Platforms ⚖️ emphasize their ecosystem advantage 20X more often.
But why do they win
and what it takes to build one like the hyperscalers?
Accenture recently did a cross-industry study of platform companies.
Let’s break down key insights.
Successful platform businesses focus on three key unlocks:
✔️ Creation of completely new customer experiences
✔️ Development of new business models
✔️ Delivering more value to customers and partners
The platform business model helps companies achieve stronger performance, unique capabilities, and better customer experiences.
It helps to lock-in customers and win the competitive race.
🕸️ Platforms Emphasize Ecosystem Value 20X More Often
Platform companies also form more partnerships and place a significant focus on their ecosystem of partners and users (see illustrations).
The enterprise value for platform companies ultimately comes from the value they create for their ecosystem.
Successful platform adoption also requires creating a culture where knowledge is shared openly. This requires leaders to ensure their employees are willing to give up their knowledge ownership for the greater good.
📊 Platforms are 25% more Resilient
Platform companies show higher levels of business resilience in nearly every measure, including financial discipline, sales, technology, sustainability, and supply chain operations.
Platform companies from the tech sector are almost 25% more resilient than their non-platform counterparts.
“With a platform strategy, you can have a major impact on your company’s agility, time-to-market, efficiency and innovation with a very light lift, and you can start to see immediate benefits. Over time, the strategy generates even greater dividends.”
- highlighted Chris Kasten, SVP, Common Platforms at PayPal in the report.
The best platform strategies are executed in collaboration with ecosystem partners, ensuring usability and delivering immediate results that amplify over time.
💰 The High Price of Platforms: >2X Greater Tech Investment
While the platform model is business-led strategy, it requires a robust tech infrastructure and significantly higher tech spending.
Successful platform adopters invest 2.3x more in tech than non-platform companies, with “cloud investments making up a huge part of this spending”.
📍 Platform companies also invest:
2X more in technology, such as cloud and AI, and
2.6X more in integration and orchestration middleware.
Although the initial investment is high, a platform strategy delivers more value over time.
It helps companies to control technical debt, reinvent workflows across their business and drive value for its clients and ecosystem partners.
For smaller businesses and partners, leveraging platforms, like hyperscaler marketplaces is becoming a norm.
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