Digital ecosystems: Enemies become partners

How to create value in a digital world - Value is no longer synonymous with value creation or shareholder value. Value also includes new customer perceptions of value, creating value thanks to new technologies, thanks to "beautiful" products with high value and, of course, new digital platform business models. At first glance, platforms and super apps from leading technology companies such as Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, WeChat and Co. appear to be a threat because they are penetrating various industries. In fact, various banks, insurance companies, retailers, media houses and numerous start-ups have already discovered the great potential of platform business models in Switzerland as well. Typical offerings are mortgage marketplaces, mobility offers, comparison and e-commerce platforms - the race for market leadership has begun. And with it, the race for the right talent.

What makes digital ecosystems so successful?

The focus is not on technology, but on the consistent integration of the participants in an ecosystem. The focus is on customers, suppliers and even the company's own competitors. The primary goal is to jointly create real innovation and added value for all participants across companies and industries - in the form of a Digital Ecosystem. "New technologies such as Cloud, APIs, Big Data and Analytics are just enablers that help to implement new data-centric business models in a fast, scalable and standardized way. Central to successful implementation are the consistent reconfiguration of the business model and the design of the ecosystem. Only a few companies have the necessary enterprise capabilities and expertise in this area. This is reflected, among other things, in the large number of job offers and new job profiles in the field of ecosystems," says Ralph Hutter, head of the new CAS Digital Product Lead HWZ and CAS Platforms & Ecosystems HWZ programs.

Product development transforms radically

Product development is changing fundamentally: at its core is an increased focus on customers and design. The speed of innovation and technical complexity have increased substantially in recent years. New software development methods and management approaches such as agile, lean startup, etc. are being widely used to take account of this change. The role of the product manager is also changing radically due to the increasing importance of data and the use of new technologies. These include new interfaces such as AR, VR, IoT, voice, blockchain and gaming engines. The next generation of the internet, Web 3.0, is already on the horizon. Digital extensions via smart devices such as watches, glasses and new immersive user experiences with VR headsets in and around metaverse worlds enable new types of services, innovative business models and new touchpoints with the target clientele. The digital product lead is the new role designation for the leading product manager that is becoming established in start-ups and international companies. Digital Product Management is the key competence for transferring existing products and services to the next generation of the Internet, Web 3.0, and the emerging metaverse, or for launching completely new digital offerings based on new technologies.

How to create value in a digital world?

Innovative digital products with the latest technology create real added value for customers and lay the foundation for digital ecosystems in which new digital business models can be developed. This is real "digital value creation". The Institute for Digital Business at the HWZ Zurich University of Applied Sciences offers further education in this area. The newly launched CAS Platforms & Ecosystems HWZ and CAS Digital Product Lead HWZ, which are led by Ralph Hutter, strengthen the understanding of this cultural change and offer a methodical toolbox for dealing with the challenges of new platform business models and the development of digital products and services. If desired, the two CASs can be combined with a further elective module to create a Master's degree with a specialization in "Digital Value Creation" (Master of Advanced Studies in Digital Business, Major Digital Value Creation). This program prepares graduates in a practice-oriented manner for a career step in the new job profiles in the field of ecosystem and digital product management. Source and information: HWZ

This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/digitale-oekosysteme-feinde-werden-zu-partnern/