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As you enter the Verizon Innovation Center in Waltham, Massachusetts, you can interact with many of the remarkable technologies brought to life by Verizon’s network. In one area, there’s a tablet-controlled drone; in another, a smart pill bottle that ensures correct dosages for patients. The inventions developed here use Verizon’s network to support cloud services, security, telematics and the Internet of Things as well as the health care and energy sectors.
Part of the Greater Boston area’s thriving tech community, the Innovation Center is a component of Verizon’s larger Innovation Program. The center is home to talented engineers and highly creative people who understand how to bring products to market.
“It’s a unique kind of space within the company, because you get to see a little bit of everything and meet really interesting clients,” says Mike Sullivan, the Innovation Center’s technology manager.
A culture of curiosity
“We’re working with the Verizon Ventures team and our sales teams, which are bringing in enterprise partners,” says Tim Gorman, associate director of the Verizon Innovation Program, a partnership between entrepreneurs and Verizon.
Tim says that the center’s culture emphasizes taking chances. Under one roof, experts from inside and outside Verizon—such as software developers, engineers, business analysts, project managers and solution architects—contribute to technologies at the genesis of their development.
“I get to participate in really terrific discussions. You’re exposed to so much working here. This is the window into innovation.”
The Verizon Innovation Program brings ideas to market because it connects the right people at the right time.
Two examples of the many products that have been fostered here include: the Smart Waste & Recycling System—a solar-powered trash compactor that alerts you when it’s full—and the Modlet BN Smart AC Kit—a great way to reduce household energy use. The Modlet kit, which was created through a partnership with ThinkEco, enables you to control your window air conditioner via the Internet.
Collaboration has helped make a variety of revolutionary technologies become a reality. “I want to talk about what’s possible,” says Tim. “For me that’s the best part of the job here.”
