STORIES CEO COMMENT HIGHLIGHTS BUSINESS MODEL OUR APPROACH BOARD OF DIRECTORS FINANCIAL REVIEW X SPECIALISTS IN CREATING DIGITAL BUSINESS 1 ITERA ANNUAL REPORT 2017 STORIES CEO COMMENT HIGHLIGHTS BUSINESS MODEL OUR APPROACH BOARD OF DIRECTORS FINANCIAL REVIEW STORIES Design Thinking 03 – a method for repeatable genius Marlene Garred XX XX Artificial Intelligence 04 – from a commercial perspective Tom Kr. Foosnæs Business Design 06 – creating something of value! Andreas Almquist Matchmaking to make 08 innovation a reality Kristian Enger A media student encounters 09 the tech industry Olav Løkke CEO Comment 10 Consolidated Financial Statement 31 Highlights: Awards 13 Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statement 42 Highlights: Facts 14 Parent Company Financial Statement 58 Highlights: In Brief 15 Notes to the Parent Company Highlights: Key Figures 16 Financial Statement 64 Business Model: Inputs 18 Statement by the Board of Directors and the CEO 71 Business Model: Core Activities 19 Auditor’s Report 72 Business Model: Outputs 20 Shares and Shareholders 76 Our Approach 21 Corporate Governance 77 Board of Directors’ Report 22 Content Financials 29 CONTENTS 2 ITERA ANNUAL REPORT 2017 STORIES CEO COMMENT HIGHLIGHTS BUSINESS MODEL OUR APPROACH BOARD OF DIRECTORS FINANCIAL REVIEW Design Thinking – a method for repeatable genius Marlene Garred, Senior Designer, Itera Empathise Ideate Define Prototype Test In practice, design thinking is a set of tools that can grow old with us. And I’d argue that in order to create sustained competitive advantage, businesses must be not just practitioners, but masters of the art. Tim Brown, CEO and President IDEO Embracing a proven method • We are going to do things differently from how we’ve always done them before. When a company embraces design thinking as a • We are going to engage with people in their core value, it adopts the process of creating great environment and in the proper context. human-centered user experiences and disruptive • We are going to study and dig into the right products, time and again. In today’s increasing problem before we jump to solutions. pace of digitalization, the design thinking method • We are going to challenge assumptions about how has proven to be valuable in creating growth and things “should be”. innovation. True competitive advantage requires • We are going to explore our best ideas – go wide – non-obvious solutions executed in elegant ways. and diverge before picking the one that matches Itera has adopted a shared vocabulary and the the solution best. design thinking toolset, and can confidently • We are going to map the customer’s journey to solve the thorniest of challenges with insightful see what makes sense and what doesn’t. solutions. • We are going to build prototypes, watch users interact with them, get feedback and learn Becoming masters of the art what’s best. The design thinking-based framework popularized by the Stanford University’s d.school includes five At Itera, we are cultivating design thinking, steps: empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test practicing these skills into habit, making them a – it is an iterative process with numerous variations transparent instrument in order to gain the that are not necessarily linear. This practical and mastery needed to make the complex clear, the accessible approach is championed for its interdisci- disordered ordered, the unusable usable, the plinary and multi-faceted nature. In essence, design unsolvable wicked problems solvable. In essence, thinking says: we are on our way to mastering the art, and entering the realm for repeatable genius. 3 ITERA ANNUAL REPORT 2017 STORIES CEO COMMENT HIGHLIGHTS BUSINESS MODEL OUR APPROACH BOARD OF DIRECTORS FINANCIAL REVIEW Artificial Intelligence – from a commercial perspective Tom Kr. Foosnæs, Senior Advisor, Itera Almost all sectors and industries are being assess accident damage to cars automatically. This affected by rapid technological advances. means that customers get their cars repaired more According to Google, 40% of today’s businesses quickly, while the company saves money. will have disappeared within 10 years. This is a scary prediction, but it also illustrates the oppor- Furthermore, artificial intelligence can be used to tunities for growth that exist for those businesses predict influenza epidemics, the number of people that can adapt. However, the level of adaption expected to dine in restaurants, and the number required will be fundamentally different from any- of enquiries a given customer service centre will thing we have seen before. The changes will take receive. Itera is in close contact with a team in Sili- place at a completely different speed because they con Valley that can predict with an impressive level are technical in nature, will take place at the same of accuracy how the price of oil will change, GDP time and, importantly, will be exponential. To take figures for a number of countries, and the proba- artificial intelligence as an example, more has hap- bility of strikes occurring several months before