EMT527 – SDS534 |1| Technology Management 221281004

Course Title : EMT527 - SDS534 | 1 | Technology Management

Name : Abbas Sani

Surname : Abubakar

Student No : 221281004

Program : Masters Engineering Management (Thesis/English)

Date : 19.01.2023

1 Project Definition of Saqo+ (B2B AI Leads Qualification System)

B2B (business-to-business) marketing refers to any marketing strategy or content that is geared
towards a business or organization. Companies that sell products or services to other businesses
or organizations (vs. consumers) typically use B2B marketing strategies (Decker, 2023).

The Saqo+ was a novel innovative marketing idea developed with the intention of reinventing
business-to-business (B2B) marketing. Small and medium-sized businesses will be able to
promote their goods and services globally on the Saqo+ platform using a streamlined AI driven
leads qualification system.

Traditionally, B2B sales representatives spend hours marketing products or services to

unqualified leads. As a result, companies spend a substantial amount of resources yearly in
salaries and system maintenance with a very low leads conversion rate.

Saqo+ is an innovative AI system that uses historical sales data obtained from various sales data
banks to generate and qualify leads based on specific algorithms. By utilising this system,
companies will be able to market their products and services to the most qualified segment of
customers, and thus reduce significantly the cost of marketing.

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2 Sustainable Innovation Requirements

Sustainable innovation involves making intentional changes to a company’s products, services, or
processes to generate long-term social and environmental benefits while creating economic
profits for the firm (Lee, 2022).

The following are the 3 major requirements fo sustainbale innovations as applied to Saqo+

2.1 Operational Optimisation

Operational optimization refers to the ongoing process of staying up to date with the constantly
changing markets. Ensuring your operational processes are efficient while cutting costs and
maximizing performance (Foufa, 2021).

Going by the above definition, Saqo+ fulfills the first requirement of operational optimization as
it provides its clients with an efficient way of cutting marketing costs while yielding a higher lead
conversion rate as compared to traditional B2B marketing.

2.2 Organisational Transformation

According to Red Hat (2022), Organizational transformation is a business strategy for change
management intended to move your organization from where it currently is to a desired future
state.

This definition perfectly fits Saqo+, as its sole aim is to make companies more profitable through
increased sales of products and services powered by an AI-driven marketing system. This
transforms companies from their current position of inefficient marketing to more robust
marketing achieved through the Saqo+ lead qualification system.

2.3 System Buildings

The most advanced form of sustainable innovation involves collaborating with others to create
positive impacts on people and the planet. Companies here see themselves as part of an
ecosystem and recognize that sustainability can’t be achieved by any single organization (Lee,
2022).

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The concept of bringing together small and medium-sized companies under a single platform
shows how Saqo+ fulfills the system's requirement to be sustainably innovative. On the Saqo+
lead qualification platform, companies provide their historical sales data and utilize sales data
provided by other companies to generate and qualify B2B leads based on specific algorithms
developed by Saqo+.

3 Innovation Management Stages

It would be unwise to overlook or fail to value innovation. An organization's ability to compete in
the market, or worse, its ability to survive against its rivals, could be compromised by poor
management. The purpose of innovation is to push the introduction of new products, processes,
and business flows to an existing or a new market. Innovation is a challenging topic that requires
a lot of resources, people, and effective management to attain its end goal.

Saqo+ adhered to these innovation management stages as follows:

3.1 Idea Generation

The Saqo+ concept was born out of the outdated B2B marketing tactics that businesses use today.
Businesses spend millions of dollars on marketing, but with little success. With this in mind, Saqo+
idea came to light to solve this problem

3.2 Advocacy and Screening (Concept)

The concept behind Saqo+ develop a system that makes use of data science and AI to qualify leads
for b2b marketing as they took center stage. The premise behind Saqo+ is that businesses would
save time and resources by employing an AI-powered lead qualification system to increase their
sales through efficient marketing.

3.3 Experimentation

According to Alcor Fund (2021), The experimentation stage tests the sustainability of ideas for an
organization at a specific time. Experimentation generates new ideas with the information that is
gathered on the results and feasibility of the original idea.

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The concept of an AI-powered lead qualification system, Saqo+, has undergone numerous tests
through machine learning algorithms that use historical data to test and appraise the Saqo+
system. This will significantly reduce human error, making the system more dynamically effective
and thereby achieving its innovative purpose.

3.4 Commercialisation

Saqo+ uses a variety of marketing techniques to promote its lead qualification system since
systems resulting from innovation are typically novel and unfamiliar to the majority of people.
This increases the system's exposure and makes it simpler for targeted and interested b2b
companies to use the system for efficient marketing.

Saqo+ adhered to the following step for its commercialisation:

I. Disclosure of of Saqo system: This formally brings forth the AI lead qualification system for
evaluation and peer review.
II. Assessment by early testers and researchers: Licensing officers will evaluate the idea or
product to assess its marketability, patentability, and the scope of the available market.
III. Patents: Saqo+ applies for patents well before the lead qualification system is brought to
the market. This ensure a tighter scope of influence from other innovators and a better
chance of successfully commercializing the system.
IV. Appropriate licensing: Saqo+ fulfill intellectual property requirements, government
agency licensing, and federal clearance.
V. Discovering target customers: Saqo+ also apply for provisional patent licenses during this
stage if not done before. They do this to check the market interest in the system before
paying for a full patent.
VI. Business model: Saqo+ justify to investors the viability of commercializing the A powered
lead qualification system. They do this through a business model, which shows plans for
all funds and processes involved in bringing the system to market.
VII. Bringing it to market: Once the Saqo+ business model completes its review, the final step
is bringing the system to the b2b companies for purchase. This usually includes sales and
distribution.

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3.5 Implementation

The Saqo+ AI-derived lead qualification solution is anticipated to help B2B businesses increase
sales, save marketing expenses, and save time with successful commercialization. The main
drawback is that it would eliminate the need for lead generation companies, which will result in
job loss. Its advantages, however, significantly outweigh those of its drawbacks.

References

Decker, A. (2023) The Ultimate Guide to B2B marketing in 2022 [+ new data], HubSpot Blog.
HubSpot. Available at: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/b2b-
marketing#:~:text=B2B%20Marketing%20Examples-
,What%20is%20B2B%20Marketing%3F,typically%20use%20B2B%20marketing%20strat
egies. (Accessed: January 19, 2023).

Foufa, N. (2021) 5 benefits of operational optimization, Sigma Computing. Available at:

https://www.sigmacomputing.com/blog/5-benefits-of-operational-
optimization#:~:text=Operational%20optimization%20refers%20to%20the,cutting%20cost
s%20and%20maximizing%20performance. (Accessed: January 19, 2023).

The innovation process: Importance, steps, types, examples, and risks involved (2021) ALCOR
FUND. Available at: https://alcorfund.com/insight/the-innovation-process-importance-
steps-types-examples-and-risks-involved/ (Accessed: January 19, 2023).

Lee, J.Y. (2022) What is sustainable innovation?, Network for Business Sustainability (NBS).
Available at: https://nbs.net/what-is-sustainable-innovation-and-how-to-make-innovation-
sustainable/ (Accessed: January 19, 2023).

Understanding organizational transformation (no date) Red Hat. Available at:

https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/organizational-
transformation#:~:text=What%20is%20organizational%20transformation%3F,efforts%20f
ocused%20on%20employee%20experience. (Accessed: January 19, 2023).

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