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1、Forge the link between technology investment and business valueAccelerate your organizations new performance frontier Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategyAuthorsVivek ChidambaramSenior Managing Director Accenture Strategy Vivek is a Senior Managing Director and runs Accentures Res

2、ources Strategy business globally.He specializes in large scale digital transformation at heavy industrial and process industry clients,and deploys systems engineering concepts to connect businesses systems,talent and decision making to improve performance.Badri Narayan R.D.Managing Director Client

3、Platform Business-Global Badri serves as a distinguished leader within the Client Platform Business at Accentures Cloud First organization.With over two decades of industry expertise,he collaborates with clients spanning diverse domains globally,driving the acceleration of their platform journey wit

4、h pride.Shreya MehendaleSenior Manager Accenture StrategyShreya has more than 15 years of experience advising resources clients on growth strategy,cost and productivity reinvention,and enterprise transformations.Ram Ramalingam Senior Managing Director Lead Platform Engineering and Intelligent Edge R

5、am is a global lead for Platform Engineering and Intelligent Edge at Accenture.He develops and executes multi-year growth and strategy plans for the Platform Engineering and Intelligent Edge businesses aligned to Accenture Cloud First.2Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy Using a

6、platform strategy to boost business performance isnt a new concept.Amazon,LinkedIn,Salesforce and hundreds of other platform companies have anchored their success on the value that comes from connecting customers,suppliers or peers.What is new is the recognition that non-digitally native companies c

7、an also benefit from platform business models that deliver new and hard-to-replicate services or experiences.Our recent analysis of 375 of the worlds largest 2,000 companies from 12 industries found that 152 are what we call“platform adopters.”1 Unlike the 39 companies we identified as full platform

8、 companieswhose entire business model is based on a platform strategythe adopters pursue platform strategies for specific purposes:namely,to launch new business opportunities or provide completely new customer experiences.Is this approach changing their game?The 152 platform adopters in our analysis

9、 generated,on average,2.1 percentage points higher margins in the 2019 to 2022 period,compared with non-platform companies.However,this higher profitability is just the tip of the iceberg.To read more about our research see page 20.“Platform businesses”combine business and technological capabilities

10、 to reimagine customer,supplier and industry peer experiences and pursue new growth opportunities at speed.3Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy Platforms deliver holistic value4Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy If non-platform companies operated at the same

11、margins as platform adopters from 2019 to 2022,they would have generated$231 billion more EBITDA.Further,they would have achieved higher valuations.As measured by enterprise value to invested capital multiple,platform adopters saw an average of 2.4x in market premium,well above the 1.5x premium of n

12、on-platform companies.2 One platform adopter experiencing a boost in performance is Nike.The US-based footwear and apparel leader is using a platform strategy to aggregate customer offerings and provide a hub for athletes via its Training Club and Run Club applications.This unique community gives Ni

13、ke customers a much more sophisticated experience.The platform strategy also goes the extra mile for Nike,allowing the company to capture valuable data insights,offer more personalized products and services,and even decompose existing capabilities and offer them to business partners as individual se

14、rvices such as inventory visibility.Since adopting its platform strategy,Nike has seen the share of overall brand revenue attributed to its digital business climb from 10%to 24%.3 Platforms deliver holistic valuePlatform adopters are more profitableand more resilientthan their peers.5Level up:Elevat

15、e your business with a platform strategy Power up your resilienceBeyond margin improvements,platform strategies can help companies compress transformation and achieve resilience.According to Accentures Pulse of Change:2024 Index,business leaders have faced an all-time high rate of change in 2023,and

16、 88%of C-suite leaders anticipate an even faster rate of change in 2024.4 In this environment,resilience has never been more important.Nor more challenging.Thats why only 15%of companies achieve it.Our analysis has found that platform adopters exhibit higher levels of resilience in nearly every meas

17、ure of Accentures research on resilience,including financial discipline,technology,sustainability,sales,and supply chain and operations.This translates into sustainable improvements in everything from operating efficiencies and speed to market to customer loyalty.5 6Level up:Elevate your business wi

