1. Open Innovation
Accelerators
Harnessing the value created
through collaboration.
A joint publication between
EY and Cisco.
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2. 2
4
6
8
Contents
Today’s world
Open innovation
EY and Cisco’s approaches
Case studies
Introduction
At this moment, nearly half of the people on Earth — over three billion — are
connected to the internet. It’s no secret that technology is dramatically transforming
the world we live in. We’re witnessing the next industrial revolution, led by digital
disruptors, generating a new set of dynamic trends. This revolution is facilitating
convergences among our physical and digital worlds that would have been
unimaginable only a few years ago.
Who would have predicted five years ago that the fastest-growing taxi group in the
world would own no taxis? Or that one of the largest hotel groups would own no
hotels? Disruptors are shaking up the rules of business. They innovate rapidly and
use their solutions to gain market share, growing much faster than organisations
that continue to apply traditional business models.
In order to continue competing in this ever-changing landscape, large organisations
must find a way to develop new products and services and get them to market
faster. The ones that can will succeed and thrive. Those that can’t will be left behind.
To meet these challenges, organisations need more than traditional research
and development (R&D). They need an approach that encourages collaboration
with innovative startups to create and build on new ideas. They need to forge
partnerships to drive mutually beneficial outcomes and move forward.
Open innovation is one of the leading ways to spur faster and better creativity.
It facilitates problem solving through an open flow of ideas, people and knowledge
between the organisation and its environment. To unlock the benefits of open
innovation, EY and Cisco have both created accelerator programmes.
We’re delighted to share some of what we have learned with you.
1

3. 2
4
6
8
Contents
Today’s world
Open innovation
EY and Cisco’s approaches
Case studies
Introduction
At this moment, nearly half of the people on Earth — over three billion — are
connected to the internet. It’s no secret that technology is dramatically transforming
the world we live in. We’re witnessing the next industrial revolution, led by digital
disruptors, generating a new set of dynamic trends. This revolution is facilitating
convergences among our physical and digital worlds that would have been
unimaginable only a few years ago.
Who would have predicted five years ago that the fastest-growing taxi group in the
world would own no taxis? Or that one of the largest hotel groups would own no
hotels? Disruptors are shaking up the rules of business. They innovate rapidly and
use their solutions to gain market share, growing much faster than organisations
that continue to apply traditional business models.
In order to continue competing in this ever-changing landscape, large organisations
must find a way to develop new products and services and get them to market
faster. The ones that can will succeed and thrive. Those that can’t will be left behind.
To meet these challenges, organisations need more than traditional research
and development (R&D). They need an approach that encourages collaboration
with innovative startups to create and build on new ideas. They need to forge
partnerships to drive mutually beneficial outcomes and move forward.
Open innovation is one of the leading ways to spur faster and better creativity.
It facilitates problem solving through an open flow of ideas, people and knowledge
between the organisation and its environment. To unlock the benefits of open
innovation, EY and Cisco have both created accelerator programmes.
We’re delighted to share some of what we have learned with you.
1

4. 2 Open Innovation Accelerators Harnessing the value created through collaboration 3© 2016 This is a joint publication between EY and Cisco. All rights are reserved.
Today, disruption and innovation are front of mind for businesses of all sizes; from large multi-national corporations to medium-
sized businesses and emergent startups. We are living in a world where technology is advancing faster than ever, matched
only in pace by the evolution of consumer demands and expectations. Together, these trends are driving a new imperative for
large organisations: innovate or be disrupted.
This new digital and dynamic environment will fundamentally change every industry; reshaping how we work, relate,
communicate and learn, reinventing institutions from education to transportation. It is now easier than ever to disrupt the status
quo. Disruptors are leaving incumbent organisations’ vulnerable and challenging their products, services and business models.
The rate of technological advancement has spawned new digital
industries and put them at the fingertips of billions of people across
the world. Along with almost half of the world’s population being
connected to the internet, billions of devices are now set to join us.
This is creating a wealth of data and information. As more media,
products and physical assets become digitised, the pace of change
will only increase.
80%of the world to own a
smart phone by 2020
In a recent survey1
of consumer product CEOs, 74 percent felt
that they needed to make radical changes to sustain margins.
As a result, the lifespan of a business is the shortest it has
ever been.
But the threat of disruption also creates new opportunities.
Large organisations can diversify into new domains with
products that did not exist or could not be created before.
How can large organisations respond?
Closed, internal innovation and traditional R&D processes are
effective at improving existing products and services — or even
creating adjacent ones. However, this approach often fails to create
genuine breakthrough innovation. The best ideas are unlikely to
come from just one organisation, so focusing internally, rather
than actively seeking and engaging external sources, is less likely
to identify the next market evolution. Without a keen eye on the
outside world, it’s easy for an organisation to miss emerging market
disruptors until it is too late.
Large organisations should adapt to embrace open innovation.
They should spearhead development of the next generation of
products and services by transforming traditional R&D models to fit
new demands and expectations. Developing strong open innovation
capabilities can deliver the ability to ‘self-disrupt’ before being
disrupted by someone else.
Many organisations have already started down this path. In the UK
and across Europe, pharmaceutical giants have engaged in open
innovation, and as a result have identified hundreds of new drugs
and compounds that they can bring to market at scale. In addition,
engineering giants have run open innovation initiatives, identifying,
developing, and scaling hundreds of products into the market.
Businesses that are choosing to work this way are beginning to see
the rewards.
1 Disrupt or be disrupted: creating value for brand new order, EY
67 Years
1920
Today
15 Years
The average life expectancy of an S&P 500 company
Professor Richard Foster, Yale University
Oracle: Why Customer ‘Satisfaction’ is No Longer Good Enough
40%
35%
of European shoppers identified overall
customer experience as a key driver of spend.
of European shoppers identified quick access
to information as a key driver of spend.
Our lifestyles are now ubiquitously digital and online, both in our
work and personal lives. Time is of the essence, digital channels
are a must, and relevance is key. Consumers expect instant access
to information and products delivered through both physical and
digital channels, and they are happy to walk away if the customer
experience is not satisfactory, seamless and intuitive.
Time to reach 100m users worldwide
Mobile Phone
WhatsApp
Candy Crush
Telephone
Internet 7 years
4 years, 6 months
3 years, 4 months
2 years, 4 months
1 year, 3 months
Facebook
Instagram
75 years 1878
1979
1990
2004
2009
2010
2012
16 years
Year of launch
Source: Business Insider
As technology costs fall, access to markets is also becoming easier.
