“Collaboration key to innovation,” says Microsoft’s Shanahan

TechX conference hears of value of diversity

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Paul Shanahan, Microsoft

In association with Microsoft

Innovation through collaboration was the dominant theme at this week’s Microsoft TechX conference held at the company’s base in Leopardstown, Dublin.

“Cooperation between diverse disciplines focused on specific goals has proven to be not just fruitful for the task at hand but has improved how skills and knowledge transfer happens in general,” wrote intelligent cloud business group lead Paul Shanahan in a company blog.

“Opening up innovation to diverse ranges of experiences and ideas can yield, quite simply, fantastic results. Organisations can facilitate this by recognising that every person, at every level, can contribute to innovation by providing their unique perspective.”

Shanahan also outlined the value of diversity a way to predict issues and develop solutions before problems arise.

“If we have a uniformity of voice and opinions within our organisations, it can be very difficult anticipate problems. Organisations that succeed promote diversity, and provide welcoming platforms for sharing viewpoints,” he wrote.

Shanahan wrapped up his comments with. Nod to the value of events as hubs for collaboration. “Social interaction around the chosen discipline is still an invaluable part of being an ICT professional, and will continue to play an important part in professional development along side all manner of digital media,” he wrote.

Read More: Microsoft TechX