monitored, and when promising signals emerge, they are evaluated for future adoption. This is where we identify emerging technologies, those that may reshape the industry.
It is important to emphasize that each organization must adapt its own monitoring radar. At Innovitech, we start with our generic model, which we then adjust based on the needs and specificities of each organization.
Regularly updated, the radar provides a strategic vision by detecting convergences across different sectors. Currently, we are observing an increasing synergy between various fields: manufacturing, digital technology, energy, and even life sciences. The emergence of electro-agriculture, which will be integrated into our next version, perfectly illustrates this convergence by combining genetic engineering, solar energy, chemistry, and digital technology.
This tool also serves as a lever to inform strategic decisions and anticipate disruptions in the industry. By offering a cross-sectional view of innovations, the radar helps us avoid blind spots and anticipate major disruptions. With this approach, we enable our clients in their strategic thinking by identifying technologies that have the potential to transform their sector, even if they originate from entirely different industries.
Integrating New Technologies into Consulting Practices
The integration of new technologies into Innovitech’s consulting practices always begins with a deep understanding of each company’s specific issues. Before considering solutions, it is essential to clearly define the challenges to address or the opportunities to seize. Once the problem is clearly identified, it becomes possible to explore various options to respond strategically.
A key element of this approach is the use of an innovation initiative portfolio. Rather than focusing on a single solution, we develop a set of complementary initiatives. Some may involve risks but offer significant benefits, while others are safer and less costly to implement. This approach diversifies risks and avoids betting on a single technology or method. The monitoring radar plays a role in guiding this process. By tracking emerging technologies, we can evaluate their potential and adapt our strategic choices based on the trends detected. This helps us evolve our solutions as technological advances unfold.
Our clients often operate in high-tech sectors with complex and often unprecedented needs. Our role is to offer them tailored solutions by combining various emerging technologies. To do this, we rely on a constantly evolving technological toolkit, which allows us to select the most relevant technologies based on the challenges encountered.
Let’s take the example of low-code programming: a few years ago, this topic seemed marginal. However, we recently identified a client case where this technology represented the best solution. Thanks to our proactive monitoring, we were able to design a complete software suite that perfectly met the needs.
Similarly, we have long been following the evolution of graph databases. We know they will become essential in certain contexts. The challenge, therefore, is not only to master these technologies but also to know when and how to deploy them effectively.
A concrete example of successful integration is a client we supported in developing a product in the pre-commercialization phase. By combining emerging technologies such as 3D printing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence, we were able to design a high-potential prototype in just a few months — a result that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.
Through these various initiatives, we combine digital expertise and cutting-edge technologies to precisely meet our clients’ needs while anticipating the major developments that will shape their industries.
Emerging Trends to Watch
Several emerging technological trends are on our radar, and we believe they will have a significant impact on Quebec and Canada in the coming years. Here is an overview of the key areas:
Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing
The aerospace sector is experiencing rapid growth, particularly with the emergence of air taxis and drones. For example, the study of the ground infrastructure needed for these vehicles is still in its early stages, but these technologies are advancing rapidly.
Advanced Robotics
The development of humanoid robots and advanced robotics with generative artificial intelligence is accelerating. We are exploring the best strategies to integrate these technologies into businesses: which use cases to prioritize, when to launch pilot projects, and what limitations to anticipate.
Generative Artificial Intelligence
Specifically, transformer-based language models are booming. While these models have certain limitations, hybrid architectures are beginning to emerge, offering new possibilities. At Innovitech, we focus on gaining a deep understanding of these technologies, not to create new models, but to solve concrete business problems. The goal is to understand their potential while ensuring quality, security, and the necessary safeguards.
Renewable Energy and Battery Technologies
Renewable energy, particularly solar and biomass, continues to grow. The cost of solar is decreasing, and its efficiency is increasing, making this technology relevant even in Quebec. The battery sector is also undergoing a revolution, with emerging chemistries that could potentially change the game, especially in aerospace, where battery energy density is key.
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Significant progress has been made in these fields with promising applications in health and agriculture. However, these technologies require strict regulation to limit risks and ensure ethical and safe use.
Sustainable Food Systems
The development of sustainable food systems is an absolute imperative. These solutions contribute to reducing dependence on non-renewable resources and preserving the environment.
Collaborations and Partnerships
Partnerships are crucial for successfully executing cutting-edge technological projects. We do not claim to have all the expertise in-house, which is why we have established a network of strategic partnerships to strengthen our ability to help our clients innovate. We are also ready to offer our expertise to help our partners succeed in their projects. This collaborative approach is at the heart of our strategy to meet the needs of innovative organizations.
We collaborate with experts who have over 30 or 40 years of experience in specific fields, contributing to projects that require high-level expertise. These partnerships complement our technical expertise by adding in-depth knowledge of specific sectors.
An example of this approach is our collaboration with firms specializing in industrial design. By combining their know-how with our expertise in innovation management and project structuring, we create solutions that go beyond traditional design.
We also work with partners specialized in information technology, bringing our strategic structuring expertise to complement their technical expertise.
Preparing Businesses for Technological Challenges
Beyond monitoring, experimentation plays a pivotal role. Testing emerging technologies allows us not only to assess their potential but also to understand their limitations. It is with this mindset that I developed a digital incubator — a secure space dedicated to the rapid experimentation of new solutions. A fundamental aspect of this approach is understanding where each technology stands in its maturity cycle, enabling us to determine the right moment to invest in or simply monitor an innovation. This innovation management process has become indispensable for any business today.
It is crucial for businesses to evaluate each technology based on its maturity cycle. This allows them to determine the right time to invest, adopt, or simply monitor an innovation. Proactive innovation management, which includes identifying emerging technologies and constantly evaluating them, has become a key lever for organizations that want to not only stay competitive but also anticipate future developments.
In a constantly evolving environment, it is no longer enough to simply react to technological changes — businesses must anticipate and integrate them at the strategic moment when they provide real added value. Adopting a technology too early can lead to unnecessary risks and costs, while waiting too long may mean missing crucial opportunities. Mastering this window of opportunity is therefore essential.
In summary, an effective approach rests on three pillars: active technological monitoring, which allows us to spot trends and high-potential innovations; rapid experimentation cycles, which validate the feasibility and impact of these technologies in real-world scenarios; and a flexible and efficient innovation process structure, enabling the business to adapt quickly. It is this ability to combine vigilance, experimentation, and flexibility that is key to navigating effectively in a constantly evolving technological landscape.
To learn more about the technological monitoring radar, contact us: info@innovitech.com
About François Provencher
Senior Director, Innovation and Technology, François Provencher has 30 years of experience in research and innovation, with a strong focus on aerospace and digital technologies.
A mechanical engineer with a master’s degree in Technology Management from Polytechnique Montréal, specializing in aerospace and defense, François joined Innovitech where he led major projects in advanced air mobility, including drones, eVTOLs, and the environmental impact assessment of aviation. He also directed strategic projects integrating artificial intelligence into the aerospace sector.
With over 12,500 hours in aerospace monitoring and 55,000 hours in research and innovation in aerospace and digital technologies, he has deep expertise in anticipating technological evolutions in these fields.
François also served as CEO of IRT Canada, a renowned research center specializing in artificial intelligence for aerospace, and was Director of Industrial Innovation at Investissement Québec, where he led the industrial innovation roadmap and technological monitoring system.
He further enriched his experience during 15 years at Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC), where, as Director of Digital Innovation, he oversaw emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and advanced robotics. His leadership was pivotal in the digital transformation of the aerospace sector and the creation of a digital aerospace ecosystem.