Can Elephants Learn to Dance? Takeaways from the Siemens New Ventures Forum

Innovate or die. Despite being repeated so often it has become a cliché, the need to innovate has never been more important.  Large companies fear that their very size is an obstacle to innovation.  Many are now putting creative programs in place to foster partnerships with smaller companies that are a primary source of new and disruptive technologies.

Siemens Technology To Business (TTB) program is a great example of this.  TTB has set up facilities with teams of venture technologists in Berkeley and Shanghai to scour the globe for innovative technology businesses, with the most promising of those being invited to an annual ventures forum on the campus of UC Berkeley.  Urjanet was proud to have been selected to attend the 2013 event this past June.

Siemens (@siemens) did a great job organizing this two-day event where entrepreneurs pitched their businesses and learned how to do business with Siemens.  By the end of the event we had fleshed out exciting partnership opportunities with multiple business units, and formed new friendships with the TTB staff that will last long into the future.

Hats off to the team at Siemens New Ventures Forum for hosting this world class event – I’ve been to the zoo many times before, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen an elephant do the tango!

Thoughts to share? Let us know on Twitter! And if you’re ready to find out how Urjanet can help you leverage your utility data, contact us today.

Related Resources:

• Raising the IQ of Smart Cities
• Urjanet SPARK ’14 Conference Brings Together the Brightest Minds in Energy & Sustainability
• Is Energy Data The Key to Unlocking Hidden Profits?

---

---