18、th a platform strategy Strategy development is no longer something that takes place on an annual basis;now,leaders need to continually adjust their strategies in real-time.Delivering strategy at the pace of technology is only possible when strategy development and decisions are both informed by and

19、delivered through technology.6This is where platform strategieswhich link business strategies to real-time insightsshine.They enable business leaders to be bolder in their strategic thinking and faster in their decision-making.Power up your resiliencePlatform adopters are more resilient than non-pla

20、tform companiesData source:Accenture Research,Resiliency Index42.2%48.0%62.1%75.3%FinanceTalent53.6%51.4%37.6%46.6%TechnologySales39.1%40.5%55.2%56.8%SustainabilitySupply Chain51.2%62.1%Non-platformPlatform adoptersResiliency total%of companies above industry medianQ4 21 Q3 227Level up:Elevate your

21、business with a platform strategy Platforms create ecosystem value8Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy Crucially,the value of a platform strategy extends beyond the enterprise to an ecosystem of stakeholders that can include customers,suppliers and industry peers.It allows partic

22、ipating companies to share costs and risks in major capital projects.They can also gain insights for improving their offerings,expanding their market reach and hitting non-financial goals,in areas such as sustainability.For example Shell,American Express Global Business Travel and Accenture have lau

23、nched one of the worlds first blockchain-powered digital sustainable aviation fuel(SAF)“book-and-claim”platform solutions for business travel.The platform strategy enables an ecosystem of airlines and business customers to reduce their emissions by allowing the secure and transparent allocation of S

24、AFs environmental attributes after the fuel has been delivered into the fuel network.It is a win-win-win proposition that benefits the aviation industry,society,and the environment.7As our research illustrates,platform adopters recognize that a lot of their enterprise value comes from the value they

25、 create for others.They make a point of speaking about collective value.They are more likely to form new partnerships every year.And they see the value in extending their ecosystems beyond their industries.Platform companies have a more visible approach to collective value Data source:Accenture anal

26、ysis based on G2K earning callsPlatforms create ecosystem valueFor platform adopters,enterprise value ultimately comes from the value they create for the ecosystem.Ecosystem valueCross-industry value14.8%Platformadopters0.7%Non-platform%of companies mentioned keywords related to“ecosystem value”,201

27、7 20229Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy Despite the potential value of platform strategies,not every company can or should strive to become a platform business.When evaluating the feasibility of moving to a platform model,companies should consider the following factors.Is a pl

28、atform strategy right for you?74%76%201870%78%201971%68%202065%70%202172%76%2022Non-platformPlatform adoptersIndustry and market dynamics:Some industries are more conducive to platform businesses than others due to the presence of multiple user groups and the potential for network effects.Control po

29、ints:Ideally,a company considering a platform strategy should own key resources or capabilities that cannot be easily replicated and which others in the ecosystem are dependent upon.Technology capabilities:A platform model is business-led but enabled by a robust technology infrastructure.Building or

30、 acquiring the necessary tech capabilities is a critical consideration.An appetite for ecosystem-building:Transitioning to a platform business involves more than just changing a business model;its about building and nurturing a vibrant ecosystem of users and partners.Competitive landscape:In some in

31、stances,competitors are already operating as platform businesses.Entering a mature market with established platform players requires a unique value proposition.Risk tolerance:Moving to a platform model comes with inherent risks.Organizations need a healthy risk tolerance and the willingness to inves

32、t in the transition.A culture of openness:Platform adoption will require people to share their knowledge in an open,networked environment.Leaders need to make sure the workforce is willing to give up their knowledge ownership for the greater good.Platforms create ecosystem valueMore platform adopter

33、s form new partnerships%of companies forming new partnerships each year 2018-2022Data source:Accenture analysis of FactSet partnerships dataset.Partnerships could be with customers,suppliers,competitors or strategic partners.10Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy Learn from the be

