To make it in today’s fiercely competitive market, companies must think outside the box. Research, development and innovation hold the key to success, writes Thomas Mallick

2,700 Sadnvik has 2,700 employees active in its R&D division 5,500 Sandvik has approximately 5,500 active patents in the company today Sandvik is a Swedish engineering group widely recognised for its innovative approach in furthering business-related mechanisms and practices. A world leader, the high-technology engineering group has a long-standing tradition of innovation supported by R&D […]

1961 Mitarai graduated from the University of Chuo in 1961 70% Since he took over as CEO Canon’s revenue has grown 70 percent Chairman of Japanese electronics corporation Canon, Fujio Mitarai, utliises aspects of both Eastern and Western business philosophy in what has since been termed ‘the Mitarai way’. Continually setting innovative business precedents in his pushing of […]

$3.9bn Dekkers allocated $3.9bn to Bayer’s R&D division in 2012, one of the largest in pharmaceuticals $52.8bn Dekkers had a fantastic year with Bayer, making $52.8bn from sales in 2012 Marijn Dekkers describes his business philosophy as being “more innovation, less administration”. Having developed Bayer from an ailing pharmaceutical company to a pioneering corporate model, […]

80% There’s an 80 percent chance your disc drive is made by Nidec ISO 14001 Nidec was one of the first to obtain an ISO 14001 certification Nidec is a Japanese manufacturer of electric motors and is widely considered to have been instrumental in the early expansion of modern-day transport systems. Nidec currently holds almost […]

1999 Infosys was the first Indian company to be listed on the US Stock Exchange in 1999 2008 Infosys was making over $4bn in revenue per year by 2008 An Indian multinational provider of business consulting, engineering and outsourcing services, Infosys is considered a market leader for its corporate governance practices and contributions in furthering […]

219bn+ photos on its system 17.5bn location-tagged posts 140bn+ friend connections to one billion users 268bn+ photos on its servers Facebook is renowned for having initiated a global dependence on social media. Established in 2004 as a means to network with local college communities, Facebook has since been extensively rewritten as a fundamental indicator of […]

1901 Atlas Copco designed the first completely Swedish diesel engine in 1901 2012 Atlas Copco established a new digital management solution for generator sets in 2012 By providing “long-term industrial experience, as well as innovative products and solutions to current and new customers”, Ronnie Leten has ensured Atlas Copco’s reputation as a highly respected business. […]

$2.5bn SAP spends on average $2.5bn per year on R&D 1,200 SAP offers over 1,200 products and services at its SAP Store SAP is a German software corporation primarily focused on the manufacturing of enterprise software business operations. As well as being one of the largest software companies worldwide, SAP shows a constant willingness to […]

ARM Holdings is a British software and semiconductor design company, focusing primarily on processors and software development tools under the brand names RealView and Keil. The defining characteristic of ARM processors is low electric power consumption for portable devices. ARM is unique in that it licenses technology as intellectual property rather than making its own […]

2012 Bon was awarded with an Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2012 from Singapore’s ROTARY-ASME 200+ Bon has led an initiative to distribute daily provisions to over 200 needy people in Singapore OKH Holdings, a property development company based in Singapore, is unique in that it integrates property development and construction services, with a […]

$3.2bn Square was valued at $3.2bn in September 2012 $1bn Dorsey’s personal stake in the company is said to be worth $1bn Jack Dorsey is an American web developer and entrepreneur best known for having co-founded social media platform Twitter and mobile payments company Square. Dorsey’s three founding principles of simplicity, constraint and craftsmanship are […]