In our increasingly connected world, a great product can hit the
shelves and go global in a matter of days, rather than the decades
it once took. Agile new competitors can quickly become a threat to
organisations that have historically dominated the market. These
organisations now have little time to react to the new threat.
Cost of launching a tech startup
2000 2005 2009 2011
$500000
$50000 $5000
Source: Upfront Ventures
$5mn
Processing power, storage, sensors, intelligent machines and other
technologies are becoming more complex and feature-rich, yet are
more affordable today than ever before — some are even free. This
has meant that the cost of launching an internet or digital technology
startup has plummeted and as a result, more and more people are
setting up their own startups.
Source: Ericsson Mobility Report 2015
Traditional R&D models can’t keep up
with today’s pace of innovation

5. 2 Open Innovation Accelerators Harnessing the value created through collaboration 3© 2016 This is a joint publication between EY and Cisco. All rights are reserved.
Today, disruption and innovation are front of mind for businesses of all sizes; from large multi-national corporations to medium-
sized businesses and emergent startups. We are living in a world where technology is advancing faster than ever, matched
only in pace by the evolution of consumer demands and expectations. Together, these trends are driving a new imperative for
large organisations: innovate or be disrupted.
This new digital and dynamic environment will fundamentally change every industry; reshaping how we work, relate,
communicate and learn, reinventing institutions from education to transportation. It is now easier than ever to disrupt the status
quo. Disruptors are leaving incumbent organisations’ vulnerable and challenging their products, services and business models.
The rate of technological advancement has spawned new digital
industries and put them at the fingertips of billions of people across
the world. Along with almost half of the world’s population being
connected to the internet, billions of devices are now set to join us.
This is creating a wealth of data and information. As more media,
products and physical assets become digitised, the pace of change
will only increase.
80%of the world to own a
smart phone by 2020
In a recent survey1
of consumer product CEOs, 74 percent felt
that they needed to make radical changes to sustain margins.
As a result, the lifespan of a business is the shortest it has
ever been.
But the threat of disruption also creates new opportunities.
Large organisations can diversify into new domains with
products that did not exist or could not be created before.
How can large organisations respond?
Closed, internal innovation and traditional R&D processes are
effective at improving existing products and services — or even
creating adjacent ones. However, this approach often fails to create
genuine breakthrough innovation. The best ideas are unlikely to
come from just one organisation, so focusing internally, rather
than actively seeking and engaging external sources, is less likely
to identify the next market evolution. Without a keen eye on the
outside world, it’s easy for an organisation to miss emerging market
disruptors until it is too late.
Large organisations should adapt to embrace open innovation.
They should spearhead development of the next generation of
products and services by transforming traditional R&D models to fit
new demands and expectations. Developing strong open innovation
capabilities can deliver the ability to ‘self-disrupt’ before being
disrupted by someone else.
Many organisations have already started down this path. In the UK
and across Europe, pharmaceutical giants have engaged in open
innovation, and as a result have identified hundreds of new drugs
and compounds that they can bring to market at scale. In addition,
engineering giants have run open innovation initiatives, identifying,
developing, and scaling hundreds of products into the market.
Businesses that are choosing to work this way are beginning to see
the rewards.
1 Disrupt or be disrupted: creating value for brand new order, EY
67 Years
1920
Today
15 Years
The average life expectancy of an S&P 500 company
Professor Richard Foster, Yale University
Oracle: Why Customer ‘Satisfaction’ is No Longer Good Enough
40%
35%
of European shoppers identified overall
customer experience as a key driver of spend.
of European shoppers identified quick access
to information as a key driver of spend.
Our lifestyles are now ubiquitously digital and online, both in our
work and personal lives. Time is of the essence, digital channels
are a must, and relevance is key. Consumers expect instant access
to information and products delivered through both physical and
digital channels, and they are happy to walk away if the customer
experience is not satisfactory, seamless and intuitive.
Time to reach 100m users worldwide
Mobile Phone
WhatsApp
Candy Crush
Telephone
Internet 7 years
4 years, 6 months
3 years, 4 months
2 years, 4 months
1 year, 3 months
Facebook
Instagram
75 years 1878
1979
1990
2004
2009
2010
2012
16 years
Year of launch
Source: Business Insider
As technology costs fall, access to markets is also becoming easier.
In our increasingly connected world, a great product can hit the
shelves and go global in a matter of days, rather than the decades
it once took. Agile new competitors can quickly become a threat to
organisations that have historically dominated the market. These
organisations now have little time to react to the new threat.
Cost of launching a tech startup
2000 2005 2009 2011
$500000
$50000 $5000
Source: Upfront Ventures
$5mn
Processing power, storage, sensors, intelligent machines and other
technologies are becoming more complex and feature-rich, yet are
more affordable today than ever before — some are even free. This
has meant that the cost of launching an internet or digital technology
startup has plummeted and as a result, more and more people are
setting up their own startups.
Source: Ericsson Mobility Report 2015
Traditional R&D models can’t keep up
with today’s pace of innovation

6. 4 Open Innovation Accelerators Harnessing the value created through collaboration 5© 2016 This is a joint publication between EY and Cisco. All rights are reserved.
What do we mean by ‘open innovation’? It is the opening up of
internal innovation processes to be receptive to and incorporate
external organisations and their new ideas, processes, people, and
knowledge. It’s a dramatic paradigm shift in a business’ mindset and
the way it approaches innovation.
Unlike traditional R&D programmes, open innovation brings
external players into internal creative processes. Individuals and
organisations that are not part of an organisation’s familiar network
play a central role. Large enterprises that embrace open innovation
can take advantage of the agility and spontaneity that makes small
disruptors such a powerful force. By channelling the best attributes
of startups into its own organisation, corporations can:
►► Absorb disruption by recognising the innovative new players
in their market, and then by working with them — instead of
competing directly against them.
►► Disrupt itself by bringing in fresh perspectives and new
approaches that aren’t burdened by its own corporate culture
and processes. An organisation can cannibalise its own revenue
before another comes to strip it away, by offering something that
is exponentially better.
►► Learn and grow by working with cross-industry partners.
