Innovation Needed in Many Sectors

Q: What is the added value that Skye Group offers to its clients?

A: For 10 years, we have put innovation and passion into each of our projects. We are not a supplier companies hire as a software developer; we form partnerships directly with our clients to create new business ideas and evaluate if they can actually work. We start by looking at how to manage the information collected by companies. We generate new ideas that then they concretize into a new product.

We put great focus on the health industry because it is on the rise and we can provide innovative products that help people in Mexico and worldwide. As a technology company, we improve our clients’ processes to generate greater revenue.

Q: Mexico is filled with large companies like FEMSA and Continental, as well as hundreds of SMEs that are capable of innovation. How do you differentiate your expertise?

A: The first step is to communicate the service we offer to potential clients and highlight what makes us stand out. When we build management and innovation projects, the first thing we do is understand how to develop the project and then how to replicate it to generate more innovation. We have created several startups within the group and one has already penetrated more than 15 countries. We started growing organically and in 2013, we submitted our innovation management model to the National Award for Technology and Innovation and were recognized by Mexico’s President as the most innovative company in Mexico.

One credential we demonstrate to our clients is our Mexican DNA, along with the work methods we employ and the people who help us create innovation. When we reach out to new clients, we ask them to not compare us on price but on our innovation capabilities, the prizes we have won and the people we put at their disposal, who all have the same passion as the client to make the best product possible. 

Q: What conditions could foster the development of more Mexican tech companies?

A: Technology in Mexico has been poorly conceived. Mexican entrepreneurs have no one to guide them, unlike in other parts of the world like Israel or Silicon Valley where ex-Googlers or former Microsoft and Amazon employees are available to startups. We have tried to pair entrepreneurs who have the passion and hunger to build startups with a senior executive, a contact network and the right ecosystem to grow. 

In Mexico, people are self-taught. There are some entrepreneurs who have studied but others who have not but are still good enough to participate in the technology sector. As innovators, in addition to passion, we need to be concerned about our next step or what else needs to be done. Mexicans, however, lack the belief that they can do more.

Q: Which industries need a boost in terms of innovation and how are you helping them?

A: The sector that concerns us the most is education. The teaching style needs to change. Globally, there are many options for people to finish high school and even a Bachelor’s online. In Mexico, the education sector has not changed very much in 90 years. We can introduce innovation to this sector. For example, we have developed techniques using virtual and augmented reality to help medical students learn on a virtual human body.

When a new technology appears, there is too much fear to adopt it. Although studies show that new technologies can shorten the timeline for a medical degree from six years to three years, the fear of losing jobs and doubts about whether these solutions will really work deter institutions from trying them. There is still a fear of investing in something that cannot be touched or seen. The mindset is changing but there are still mistakes because technology providers fail to understand what the client really needs. That is why we need to live at our clients’ facilities to offer an excellent service. 

Q: How can Mexico transform from a manufacturing to an innovative hub?

A: Guadalajara and Nuevo Leon are both strong examples. Regarding Industry 4.0, Guadalajara understands how to create new companies and how to attract companies to generate more investment and business. However, that is not innovation but investment attraction. Nuevo Leon, on the other hand, bolsters digitalization by helping society to understand that there is potential beyond manufacturing. Instead of creating more manufacturing companies, they are creating more intellectual property companies.

Skye Group is a group of companies characterized by the innovation they implement in their organizational culture, products and services. The group offers management and innovation projects, and develops new products based on early ideas.