34、st:what platform adopters get rightCompanies looking to pursue a platform strategy can learn from todays platform adopters.Our research confirmed that successful platform businesses focus on three things.The first is the creation of completely new customer experiences.Johnson Controls has adopted a

35、platform strategy to offer new services to customers in various industries.Its OpenBlue Platform enables customers access to better understand their energy usage,security breaches,equipment performance and space utilization.8 11Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy The second thing

36、 platform adopters focus on is the development of new business models.Malaysian energy group Petronas offers a prime example.It developed a digital logistics platform that optimized its operational costs and reduced its carbon emissions by 15%across its fleet of vessels.9 In collaboration with Accen

37、ture and Amazon Web Services(AWS),the company is now rolling out this innovative platform under the name STEAR to other industry players,improving their efficiency and sustainability through lower fuel consumption and intelligent routing and scheduling.Learn from the best:what platform adopters get

38、rightPlatforms push traditional companies into new performance frontiers that are characterized by hard-to-replicate capabilities and customer experiences.12Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy The third thing successful platform adopters do is focus on combining their business an

39、d technology capabilities in unique ways to not only make it easy for all platform partners to participate,but also deliver optimal value for all.Their platform strategies are business-led and tech-enabled.And they are executed in a methodical way,often in collaboration with their ecosystem partners

40、,to ensure usability and deliver immediate results that are amplified over timewithout draining resources from other transformation programs.Chris Kasten,senior vice president,Common Platforms at PayPalTelecommunications and media conglomerate Comcast took such an approach when it partnered with Chi

41、nese manufacturer Hisense and Walmart to develop and distribute easy-to-use smart TV models.More recently,it has created a platform that helps its smart TV viewers navigate their streaming apps,just as it has long done for cable TV consumers.10“With a platform strategy,you can have a major impact on

42、 your companys 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.”Learn from the best:what platform adopters get right13Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy Th

43、ree steps to make the jump to a platform businessCompanies looking to adopt a platform strategy must first determine whether such a strategy makes sense for them(see page 10,“Is a platform strategy right for you?”).They may be excited about the opportunities,but they also need to be realistic about

44、their own operational or structural readiness for the move.They need to carefully assess their industrys receptiveness to such a strategy,as well as their own capabilities and willingness to embrace the change that a platform strategy requires.For companies ready to make the move,these steps can hel

45、p them maximize their platform potential.Identify the value 12Determine what sets you apart from the competition 3Reimagine your business and technology capabilities 14Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy Identify the valuePlatform business models dont generate value in a vacuum.B

46、y their nature,they act to connect and unify different areas of a company,as well as the company with its stakeholders.This means there are value opportunities across the organization and ecosystem.As a first step to launching a platform strategy,leaders need to identify the value potential with a p

47、articular focus on disintermediation.What steps can they remove in the supply chain to get them closer to their customers,and become more direct-to-consumer in their operations?Chris Kasten provides an example in the product/retail space,where a company wants to improve agility in its global invento

48、ry management as part of its overall market strategy.In this instance,a company would typically define platforms based on the cohesive capabilities in its manufacturing,operations,logistics,and retail domains.With these platform building blocks in place,the company can then create complex business f

49、lows,such as end-to-end inventory,in a simple and easily understandable manner,based on platforms and capabilities for optimization.Additionally,assigning ownership and accountability for each of these platforms drives strategic thinking across a platforms capabilities.Kasten led a transformation at

50、 Nike,where the company transformed its entire technology organization,which has more than 6,000 people,to a new platform model that created a single,transparent catalog of platforms with ownership and accountability.Kasten recently led a transformation at PayPal,involving PayPals Common Platforms o

51、rganization of more than 2,300 people and its operating model.This has resulted in a vibrant ecosystem of composable platforms with capabilities as platform services.This approach is now providing PayPal with increased agility,and reducing its time to market while driving efficiencies and innovation