Large companies can take advantage of the latest knowledge,
experience and perspectives from small, nimble organisations
and apply them to their own business processes. They can
also benefit from sharing ways of working to enhance their
own operations.
Many companies have participated in open innovation programmes,
gaining the knowledge and insight they need to stay competitive
and meet today’s challenges. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach,
or right way of engaging with open innovation. The initiative that is
right for an organisation is dependent on its culture, its business
imperatives, its market challenges and what its leadership and staff
can pragmatically do.
Examples of open innovation programmes include:
►► Open innovation platforms: Web portals that allow an
organisation to set a problem and open it up to its own
employees, suppliers and other external parties. This creates an
easy way for small organisations to solve big challenges.
►► Competitions and challenges: Short term and highly
publicised events that solve issues in the same way as an open
innovation platform but over a shorter timeframe.
►► Accelerators and incubators: Programmes that help an
organisation to work with a group of businesses to solve specific
business issues. Accelerators range in length from weeks to
months and incubators can last longer.
►► Events: Activities used to engage with the corporate
participant’s community, inviting people in to discuss, learn, and
share ideas about industry issues. Organisations can host their
own activities or take part in other firms’ events.
Organisations that are already engaged in open innovation
understand the value of working with the community around them
and are reaping the rewards.
►► Startups can use their speed and agility to provide a faster and
less expensive way to explore ideas for new products, services
and business models.
►► Large organisations can bring their commercial scale
and depth of experience to help validate, launch and grow
propositions successfully.
►► Research institutions and universities are the birth-place of
some of the most cutting-edge innovations, which often require
collaboration to commercialise successfully.
►► Investors and venture capitalists provide the capital and
funds needed to fuel innovation, which is vital for successful
propositions to flourish in the marketplace.
There is clearly value in working within a network and collaborating
with one another. It’s a growing trend developing across multiple
sectors today. Organisations of all shapes and sizes are eager
to actively share knowledge and assets to discover new ways
of innovating.
EY and Cisco understand the importance of building an ecosystem
of startups, other large organisations, research institutions and
entrepreneurs. We embraced open innovation and have brought our
teams together to develop our programmes, exchange knowledge
and share what we have learned.
“Startups are better at being agile whilst
larger organisations have a wealth of
business experience and resources.
Innovating collaboratively allows everyone
to play to their comparative strengths.“
Harry Gaskell,
EY Chief Innovation Officer, UKI
Corporations should collaborate with
disruptors, not work against them

7. 4 Open Innovation Accelerators Harnessing the value created through collaboration 5© 2016 This is a joint publication between EY and Cisco. All rights are reserved.
What do we mean by ‘open innovation’? It is the opening up of
internal innovation processes to be receptive to and incorporate
external organisations and their new ideas, processes, people, and
knowledge. It’s a dramatic paradigm shift in a business’ mindset and
the way it approaches innovation.
Unlike traditional RD programmes, open innovation brings
external players into internal creative processes. Individuals and
organisations that are not part of an organisation’s familiar network
play a central role. Large enterprises that embrace open innovation
can take advantage of the agility and spontaneity that makes small
disruptors such a powerful force. By channelling the best attributes
of startups into its own organisation, corporations can:
►► Absorb disruption by recognising the innovative new players
in their market, and then by working with them — instead of
competing directly against them.
►► Disrupt itself by bringing in fresh perspectives and new
approaches that aren’t burdened by its own corporate culture
and processes. An organisation can cannibalise its own revenue
before another comes to strip it away, by offering something that
is exponentially better.
►► Learn and grow by working with cross-industry partners.
Large companies can take advantage of the latest knowledge,
experience and perspectives from small, nimble organisations
and apply them to their own business processes. They can
also benefit from sharing ways of working to enhance their
own operations.
Many companies have participated in open innovation programmes,
gaining the knowledge and insight they need to stay competitive
and meet today’s challenges. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach,
or right way of engaging with open innovation. The initiative that is
right for an organisation is dependent on its culture, its business
imperatives, its market challenges and what its leadership and staff
can pragmatically do.
Examples of open innovation programmes include:
►► Open innovation platforms: Web portals that allow an
organisation to set a problem and open it up to its own
employees, suppliers and other external parties. This creates an
easy way for small organisations to solve big challenges.
►► Competitions and challenges: Short term and highly
publicised events that solve issues in the same way as an open
innovation platform but over a shorter timeframe.
►► Accelerators and incubators: Programmes that help an
organisation to work with a group of businesses to solve specific
business issues. Accelerators range in length from weeks to
months and incubators can last longer.
►► Events: Activities used to engage with the corporate
participant’s community, inviting people in to discuss, learn, and
share ideas about industry issues. Organisations can host their
own activities or take part in other firms’ events.
Organisations that are already engaged in open innovation
understand the value of working with the community around them
and are reaping the rewards.
►► Startups can use their speed and agility to provide a faster and
less expensive way to explore ideas for new products, services
and business models.
►► Large organisations can bring their commercial scale
and depth of experience to help validate, launch and grow
propositions successfully.
►► Research institutions and universities are the birth-place of
some of the most cutting-edge innovations, which often require
collaboration to commercialise successfully.
►► Investors and venture capitalists provide the capital and
funds needed to fuel innovation, which is vital for successful
propositions to flourish in the marketplace.
There is clearly value in working within a network and collaborating
with one another. It’s a growing trend developing across multiple
sectors today. Organisations of all shapes and sizes are eager
to actively share knowledge and assets to discover new ways
of innovating.
EY and Cisco understand the importance of building an ecosystem
of startups, other large organisations, research institutions and
entrepreneurs. We embraced open innovation and have brought our
teams together to develop our programmes, exchange knowledge
and share what we have learned.
“Startups are better at being agile whilst
larger organisations have a wealth of
business experience and resources.
Innovating collaboratively allows everyone
to play to their comparative strengths.“
Harry Gaskell,
EY Chief Innovation Officer, UKI
Corporations should collaborate with
disruptors, not work against them

8. 6 Open Innovation Accelerators Harnessing the value created through collaboration 7© 2016 This is a joint publication between EY and Cisco. All rights are reserved.
EY and Cisco set out on our respective
journeys to experiment with open
innovation. We both deployed accelerator
programmes to benefit from engaging with
an innovation ecosystem that could help
us develop new products, services, and
propositions for ourselves and our clients.
