A majority of technology innovation projects often fail before launching for enterprises in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, according to new research commissioned by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.

As per the report, 98 per cent of the heads of innovations in enterprises in the APAC region surveyed (as part of the research) said that their projects often fail before they are launched.

For as many as 40 per cent of participants, a large number of these projects don’t make it past the development stage.

“A lack of cooperation with IT Security departments also increases the likelihood that a project will never be released,” the report said.

According to the study, “The development stage is considered to be most challenging across the ‘innovation lifecycle’,” for 36 per cent of respondents.

“For most enterprises in the APAC region, the main reason for unsuccessful innovation is the lack of a clear plan and structure in place,” the report said.

This was the case for over 20 per cent of respondents. The findings put the onus on execution.

“The ability to execute is as important as coming up with a brilliant idea, in order to transform a valuable insight into a profitable and plausible solution. Once the roadmap is established, it is also worth regularly reviewing it to keep up with competitor activity, market trends and industry fluctuations,” as per the report.

Though Cybersecurity was not listed as one of the primary reasons for failure, 80 per cent of the respondents said that enterprises increase the risk of failure by not including a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) early in the process. However, 52 per cent of the participants also felt that IT security policy in their company stifles innovation.

Stephan Neumeier, Managing Director, Kaspersky (APAC) said: “Having a Chief Information Security officer (CISO) at the very beginning of the technology experiment is a great idea, as the CISO will be able to understand the challenges that may occur while executing the process and also assure that there is no compromise on the security of the enterprise network while making use of advanced technologies for a revolutionary future.”

“For a business to innovate, it should take risks and be ready to go through some failures in the process as well, as they are inevitable when you are looking into something really new,” said Alexander Moiseev, Chief Business Officer at Kaspersky.

“However, there are still some practical steps that can be taken to make sure that an emerging technology or a product reaches its launch. Cybersecurity doesn’t have to be another corporate barrier, but it should be on an integral part of the project all along,” he added.

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