pened this past year in AI than in the 20 previous they actually take place. Our homes and cities are years, according to Darmesh Shah, Co-founder and getting steadily smarter, and ever more things are CTO of Hubspot. Google has taken this onboard, being connected to the internet (the internet of and now refers to itself as a “machine learning and things). Our health will increasingly be monitored AI company”, rather than a “mobile company”. continuously to enable proactive medical treat- ment, helping us to avoid a range of illnesses. Examples of uses of artificial intelligence The opportunities – whether in terms of creating Spotify uses machine learning in order to recom- better customer experiences, increasing compet- mend music to us. Google Pixel Buds are head- itiveness or entering entirely new markets – are phones that translate instantaneously and enable formidable. you to converse with someone who speaks a differ- ent language. In Seattle, the first Amazon Go store The need for a competent board of directors has recently opened to the public. All you have to and the right mix of employees do is to scan your mobile as you enter, pick up what you need, and leave. You have paid without passing So, what should business leaders do? First, it is any form of pay point. Forbes has predicted that important to remember that the main thing is still this technology will be a game changer for the retail to have the right people and good management. industry. In Norway, Gjensidige Forsikring is using Ensure you have a competent board of directors. image recognition and artificial intelligence to Too many people underestimate the need for a 4 ITERA ANNUAL REPORT 2017 STORIES CEO COMMENT HIGHLIGHTS BUSINESS MODEL OUR APPROACH BOARD OF DIRECTORS FINANCIAL REVIEW The world is now full of examples of how small startups are turning established industry structures upside down using good ideas, enthusiasm and a significant dose of courage. Tom Kr. Foosnæs board to have strong expertise in the company’s they operate in today. Very many industries market, a good understanding of technology, and will encounter new competitors with disruptive business development experience. Put AI on the business models. How can you think disruptively agenda. Now. Think far beyond the next quarterly in your own industry? Or, better still, identify the report, far into the future. Not doing so represents dream scenario for what the future looks like in a old-fashioned thinking based on the idea of linear given area outside your industry, and then work progress, and this will hinder the changes that are backwards from that. This makes artificial intel- needed and prevent exponential growth. Basing ligence into nothing more than a technology that senior management’s bonuses on last year’s figures can help you to make your dream scenario a reality. consequently also acts as a brake on innovation Whatever your level of ambition, the first phase is and progress. Furthermore, organisations need research. Do not restrict your thinking in any way to ensure they are attracting the right people and and view everything as possible. Find out what developing a good level of diversity, both of which information or data is available and how you can are crucial for innovation. The entire organisation gather more. Remember that having a lot of data is needs to be permeated by a focus on innovation, beneficial when it comes to artificial intelligence. digitalisation, and using AI. This does not, however, Finally, you need to consider the likely ROI for the mean that the company itself needs to develop AI. various options you come up with in relation to the level of difficulty and effort they will involve. Put yourself in the driving seat Facebook, Google and Apple are currently engaged In future, restructuring the way in which we have in all the battles taking place in those arenas that worked until now will no longer be sufficient. We have previously been solely occupied by banks. need to think entirely differently, and our ambition There are many other examples of this. There are should be to think bigger. What will your business’s also many opportunities, including for you and for moon-shot be in the next few years? Who do you the company where you work. You do not need want to help, and how? In what new ways will you to work at a large organisation. The world is now solve challenges? full of examples of how small startups are turning established industry structures upside down using Technology is now enabling companies to enter good ideas, enthusiasm and a significant dose markets that are completely different from those of courage. 5 ITERA ANNUAL REPORT 2017 STORIES CEO COMMENT HIGHLIGHTS BUSINESS MODEL OUR APPROACH BOARD OF DIRECTORS FINANCIAL REVIEW Business Design – creating something of value! Andreas Almquist, Principal consultant, Itera Many companies are finding that those business new approach and a new way of looking at chal- capabilities that used to produce sustainable lenges, solving problems and understanding how to value and competitive advantage no longer do.