EY launched the EY Startup Challenge in
Europe. Cisco launched the Entrepreneurs
in Residence (EIR) programme, also across
the continent.
Cisco and EY adopted a very similar
approach and set of principles to open
innovation. We both found that the best
way to drive innovation is to get as involved
with the ecosystem as possible, proactively
participating instead of being spectators or
commentators. We both had similar ideas
for what types of roles we should take
and we developed them into a set of
guiding principles.
When it comes to driving innovation, every organisation has its own business imperatives,
based on its market sector, type of industry and its own short-and long-term goals.
The mission of the EY Startup Challenge
is to bring together our clients with high-
growth startups to explore solutions to
tomorrow’s pressing business problems.
Objectives
►► Build partnerships and go-to-market
opportunities between EY and startups
that have innovative propositions.
►► Develop pilot opportunities between our
clients and startups.
►► Learn how to adopt an open
innovation approach.
Cisco EIR aims to support entrepreneurs
with innovations in the Internet of
Everything/Things, Smart Cities, Big Data/
analytics, enterprise mobility, and security.
Objectives
►► Advance technology by incorporating
startups’ offerings into our existing
solutions, aiming to disrupt and
differentiate Cisco.
►► Gain insight into the startups as
businesses for potential investment or
acquisition.
►► Enhance internal development,
exposing employees to new ideas and
transform ways of working.
“Through the EY Startup Challenge,
we were looking to connect with
end customers to discover ways to
productise our technology. When
applying for the Cisco EIR program,
we were hoping for feedback on how
we could integrate with the existing
Cisco product pipeline.”
Both EY and Cisco deployed a four-step process
PurposeOverview
Definethe right issue to focus the
programme on, around which you can build your
network of innovators.
Discoverthe right startups, clients and
subject specialists and involve them to create your
innovation ecosystem.
Incubateopportunities. Validate and
pursue in-market pilots for testing.
Scalethe successful solutions, creating
clear business cases for deployment and providing
business support to scale.
To identify an issue of the right scope, it is
important to canvas the business widely to
discover the key pain points. After identifying the
main issues, we work with our stakeholders to
pick issues that are right for our programmes and
have support.
In order to discover the right startups and partners
to work with, we personally reach out to those we
consider will benefit and contribute the most. We
also promote the programme to startups to have
them apply directly. We then include leadership to
make the final choices.
To create and validate the right propositions, we
focus on identifying all of the startups’ relevant use-
cases. Then we work with our stakeholders to test
and validate those in the market.
To scale, we select the use-cases with the
strongest value propositions to build out to full
business cases. We then work with our sponsors
to secure support for pilot.
Guiding principles
“Through the EYSC we were able to
validate our concept and business
model, whilst also considering and
testing use-cases with friendly
customers. The Cisco Entrepreneurs
in Residence programme allowed us
to figure out where there are potential
complementarities to the global
Cisco product line that we can further
focus on.”
Dr Christoforos
Anagnostopoulos
Mentat Innovations
Co-founder, Chief Data
Scientist and participant
in both programmes
Amy Lai
CEO, Wittos and
participant in
both programmes
EY and Cisco have employed a similar
approach to open innovation in Europe
However, each organisation has its own
strategic objectives
1
Be a helpful player in the startup
community, acting as a proactive
and positive participant within
the wider innovation ecosystem
to build stronger relationships
with the innovators of tomorrow.
2
Focus on creating value for
startups, clients, and ourselves,
applying our efforts to a
business issue with a clear case
for change.
3
Be a catalyst for collaboration
across the technology
landscape, helping our clients
to compete successfully in
a dynamic marketplace by
sparking change through
disruption and innovation.

9. 6 Open Innovation Accelerators Harnessing the value created through collaboration 7© 2016 This is a joint publication between EY and Cisco. All rights are reserved.
EY and Cisco set out on our respective
journeys to experiment with open
innovation. We both deployed accelerator
programmes to benefit from engaging with
an innovation ecosystem that could help
us develop new products, services, and
propositions for ourselves and our clients.
EY launched the EY Startup Challenge in
Europe. Cisco launched the Entrepreneurs
in Residence (EIR) programme, also across
the continent.
Cisco and EY adopted a very similar
approach and set of principles to open
innovation. We both found that the best
way to drive innovation is to get as involved
with the ecosystem as possible, proactively
participating instead of being spectators or
commentators. We both had similar ideas
for what types of roles we should take
and we developed them into a set of
guiding principles.
When it comes to driving innovation, every organisation has its own business imperatives,
based on its market sector, type of industry and its own short-and long-term goals.
The mission of the EY Startup Challenge
is to bring together our clients with high-
growth startups to explore solutions to
tomorrow’s pressing business problems.
Objectives
►► Build partnerships and go-to-market
opportunities between EY and startups
that have innovative propositions.
►► Develop pilot opportunities between our
clients and startups.
►► Learn how to adopt an open
innovation approach.
Cisco EIR aims to support entrepreneurs
with innovations in the Internet of
Everything/Things, Smart Cities, Big Data/
analytics, enterprise mobility, and security.
Objectives
►► Advance technology by incorporating
startups’ offerings into our existing
solutions, aiming to disrupt and
differentiate Cisco.
►► Gain insight into the startups as
businesses for potential investment or
acquisition.
►► Enhance internal development,
exposing employees to new ideas and
transform ways of working.
“Through the EY Startup Challenge,
we were looking to connect with
end customers to discover ways to
productise our technology. When
applying for the Cisco EIR program,
we were hoping for feedback on how
we could integrate with the existing
Cisco product pipeline.”
Both EY and Cisco deployed a four-step process
PurposeOverview
Definethe right issue to focus the
programme on, around which you can build your
network of innovators.
Discoverthe right startups, clients and
subject specialists and involve them to create your
innovation ecosystem.
Incubateopportunities. Validate and
pursue in-market pilots for testing.
Scalethe successful solutions, creating
clear business cases for deployment and providing
business support to scale.
To identify an issue of the right scope, it is
important to canvas the business widely to
discover the key pain points. After identifying the
main issues, we work with our stakeholders to
pick issues that are right for our programmes and
have support.
In order to discover the right startups and partners
to work with, we personally reach out to those we
consider will benefit and contribute the most. We
also promote the programme to startups to have
them apply directly. We then include leadership to
make the final choices.
