Alan Ward, commercial director at Bang Creations -- a firm that provides product design and innovation expertise -- agrees.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Today, it is particularly the consumer product companies that are putting customers at the center of innovation, involving them in product design and service development.

FORBES: Innovation Momentum

However, netbooks and tablets will continue to rule the PC market with newer technologies and rapid innovation in terms of product design and features.

FORBES: Nice Bump Now, Next Stop For Dell Is $21

It also means that many entrepreneurs are looking for innovation in the wrong places and pursuing new product design ineffectively.

BBC: Business

But incentives for innovation abound in a swathe of areas: product design and manufacture, distribution, retailing, marketing, finance, systems, wholesaling, affinity, marketing communications, technology, (have we missed anything?).

FORBES: Curiosity Didn't Kill The Cat, It Created The Mousetrap

For most companies, new capabilities will need to be sourced externally in five main areas data analytics and insights, product and service innovation, content and communications, customer experience design and delivery, and brand, reputation and citizenship.

FORBES: Building Your Customer Engagement Ecosystem

Many companies are still learning how to handle new (open, user-led, design-led, service oriented) innovation management practices that now characterise product and service development.

FORBES: Why Competing Is Getting Harder (And What to do About It)