{"id":3970,"date":"2024-12-03T14:57:52","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T13:57:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/?p=3970"},"modified":"2024-12-09T15:28:33","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T14:28:33","slug":"the-just-enough-mindset-a-hurdle-in-dutch-innovation-culture-in-cybersecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/the-just-enough-mindset-a-hurdle-in-dutch-innovation-culture-in-cybersecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"The “Just Enough” Mindset: A Hurdle in Dutch Innovation Culture in Cybersecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We\u2019re doing well, but there\u2019s plenty of room for improvement. That seems to be the general message when looking at the innovation climate in the Netherlands \u2013 and across the European Union. While the European tech sector has a solid foundation, we continue to lag behind the United States and China, where the importance of innovation is more widely recognized. How do we break free from our ‘just enough’ mentality?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovation in the Netherlands & the EU<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, Rabobank pointed out<\/a> that there\u2019s too little focus on the business and investment climate in the Netherlands. The lack of attention is detrimental to labor productivity development and future growth potential, the bank warns. According to the report, the low labor productivity growth is partly due to lagging investment levels, which include investments in Research & Development (R&D) and education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Where are the investments in AI & quantum?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is just as big of a problem in the EU, according to a report<\/a> by DIGITALEUROPE, which assessed innovation in eight crucial technology categories. Globally, Europe lags behind in seven of these categories, including health biotech, energy tech, space technology, and quantum technology. The biggest gap was found in AI and the semiconductor industry, partly due to supply chain issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This report also attributes the lack of innovation to investment shortages: private investment in AI startups and scale-ups in the EU is about one-seventh of that in the US, and about three times less in quantum technology compared to the US. This financial shortfall hampers the EU\u2019s ability to develop robust industries and compete globally, the report warns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lack of innovation affects our national security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This also creates challenges for the strategic autonomy of the Netherlands and the EU, making us more dependent on technology and solutions from outside the EU. This could become a major issue, according to the Cyber Security Council<\/a> earlier this year, impacting our national security and putting increasing pressure on our freedom, democracy, and prosperity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council warned that current efforts and investments in cybersecurity are insufficient to tackle the growing digital threats from state actors and cybercriminals. The Council estimates that annual investments from the new government need to be \u20ac200 million in 2024, rising to \u20ac550 million by 2028 and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less innovation, more risk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now, more than ever, it\u2019s crucial to invest in the tech sector\u2014particularly the cybersecurity sector. The industry is evolving rapidly, and so are the associated risks. Advanced cyberattacks like ransomware are on the rise, we\u2019re seeing more attacks on industrial IT systems, cybercriminals are increasingly operating on a global scale, and supply chain attacks are becoming more frequent. Meanwhile, the shortage of cybersecurity experts continues to be a structural challenge, and we also need to start preparing for the quantum era, TNO<\/a> warns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organization therefore advocates for addressing these risks in your digital strategy and ensuring that the right knowledge and resources are in place to become and remain digitally resilient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less innovation, fewer customers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dimitri van Zantvliet, Director of Cyber Security at NS, also warns<\/a> about the impact of a lack of innovation: “We risk missing the boat in the Netherlands and Europe. We\u2019ve already lost much of our innovative strength and rely heavily on foreign suppliers. Soon, it will be too late to catch up.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lack of innovation not only leads to increased IT risks, but in the long term, it also results in losing customers. This is especially true in the cybersecurity market\u2014a relatively immature sector where customers still experience a lot of uncertainty and hesitation when purchasing solutions. More than in other industries, it\u2019s crucial to build trust with end customers here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The role of companies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How do you handle this as an IT company? When investment opportunities are scarce and you need to allocate significant resources to convince external parties of your growth potential, it\u2019s essential to adopt a smart growth strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Convince with the right niche<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dare to make a choice: focus on a specific niche where the market isn\u2019t yet saturated. This will not only help you find the right target audience but also allow you to build better partnerships and collaborate with parties that understand your business and add value to your product or service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Innovation as part of your strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As an entrepreneur, you’re often focused on daily operations, making it hard to think about what comes next. McKinsey\u2019s Three Horizons model is a growth strategy framework that helps you look at three different timeframes, or horizons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to the model, you should allocate 70% of your resources to innovations that fit within the first horizon, 20% to innovations in the second horizon, and 10% to those in the third horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, don\u2019t just focus on the short and medium term, but also dare to look ahead, show vision, and invest in innovations that can help your company grow in the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This perspective also helps when choosing partnerships: ultimately, you want to collaborate with companies that support your long-term vision. So, be bold in deciding what you want to develop yourself, where you want to partner, what you want to buy, and where you want to grow in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning a passing grade into excellence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If we want to ensure digital resilience, work toward a mature cybersecurity sector, and protect our national security, it\u2019s crucial that both policymakers and companies take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the EU and the Dutch government have a significant role to play, the Dutch IT sector must also take responsibility. The more mature the sector becomes, the stronger its voice in society\u2014and the quicker people will listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Need a specialized partner to help you think through these challenges? Beyond Products can assist in developing your strategic vision\u2014and help bring it to life. Our marketing strategy focuses on understanding your portfolio, developing propositions, calculating the TAM, and translating this into a growth plan.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re doing well, but there\u2019s plenty of room for improvement. That seems to be the general message when looking at the innovation climate in the Netherlands \u2013 and across the European Union. While the European tech sector has a solid foundation, we continue to lag behind the United States and China, where the importance of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3969,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-en"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":20,"label":"Blog"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/de-zesjesmentaliteit-is-ook-te-vinden-in-het-nederlandse-innovatieklimaat-in-cybersecurity-1200x780.png",1200,780,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Bram de Bruijn","author_link":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/author\/bdebruijn\/"},"comment_info":"","category_info":[{"term_id":20,"name":"Blog","slug":"blog-en","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":20,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":20,"category_count":26,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Blog","category_nicename":"blog-en","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3970"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4385,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3970\/revisions\/4385"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondproducts.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}