To create and validate the right propositions, we
focus on identifying all of the startups’ relevant use-
cases. Then we work with our stakeholders to test
and validate those in the market.
To scale, we select the use-cases with the
strongest value propositions to build out to full
business cases. We then work with our sponsors
to secure support for pilot.
Guiding principles
“Through the EYSC we were able to
validate our concept and business
model, whilst also considering and
testing use-cases with friendly
customers. The Cisco Entrepreneurs
in Residence programme allowed us
to figure out where there are potential
complementarities to the global
Cisco product line that we can further
focus on.”
Dr Christoforos
Anagnostopoulos
Mentat Innovations
Co-founder, Chief Data
Scientist and participant
in both programmes
Amy Lai
CEO, Wittos and
participant in
both programmes
EY and Cisco have employed a similar
approach to open innovation in Europe
However, each organisation has its own
strategic objectives
1
Be a helpful player in the startup
community, acting as a proactive
and positive participant within
the wider innovation ecosystem
to build stronger relationships
with the innovators of tomorrow.
2
Focus on creating value for
startups, clients, and ourselves,
applying our efforts to a
business issue with a clear case
for change.
3
Be a catalyst for collaboration
across the technology
landscape, helping our clients
to compete successfully in
a dynamic marketplace by
sparking change through
disruption and innovation.

10. EY Startup Challenge
Case study 1
8 Open Innovation Accelerators Harnessing the value created through collaboration 9© 2016 This is a joint publication between EY and Cisco. All rights are reserved.
Key outcomes of each process step
The EY Startup Challenge was designed to help EY and clients
engage with open innovation and collaborate to identify and
develop opportunities.
To achieve this, we created a growth environment for startups
where they received mentorship from both senior EY professionals
and EY’s clients. The objective was to collaboratively explore and
validate different use-cases for the startups’ technologies. The
value of the use-cases is to address a clear business problem
or opportunity. In parallel, the programme also provided a series
of educational workshops, focused on topics such as enterprise
selling, effective product marketing and business model design.
Key components
►► Startups: core to any programme, the startups brought their
innovative products and committed their time.
►► Executive sponsorship and team: each team member worked
with two or three startups to help them through the process and
manage the relationship between them, the business and any
external parties or clients.
►► Mentors: the heart of the programme are the mentors, who
worked with the startups to define and validate propositions.
There were three types of mentors and together they invested
over 900hrs:
►► Client mentors: drawn from EY’s clients, they provided
direct customer validation.
Outcomes
The emerging technology accelerator programme has
successfully driven clear outcomes:
►► 79 developed and tested emerging technology
use-cases
►► 44 client mentors successfully engaged
►► 9 technologies piloted with clients
►► Strong ecosystem of partners developed, focused on
London but leveraging EY’s global network
Key learnings
A strong network is key for a startup to grow: our network of
clients and partners holds a huge amount of value for startups, both
locally and internationally.
Give permission for people to think outside the box: people are
creative, given the right environment.
Focusing on the issue at hand is vital: whilst it is important to
keep an open mind, innovation must come from a focused place.
Start with a clearly-defined issue.
Get your hands dirty: far too much time can be spent in the
planning phases, so jump in! Become the startup within your
company and learn by doing.
Validation can be measured: try your best to simplify and track
innovation by creating a measurement framework for customer/user
testing and use-case validation.
Put the new ideas to the test with your clients: We have found
that clients genuinely have a personal curiosity about what you are
doing with startups — use this to change the conversation.
Employ a structured ‘fail-fast’ model: incubation will have
entailed a ‘fail-fast’ approach, preferring action over analysis to
validate ideas. However, launching and scaling a proposition
requires a careful balancing between fail-fast mentality with
commercial rigor and planning.
►► EY mentors: senior EY executives provided issue-based
strategic guidance.
►► External mentors: seed and angel investors provided
impartial commercial guidance.
►► Physical incubation space: the programme was held full-time
in central London, which helped international startups gain a
foothold and created a central point for mentors to meet.
►► Curriculum: the curriculum was a core part of the programme
across a number of startup relevant topic areas.
One of the most important issues that our clients are really
interested in today is disruption. How will new digital technologies,
business models and information drive opportunities and threats in
their markets? The opportunity to help nurture innovation through
the EY Startup Challenge, and explore collaboration opportunities
between fast growth technology companies and large companies is
one that was not to be missed.
Together with my clients, I personally mentored two startups,
keeping the output commercially grounded but not encumbered
by linear thinking, resulting in the identification of new applications
where gaining market traction would be easier.
Whilst we delivered a great deal of insight to the startups, we also
learnt a huge amount ourselves. It was very rewarding for our
people to be involved in innovation and to engage with new ways of
solving problems. Finally, it transformed the way some of my clients
see EY.
As for the startups, one of the companies with whom I worked
managed to secure a pilot with a large telecoms client. It now
has the potential to scale this solution across the business, worth
millions of pounds.
Rob Walker
Lead Advisory Partner, EY,
Technology, Media and
Telecommunications
Purpose Key outcomes
Define
Engage with our clients and bring the business on board by
identifying an issue with huge commercial potential.
►► Multiple clients interested and engaged in the programme
►► An issue of the right scope identified and explicitly defined
►► Support from key internal stakeholders secured
Discover
Identify startups that solve all or part of the issue, that have a
clear value proposition for multiple clients and a clear potential for
EY to enhance their offerings.
►► Support from clients secured
►► Client, EY and external mentors on-boarded
►► Startup cohort selected and on-boarded
Incubate
Collaborate with clients, startups and internal mentors to identify
the most valuable use-cases and validate them through market
testing with customers.
►► Use-cases identified
►► Use-cases tested and validated
►► Curriculum delivered
Scale
Build strong relationships between our clients, the startups and
ourselves before helping them scale their solutions.
►► Solutions and propositions showcased
►► Business cases and deployment plans created
►► Sponsorship from business leaders secured to
scale propositions

11. EY Startup Challenge
Case study 1
8 Open Innovation Accelerators Harnessing the value created through collaboration 9© 2016 This is a joint publication between EY and Cisco. All rights are reserved.
Key outcomes of each process step
The EY Startup Challenge was designed to help EY and clients
engage with open innovation and collaborate to identify and
develop opportunities.
