Can More Companies Play in this Playground?

Platforms (digital ecosystems) are gaining momentum in the business landscape. Platforms are growing and flourishing all over the world, fundamentally changing what it means to add value. Most of the companies with the world’s highest market capitalizations are tech companies that generate much of their revenue from the platforms they created.

From our experience, equipping leaders with the tools to design platform-based business, I’d say that there is indeed a path for more companies to use this business model to level the playing field. This path has been opened up by digitization and data and the emergence of advanced analytics, tools that give companies better insight into customers and market niches, allowing them to personalize products as never before.

Reflecting on our experience this past year, I'd like to share a few insights into the platform innovation journey.

Think big and then even bigger.

Many companies are limited by their own incremental and linear mindset. They tend to think small and apply 19th-century innovation strategy in the 21st century. Even if your company’s participation and investment in a platform are small, your thinking about potential value in your platform must be BIG.

Design your platform for many participants and collaborations.

Platforms exist to mobilize many participants in an ecosystem to address end-to-end needs collectively. Successful platforms are designed to win market gains and create value for all participants. That’s certainly what investors want to see. A winning platform owner m must manage dozens of partners, across multiple industries and countries, and different types of relationships (for example, contractual agreements, platform partnerships, and minority shares in venture capital investments). Selecting and managing the right mix of collaborations is critical for success.

Lead with human needs and experience.

Focus on what the entities in your ecosystem want and need and how you can improve their experience. Note I specifically wrote entities and not just customers because you are designing an ecosystem of multiple players. E.g., Amazon Prime serves the end customer and serves the merchants that sell on their marketplace platform. Once you define the core needs and expectations, determine who the best partners are to help you reach your goals.

Get creative and establish an open culture.

Develop digital fluency in employees to network externally, develop processes to foster learning within the organization. An organization can have the best people and technology, but it will not fully realize the benefits without effectively empowering both with the right culture. Culture change is led from the top. Leaders can encourage the workforce to innovate and take risks—which is what digital partnerships are all about. 


In the emerging world of Platforms 2.0, data is the holy grail. Every company needs to be watching this trend closely, since the players that first master the new architecture are likely to capture sizeable benefits.