Research and development is something that almost every company, especially in the IT industry, needs these days in order to stay competitive on the market and keep a high customer retention rate. It is a powerful tool that is absolutely necessary for any company regardless of its size - be it a startup or a global enterprise. What makes it so in demand? Basically, research and development is a strategy of doing thorough research on the market, learning about your target audience their needs and preferences and then adjusting your already existing product to those needs or creating a totally new one according to them. R&D management is a sure way to easily improve your business strategy and eventually gain more profits. It is an especially relevant tool to those companies or even startups that are only starting out on the market and need a boost.
R&D Engineer: Who He Is and What He Does
Now that you know a little bit more about R&D consulting, you are probably wondering about what is R&D engineer and what r&d engineer does. This is the exact specialist that will give you ideas on how your company should be developing in the future, what products are to be released and technologies to mastered. That is why R&D engineer should have knowledge of various topics such as management, economics, business and so on. Technical education is also a ‘must’ for such a specialist. However, this is not the only skill that they must have. Typically, companies prefer to hire specialists with a strong technical background and then teaching them all other specifics that are required for each particular field.
Now the typical responsibilities for a specialist from an R&D center would be the following:
- Doing research within the relevant field
- Categorizing the tendencies and latest breakthroughs and advancements within the field
- Presenting a strategy of the existing products’ enhancement or ways of creating a new one so that it finds its target audience
- Giving recommendations regarding the financial side of the product’s development
- Taking care of the tech documentation regarding the development process
Dedicated Development Center: What Are the Main Differences
R&d specialists can be found within any industry as experience and analytical skills are usually all they need for the start of their career. However, lately, R&D consulting is being used in the 4 main ways, according to the industry, it is being applied to - agro-industrial enterprises, biotechnological companies, IT companies and space industry enterprises. It is important to understand, that all these industries are extremely different and being a professional research and development engineer in one of them does not necessarily guarantee to be so skilled in another.
What are the main advantages of maintaining a research and development center at your company?
Typically it is:
- A unique approach to the development process which allows companies to stay competitive on the market
- Increased financial income because of the unique products
- Building a trustworthy reputation of a company that thinks about customers’ needs
- Opportunity to collaborate with other businesses
However, there are a few disadvantages as well, such as:
- Significant time consumptions - positive changes and breakthroughs can take time
- Training a decent research and development specialist is not that easy
- Sometimes research and development costs can be high
How to Know if You Need an R&D Professional?
So far this is the question companies are concerned about the most. There are 5 situations where the assistance of a research and development specialist would be of a big help:
- You are only starting out your business activity and want to know about the best strategy for it
- You want to improve your already existing products
- You want to expand your business to a new market
- You are looking for innovations within your field and want to become the first out there
- You want to make your financial management more efficient.
So if by looking at these reasons you feel like that is something you want for your business, maybe it is time to start looking for that awesome research and development specialist already?