To achieve this, we created a growth environment for startups
where they received mentorship from both senior EY professionals
and EY’s clients. The objective was to collaboratively explore and
validate different use-cases for the startups’ technologies. The
value of the use-cases is to address a clear business problem
or opportunity. In parallel, the programme also provided a series
of educational workshops, focused on topics such as enterprise
selling, effective product marketing and business model design.
Key components
►► Startups: core to any programme, the startups brought their
innovative products and committed their time.
►► Executive sponsorship and team: each team member worked
with two or three startups to help them through the process and
manage the relationship between them, the business and any
external parties or clients.
►► Mentors: the heart of the programme are the mentors, who
worked with the startups to define and validate propositions.
There were three types of mentors and together they invested
over 900hrs:
►► Client mentors: drawn from EY’s clients, they provided
direct customer validation.
Outcomes
The emerging technology accelerator programme has
successfully driven clear outcomes:
►► 79 developed and tested emerging technology
use-cases
►► 44 client mentors successfully engaged
►► 9 technologies piloted with clients
►► Strong ecosystem of partners developed, focused on
London but leveraging EY’s global network
Key learnings
A strong network is key for a startup to grow: our network of
clients and partners holds a huge amount of value for startups, both
locally and internationally.
Give permission for people to think outside the box: people are
creative, given the right environment.
Focusing on the issue at hand is vital: whilst it is important to
keep an open mind, innovation must come from a focused place.
Start with a clearly-defined issue.
Get your hands dirty: far too much time can be spent in the
planning phases, so jump in! Become the startup within your
company and learn by doing.
Validation can be measured: try your best to simplify and track
innovation by creating a measurement framework for customer/user
testing and use-case validation.
Put the new ideas to the test with your clients: We have found
that clients genuinely have a personal curiosity about what you are
doing with startups — use this to change the conversation.
Employ a structured ‘fail-fast’ model: incubation will have
entailed a ‘fail-fast’ approach, preferring action over analysis to
validate ideas. However, launching and scaling a proposition
requires a careful balancing between fail-fast mentality with
commercial rigor and planning.
►► EY mentors: senior EY executives provided issue-based
strategic guidance.
►► External mentors: seed and angel investors provided
impartial commercial guidance.
►► Physical incubation space: the programme was held full-time
in central London, which helped international startups gain a
foothold and created a central point for mentors to meet.
►► Curriculum: the curriculum was a core part of the programme
across a number of startup relevant topic areas.
One of the most important issues that our clients are really
interested in today is disruption. How will new digital technologies,
business models and information drive opportunities and threats in
their markets? The opportunity to help nurture innovation through
the EY Startup Challenge, and explore collaboration opportunities
between fast growth technology companies and large companies is
one that was not to be missed.
Together with my clients, I personally mentored two startups,
keeping the output commercially grounded but not encumbered
by linear thinking, resulting in the identification of new applications
where gaining market traction would be easier.
Whilst we delivered a great deal of insight to the startups, we also
learnt a huge amount ourselves. It was very rewarding for our
people to be involved in innovation and to engage with new ways of
solving problems. Finally, it transformed the way some of my clients
see EY.
As for the startups, one of the companies with whom I worked
managed to secure a pilot with a large telecoms client. It now
has the potential to scale this solution across the business, worth
millions of pounds.
Rob Walker
Lead Advisory Partner, EY,
Technology, Media and
Telecommunications
Purpose Key outcomes
Define
Engage with our clients and bring the business on board by
identifying an issue with huge commercial potential.
►► Multiple clients interested and engaged in the programme
►► An issue of the right scope identified and explicitly defined
►► Support from key internal stakeholders secured
Discover
Identify startups that solve all or part of the issue, that have a
clear value proposition for multiple clients and a clear potential for
EY to enhance their offerings.
►► Support from clients secured
►► Client, EY and external mentors on-boarded
►► Startup cohort selected and on-boarded
Incubate
Collaborate with clients, startups and internal mentors to identify
the most valuable use-cases and validate them through market
testing with customers.
►► Use-cases identified
►► Use-cases tested and validated
►► Curriculum delivered
Scale
Build strong relationships between our clients, the startups and
ourselves before helping them scale their solutions.
►► Solutions and propositions showcased
►► Business cases and deployment plans created
►► Sponsorship from business leaders secured to
scale propositions

12. 10 Open Innovation Accelerators Harnessing the value created through collaboration 11© 2016 This is a joint publication between EY and Cisco. All rights are reserved.
Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence
Historically, innovation at Cisco was driven through three pillars:
build, buy and partner. It was largely internal, with Cisco RD,
funding, processes and talent; or external, with venture funding,
resources, industry talent, and non-Cisco processes. The recent
additions of the pillars early stage investment and co-develop aim to
bridge the gap between these two mindsets and are exactly where
The Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) programme comes in.
Cisco EIR is a six-month startup incubation programme that
supports early-stage, product-focused entrepreneurs. The
programme spans five different countries and local ecosystems,
bringing stakeholders together for a series of sprint-like
development weeks to build the business case for collaboration.
Ideally, the incubation will result in working with Cisco on
strategic goals.
Key components
►► Startups: : the startups that join us in the programme offer their
time to expand their ideas and offerings with Cisco.
►► Virtually-based programme: participants are invited to
co-working weeks in various cities across EMEAR to activate
local innovation ecosystems and build personal connections
within Cisco. The day-to-day work continues at the startups’
headquarters.
►► Financial support: Cisco does not take equity from the
startups, however, the startups receive financial support to
take part in the incubation and take advantage of opportunities
developed during the programme.
Outcomes
The emerging technology accelerator programme has
successfully driven clear outcomes:
►► 27 startups have been incubated across two continents in
ten different cities
►► 20+ Cisco engagements created through the program
►► Two Cisco EIR acquisitions completed
►► Development of a strong ecosystem of VC partners,
co-incubation partners, startup community organisations
Key learnings
Senior buy-in is important: sponsorship and buy-in from senior
leaders is vital to gain momentum. The programme needs to remain
closely aligned with the objectives and scorecards of key business
stakeholders.
Maintain an open mind-set: approach the programme with an
open mind-set, and set expectations across your stakeholder group
that change will happen, so that everyone is prepared.
Choose wisely: the type of startup you select is essential. It should
have validated value propositions and a strong business sense,
focusing on products first and technology second. The quality of
team and experience in working with B2B companies is critical.
