Full Due Diligence
Core technology is vital to any company's success. That's why we believe that technical
due diligence should be given the same thorough treatment as the financial and legal due diligence.
Depending on the investment proposition and customer requirements, a
Remarkable Innovation assessment might include a selection of the following key areas:
Core Technology
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Quality Assessment
Developers will naturally portray their technology in
its best light. Only impartial, expert analysis can
verify whether core technology is of the standard
claimed by the business plan.
Quality assessment will reveal shortcomings in the
product and highlight implications for the value of
the proposition.
Customers
Present and anticipated customer requirements are assessed in relation to their
likelihood of fulfilment by the product.
A customer
analysis might cover the demand for, and feasibility of,
customisation, the record of technical problems and an assessment of customer service history.
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The Surrounding Market
A surrounding market assessment reports upon the
current trends in relevant market sectors and
ascertains likely influencing factors on a global and
local scale.
IP/Legal Assessment
Due diligence in this area might include:
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A review of the patent portfolio for hidden
value and analysis of the current approach to
protecting and exploiting it.
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Shielding from liability in potential patent infringement suits.
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A review of marketing materials to ensure that product details have not been misrepresented.
Copyright agreements, non-disclosure
agreements, software licences etc. may also be examined.
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Operations
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R&D Team
The importance of key staff skills cannot be
overestimated. A technical due diligence
study would discover how vital skills are
distributed and how loss of key personnel
might affect the value of the investment.
The process may also include analysis of
incentive programs, motivation levels and
market awareness of personnel.
Process Analysis
A thorough analysis of the research,
development and manufacturing process
can highlight potential problems and flag
areas for possible cost savings.
Processes analysis examines
the development process from idea stage
through to beta and full product release, as well as looking at
the company
culture, training programs, and bug tracking/resolution procedures.
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Development Plan
Investment decisions are often based upon a
development plan, but it is crucial to know whether
the development time and cost has been estimated
correctly.
Development plan analysis will also examine whether the innovation process will
continue after the first release and verify that a reliable procedure is in place to ensure
the product evolves to meet customer
needs through bug fixing and satisfying new feature
requests.
Cost Saving Analysis
Investors often look to layoffs and process
streamlining to achieve operational efficiencies and
cost reduction. Technical due diligence will examine
the viability of this course, the areas in which it can
safely be employed and where it would be ill-advised.
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For more information
contact us now to request a Remarkable Innovation
prospectus in print or electronic format.