52、.11Leaders should also identify the value potential for their ecosystem stakeholders.Creating better experiences for customers,suppliers and business partners is a proven way to drive not just enterprise value,but industry value and transformation.Consider what Walmart has achieved.The retailer has

53、used its world-class supply chain management capability to create Walmart Fulfillment Services(WFS).Through this platform business,the company offers end-to-end services for Walmart Marketplace sellers.Sellers ship their inventory to a WFS facility,where WFS workers store,pick,pack and ship the orde

54、rs.Access to real-time data allows sellers to manage their inventory,shipment and order tracking.12 As it expands its platform,Walmart expects WFS to be able to provide next-or two-day shipping to 95%of the US population.13 Walmart is clearly benefiting from this new revenue stream.But its network s

55、ales partners are arguably benefiting as much,if not more.1.What are the greatest challenges we face that a platform might alleviate?2.What capabilities could we decompose and reinvent in a platform environment?3.Ideally,what would we want our platform strategy to accomplishfor the enterprise and fo

56、r our ecosystem stakeholders?Questions to ask:115Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy 1.What are we particularly good at or known for?2.Can we optimize(and monetize)this capability with a platform strategy?3.Would our ecosystem partners find this capability useful and relevant to

57、their needs?4.Would the capability be hard for our platform ecosystem partners to replicate?Determine what sets you apart from the competition Successful platform adopters use their platform strategies to develop new and hard-to-replicate customer experiences and business models.Building unique capa

58、bilitiesor control pointsin these areas starts with leaders decomposing their capabilities and technology infrastructure to determine which component combinations might offer something new in terms of services,products or experiences.According to Chris Kasten,senior vice president,Common Platforms a

59、t PayPal:“Many companies dont know what they have.They may know what technology they have,but they cant express the business capabilities they have and how those relate to the business.Mapping and decomposing whats available is,therefore,a critical step in executing a platform strategy.”In addition

60、to determining their unique strengths that platforms may enhance and expand,companies need to figure out how they want platforms to help them create valueand then adapt their capabilities and ecosystems accordingly.The Danish toymaker the LEGO Group launched the LEGO Ideas platform as a new way to i

61、nteract with its customers and build customer loyalty.Fifteen years later,fans are still using the platform to submit design concepts for new LEGO sets.The result?A boost in brand loyalty and customer engagement,a dynamic mechanism to tap the creativity of the LEGO community,and new sales of fan-ins

62、pired sets.14Companies tend to use platforms in four ways to develop their control points and generate value.These business models,first put forward by Sangeet Paul Choudary,include:aggregators of services;integrators of data,resources and insights;“as-a-service”infrastructure players;or capability

63、providers.Our research identified some common characteristics for each(see chart below).Questions to ask:2Platform business model and their common characteristics Customer facing business model Aggregate consumer demand Personalizes experience using data Provides consumer facing services Mostly mana

64、ges B2B exosystem interaction Acts as switchboard Extensive integration exosystem Consumer facing distribution environment Provides critical infrastructure Standards to enable,coordinate and organize production Provide knowledge services to the ecosystem Focus on the performance of specific function

65、s Compete through specialization Ease of use is critical for adoptionAggregatorsIntegratorsInfrastructureCapabilities16Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy 1.Who from the business and technology domains should lead the platform strategy?2.How can we simultaneously build(and integr

66、ate)our business and technology capabilities to deliver value across our enterprise and ecosystem?3.What transition-management capabilities do we need to strengthen?Questions to ask:Reimagine your business and technology capabilities When it comes to platform strategies,the partnership between busin

67、ess and technology is critical.A strong digital core is more than just the technology backbone of the organization,its the acceleratorthe thing that puts technology to work for the enterprise.Its how the worlds leading organizations will build,apply,and integrate their technology estate to position

68、themselves for success in the coming years.Technology teams must help shape the vision and ensure a strong digital core is in place to drive the technical implementation.But they cant be the sole owners of the platform strategy.Business leaders need to work with their tech counterparts to ensure tha