Mentoring, mentoring, mentoring: mentors are the key
to unlocking the Cisco organisation, so a structured selection
and programme approach as well as motivated individuals
are fundamental.
You can’t win if you don’t play: you must be active participants
in the life of a startup, playing multiple roles as the connector,
organiser, instigator, and mentor.
Strike whilst the iron is still hot: it can be easy to let the
momentum slip away once the incubation phase has finished.
To ensure this does not happen, establish a post-incubation
‘drumbeat’ swiftly, so all parties know that the finish line has not
yet been crossed.
►► Executive sponsorship: the executive sponsor is the individual
who ultimately supports the programme from a business
perspective. This has been the Global VP from the interested
business unit and local sales support for customer access.
►► Mentors: mentors are hand-selected for each startup and
are crucial in opening the right doors within Cisco. Each
startup recieves a Sales and go-to-market mentor, Technology
mentor and Business model mentor. Together, these mentors
contributed over 1,500hrs over the course of one group of
startups.
►► Programme team: the program team is responsible for running
the program, organising sponsors and mentors working with
startups. The team includes a programme lead, programme
manager and operations manager.
I became a mentor as part of my ongoing effort to continually
improve my own skills and abilities, and was surprised at how
much I enjoyed the experience. Startups offer a fresh, out-of-the-
box approach that’s not burdened by a traditional corporate
mindset. Their creativity is an excellent match for our experience
and knowledge.
It was refreshing to work cross-functionally with mentors from other
departments, and I found it extremely thrilling to bring our diverse
views together and work toward a common goal. We worked
together to bring products from a raw status to a mature status.
We also helped startups develop and implement go-to-market
strategies. Together, we engaged new customers and worked with
them to deploy our solutions.
I consider myself highly self-motivated, but working as an innovation
mentor provided additional inspiration. It’s exciting to develop
solutions that nobody has thought of before, and put them into use.
I’m looking forward to applying the lessons we’ve learned from this
initiative to our own business practices.
Patrick Hermanspann
Regional Sales Manager,
Cisco Service Provider and
Cisco Startup Mentor
Purpose Key outcomes
Define
Understand what the parent company and its customers require
to identify the technologies the company needs to advance.
►► Create a shopping list with executive sponsors and sales
representatives
►► Involved sponsors nominate a technology mentor from the
business unit that should help in selection and mentoring
for startups
Discover
Connect with companies that have technologies that Cisco does
not possess and would either create a new offering or enhance
an existing one.
►► Utilise local Cisco ecosystem participants and partners to
discover suitable startups for EIR programme
►► Choose go-to-market and business model mentors through
an internal application process
Incubate
Assess the startups and their technology to harden the business
case for collaboration, prepare for pilots and further cooperation.
►► Identify a variety of use-cases, and choose the strongest for
proof-of-concept (POC)
►► Discuss and develop business model scalability upon
successful pilot
►► Define a clear path for continued partnership
Scale
Build upon a path of strategic partnership in order to successfully
achieve one or more of the programme goals:
►► Co-develop technology through open innovation
►► Co-sell technology through partnerships and joint
collaborations
►► Co-invest or acquire to bring innovation inside the corporate
Key outcomes of each process step
Case study 2

13. 10 Open Innovation Accelerators Harnessing the value created through collaboration 11© 2016 This is a joint publication between EY and Cisco. All rights are reserved.
Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence
Historically, innovation at Cisco was driven through three pillars:
build, buy and partner. It was largely internal, with Cisco RD,
funding, processes and talent; or external, with venture funding,
resources, industry talent, and non-Cisco processes. The recent
additions of the pillars early stage investment and co-develop aim to
bridge the gap between these two mindsets and are exactly where
The Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) programme comes in.
Cisco EIR is a six-month startup incubation programme that
supports early-stage, product-focused entrepreneurs. The
programme spans five different countries and local ecosystems,
bringing stakeholders together for a series of sprint-like
development weeks to build the business case for collaboration.
Ideally, the incubation will result in working with Cisco on
strategic goals.
Key components
►► Startups: : the startups that join us in the programme offer their
time to expand their ideas and offerings with Cisco.
►► Virtually-based programme: participants are invited to
co-working weeks in various cities across EMEAR to activate
local innovation ecosystems and build personal connections
within Cisco. The day-to-day work continues at the startups’
headquarters.
►► Financial support: Cisco does not take equity from the
startups, however, the startups receive financial support to
take part in the incubation and take advantage of opportunities
developed during the programme.
Outcomes
The emerging technology accelerator programme has
successfully driven clear outcomes:
►► 27 startups have been incubated across two continents in
ten different cities
►► 20+ Cisco engagements created through the program
►► Two Cisco EIR acquisitions completed
►► Development of a strong ecosystem of VC partners,
co-incubation partners, startup community organisations
Key learnings
Senior buy-in is important: sponsorship and buy-in from senior
leaders is vital to gain momentum. The programme needs to remain
closely aligned with the objectives and scorecards of key business
stakeholders.
Maintain an open mind-set: approach the programme with an
open mind-set, and set expectations across your stakeholder group
that change will happen, so that everyone is prepared.
Choose wisely: the type of startup you select is essential. It should
have validated value propositions and a strong business sense,
focusing on products first and technology second. The quality of
team and experience in working with B2B companies is critical.
Mentoring, mentoring, mentoring: mentors are the key
to unlocking the Cisco organisation, so a structured selection
and programme approach as well as motivated individuals
are fundamental.
You can’t win if you don’t play: you must be active participants
in the life of a startup, playing multiple roles as the connector,
organiser, instigator, and mentor.
Strike whilst the iron is still hot: it can be easy to let the
momentum slip away once the incubation phase has finished.
To ensure this does not happen, establish a post-incubation
‘drumbeat’ swiftly, so all parties know that the finish line has not
yet been crossed.
►► Executive sponsorship: the executive sponsor is the individual
who ultimately supports the programme from a business
perspective. This has been the Global VP from the interested
business unit and local sales support for customer access.
►► Mentors: mentors are hand-selected for each startup and
are crucial in opening the right doors within Cisco. Each
startup recieves a Sales and go-to-market mentor, Technology
mentor and Business model mentor. Together, these mentors
contributed over 1,500hrs over the course of one group of
startups.
