R&D engineering: investment in the future
No apple could have inspired Isaac Newton without years of patient research behind it. Likewise, every effortless discovery or breakthrough conceals long, tireless experimentation. This is precisely the mission of R&D offices—centers driving progress through continuous study, innovation, and engineering excellence.
Outstaffing
July 12, 2023
Maiia
What is behind the concept of “R&D engineering”?
In a few words, it is a standing struggle to improve or better develop existing services, technologies, systems, or products, which the company plans to apply or sell, frequently performed by specialized teams of highly qualified and greatly skilled engineers or even scientists depending on the sphere of effort.
Such research and development include companies' activities to innovate existing or upgrade new products and services. As a rule, these activities are the first stage in the development process, whose essential task is successfully introducing brand-new services or products to the market, thereby increasing the enterprise’s profit.
That is, R&D offices help organizations stay ahead of their competitors and, at the same time, significantly broaden revenues.
The practice of R&D experts is usually carried out without expecting immediate profit. On the contrary, it is assumed that it will contribute to the growth of the company's long-term benefit. These activities often result in the registration of trademarks or copyrights, or patents as new products are being created.
The functioning of such a center requires the investment of large capital and implies a possible risk due to the fact that there is no instant income. For this reason, many firms choose to outsource their research and development objectives. This solution allows them to reduce hazards and save money.
The basic types of research and development
Usually, there are two main R&D types:
- Fundamental type
Research of this type aims to clarify the understanding of a particular scientific or technological problem or phenomenon by examining larger questions. An example of such a fundamental issue that needs to be answered is, say, the question, “Why do some people have insomnia?” This focus on research for its own sake dims the prospects for financial gain. Accordingly, this type of research and development is mainly fulfilled by universities, public research institutions, or big corporations.
- Applied type
Applied research is also performed to collect knowledge. However, unlike fundamental knowledge, this kind of knowledge is obtained with a specific applied goal: to invent or improve a particular product, process, system, or service. And if a fundamental study is theoretical, an applied study is exclusively practical, aimed at finding workable solutions to current production problems. For instance, an applied question that requires a practical answer can be formulated as follows: “How can we increase cloud storage security?”
The stages of the research and development process
The stages of research and development projects vary in different enterprises and business sectors, which is natural, but nevertheless, several stages can be distinguished that are utilized in all these sorts of projects:
- Strategy building and planning
Before starting work on a research project, building a strategy and planning further actions is reasonable. Otherwise, the project may not correspond to the corporate strategy or will not lead to the search for a solution that is beneficial for the company. At the same time, conducting a preliminary examination of the market and learning in detail about the client’s needs is important.
- Conducting research
Research is globally essential to collect the necessary data for the next steps. During this phase, the needs and capacity of the market, the demand and supply of a certain kind of product or service are determined and estimated, and the opportunities for maximizing profits are assessed.
- Developing
In this phase, the R&D team uses the data received at the research stage to develop or improve a product. At this point, various prototypes are made up.
- Testing
At this stage, the new-made or improved product undergoes varied checks: laboratory, usability, performance, security, accessibility testing, etc.
- Product launching on the market
This stage marks the completion of the research and development project. The R&D team may still continue to improve the new offer. Meanwhile, the marketing, sales, and customer service departments are already preparing and implementing the product launch. It is vital to present the product correctly and do it at the right time. In addition, at this stage, it is appropriate to carry out actions to get tax incentives for the new product, which might be helpful as additional investment in a new R&D team’s development.
As a conclusion
Why is it still worth investing in R&D offices? There are several reasons:
- Firstly, it allows you to create unique or improve existing products.
- Secondly, thanks to the appearance of new exclusive propositions in your company’s arsenal, your efficiency goes up and, accordingly, your competitiveness increases.
- Thirdly, optimizing and innovating the products, processes, or technologies reduce costs.
However, if you have decided to resort to the assistance of an R&D team, it is advisable to think of the option of outstaffing. The help of qualified specialists will save you time and human effort. And the result will satisfy you.
The one who keeps pace with innovations and is not afraid to invest in prospects always succeeds.