►► Programme team: the program team is responsible for running
the program, organising sponsors and mentors working with
startups. The team includes a programme lead, programme
manager and operations manager.
I became a mentor as part of my ongoing effort to continually
improve my own skills and abilities, and was surprised at how
much I enjoyed the experience. Startups offer a fresh, out-of-the-
box approach that’s not burdened by a traditional corporate
mindset. Their creativity is an excellent match for our experience
and knowledge.
It was refreshing to work cross-functionally with mentors from other
departments, and I found it extremely thrilling to bring our diverse
views together and work toward a common goal. We worked
together to bring products from a raw status to a mature status.
We also helped startups develop and implement go-to-market
strategies. Together, we engaged new customers and worked with
them to deploy our solutions.
I consider myself highly self-motivated, but working as an innovation
mentor provided additional inspiration. It’s exciting to develop
solutions that nobody has thought of before, and put them into use.
I’m looking forward to applying the lessons we’ve learned from this
initiative to our own business practices.
Patrick Hermanspann
Regional Sales Manager,
Cisco Service Provider and
Cisco Startup Mentor
Purpose Key outcomes
Define
Understand what the parent company and its customers require
to identify the technologies the company needs to advance.
►► Create a shopping list with executive sponsors and sales
representatives
►► Involved sponsors nominate a technology mentor from the
business unit that should help in selection and mentoring
for startups
Discover
Connect with companies that have technologies that Cisco does
not possess and would either create a new offering or enhance
an existing one.
►► Utilise local Cisco ecosystem participants and partners to
discover suitable startups for EIR programme
►► Choose go-to-market and business model mentors through
an internal application process
Incubate
Assess the startups and their technology to harden the business
case for collaboration, prepare for pilots and further cooperation.
►► Identify a variety of use-cases, and choose the strongest for
proof-of-concept (POC)
►► Discuss and develop business model scalability upon
successful pilot
►► Define a clear path for continued partnership
Scale
Build upon a path of strategic partnership in order to successfully
achieve one or more of the programme goals:
►► Co-develop technology through open innovation
►► Co-sell technology through partnerships and joint
collaborations
►► Co-invest or acquire to bring innovation inside the corporate
Key outcomes of each process step
Case study 2

14. 12 13Open Innovation Accelerators Harnessing the value created through collaboration
Final remarks Contacts
Mark Hutchinson
Partner, EY
Transformational Growth
Mike Flannagan
Cisco Vice President
Data Analytics
Rob Walker
Partner, EY
Technology, Media
Telecommunications
Kulraj Smagh
EY Open Innovation Group Lead
Jamie Qiu
EY Startup Challenge
Founder and Lead
James Bowdler
EY Startup Challenge
Operations Lead
If you have any thoughts and questions or would
like any further information please contact us:
Email us at: OIG@uk.ey.com
Or visit our website: ey.com/OIG and
ey.com/startupchallenge
Tweet us @EYOpenInnovation
Or use the hashtag #EYOpenInnovation
If you have any thoughts and questions or would
like any further information please contact us:
Email us at: eir-program@cisco.com
Or visit our website: eir.cisco.com/
Tweet us @CiscoEIR
Or use the hashtag #CiscoEIR
Martin Bittner
Open Innovation
Startup Programme
Programme Lead, EMEAR
Thomas Werner
Open Innovation
Startup Programme
Programme Director, EMEAR
At EY and Cisco, we have benefited from
adopting an open innovation approach. Through
our accelerator programmes, we have seen the
business benefits and have learned a lot about
how best to be catalysts for collaborative and
open innovation between large organisations and
startups. This has created a portfolio of ‘win-win’
opportunities for all parties.
Our programmes gifted us with an exploratory
and ‘can-do’ environment in which to work closely
with clients and collaboratively solve the problems
important to them. Doing this together with startups
meant that we could tackle those problems through
a lens of technology innovation and disruption.
This also changed our dialogue with high-growth
startups, giving us a licence to engage with them
and help them grow.
But most importantly, it has been a great
experience for all who were involved. From
employees and senior leaders, to our clients
and startups; the feedback we received showed
that everyone had learned a huge amount on a
personal and professional level.
If you would like to find out more about our
respective programmes, please get in touch.

15. 12 13Open Innovation Accelerators Harnessing the value created through collaboration
Final remarks Contacts
Mark Hutchinson
Partner, EY
Transformational Growth
Mike Flannagan
Cisco Vice President
Data Analytics
Rob Walker
Partner, EY
Technology, Media
Telecommunications
Kulraj Smagh
EY Open Innovation Group Lead
Jamie Qiu
EY Startup Challenge
Founder and Lead
James Bowdler
EY Startup Challenge
Operations Lead
If you have any thoughts and questions or would
like any further information please contact us:
Email us at: OIG@uk.ey.com
Or visit our website: ey.com/OIG and
ey.com/startupchallenge
Tweet us @EYOpenInnovation
Or use the hashtag #EYOpenInnovation
If you have any thoughts and questions or would
like any further information please contact us:
Email us at: eir-program@cisco.com
Or visit our website: eir.cisco.com/
Tweet us @CiscoEIR
Or use the hashtag #CiscoEIR
Martin Bittner
Open Innovation
Startup Programme
Programme Lead, EMEAR
Thomas Werner
Open Innovation
Startup Programme
Programme Director, EMEAR
At EY and Cisco, we have benefited from
adopting an open innovation approach. Through
our accelerator programmes, we have seen the
business benefits and have learned a lot about
how best to be catalysts for collaborative and
open innovation between large organisations and
startups. This has created a portfolio of ‘win-win’
opportunities for all parties.
Our programmes gifted us with an exploratory
and ‘can-do’ environment in which to work closely
with clients and collaboratively solve the problems
important to them. Doing this together with startups
meant that we could tackle those problems through
a lens of technology innovation and disruption.
This also changed our dialogue with high-growth
startups, giving us a licence to engage with them
and help them grow.
But most importantly, it has been a great
experience for all who were involved. From
employees and senior leaders, to our clients
and startups; the feedback we received showed
that everyone had learned a huge amount on a
personal and professional level.
If you would like to find out more about our
respective programmes, please get in touch.

16. Open Innovation
Accelerators
Harnessing the value created
through collaboration.
A joint publication between
EY and Cisco.
EY | Assurance | Tax | Transactions | Advisory
About EY
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services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust
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