69、t platforms are strategically aligned and supporting every aspect of its activities,from driving revenue to operations and how the company engages with customers and ecosystems.Together,they need to carefully manage expectations,prepare their organization for the operational changes ahead,and commit

70、 to a longer-term,focused execution.Three options for platform operationalizationBuild:Build their own platform from scratch Most complete/expensiveParticipate:Join an existing platform ecosystem as a participant Least complete/expensiveBuy:Buy an existing platform solution and customize it to their

71、 need and use casesPlatform strategies are not technology strategies.Yet,a critical component of reimagined business and technical capabilities involves understanding the key components of an organizations digital core that can support and enable a successful platform strategy.Cloud,data management

72、tools and AI technologies are increasingly critical elements of a digital core.With the digital core identified and strengthened,leaders need to select the right technologies to enable business agility while also serving the broader ecosystem.They also need to evaluate their platform options and det

73、ermine if they are going to build,buy or participate recognizing that one of the most significant costs comes from developing the platform itself.317Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy 1.73.80.010.0242.3x2.3x0.0080.0192.3x0.0080.0022.6x0.0100.0212.1xApplication platformsArtificia

74、l Intelligence platformsIntegration and Orchestration MiddlewareIT Education and TrainingBy technologyBy technology segmentBig Data and AnalyticsCloudInnovation Accelerator platforms0.090.22.2x0.340.712.1x0.090.141.5xNon-platformPlatform adoptersPlatform adopters invest more in technologies than non

75、-platform companiesTotal tech spend/revenue ratio%,average of all companies,2022Data source:IDC.Note:Selected relevant technology,results must not be aggregated to get a total.Innovation Accelerator Platforms refers to 3D printing,AR/VR,Blockchain,etc.Importantly,once companies commit to a platform

76、strategy,their leaders may want to focus on the individual short-term gains.They need to resist this temptation.A focus on long-term value needs to lie at the heart of these transformations.Ongoing technology investments must be part of the long-term plan.Our research found that successful platform

77、adopters invest 2.3x more in tech than non-platform companies,with cloud investments making up a huge part of this spending.While it may cost more initially,a platform strategy will deliver more value,while allowing companies to control costs in areas such as technical debt and reinvent their workfl

78、ows in every aspect of their business.Once the business has improved its operations,it is ideally placed to drive value for its industry ecosystem partners.18Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy Platform business models have proven their value for many years in digitally native co

79、mpanies.Now,they are gaining traction among companies that historically would not have been considered“platform businesses.”As companies have improved their digital core and,in particular,boosted their business agility through cloud investments,platform strategies have gone beyond the preserve of th

80、e few to become the opportunity for the many.And now the age of generative AI is offering to unlocking entirely new levels of value and new performance frontiers for companies with the ambition to explore them.Its game time for platforms 19Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy In t

81、his study,Accenture Research focused on assessing the value of platform business models and better understanding the characteristics of platform adopters.To conduct the analysis,we used a combination of generative AI and publicly available information to compile a list of companies that are adopting

82、 platform business models.We started with the list of Global 2000(G2K)companies and selected the top 30 companies by revenue for each of 12 major industries.We used ChatGPT to categorize companies into non-platform,platform-adopter and platform companies.We then manually validated the ChatGPT result

83、s using company-level research and sought input from industry researchers to further validate our classification.Following these steps,we categorized 375 companies into 184 non-platform companies,152 platform adopters and 39 platform companies.Based on this list,we compared the characteristics and p

84、erformance of non-platform companies and platform adopters.We compared the financial and non-financial performance of non-platform companies and platform adopters.Financial performance.Starting with the list of 375 companies,we selected only non-Financial Services public companies where there were a

85、t least 10 companies in each platform category.Thus,the financial performance was compared based on 54 non-platform companies and 59 platform adopters across four industries Retail,Chemical,Industrial,and Consumer Goods&Services.We compared their EBITDA margins(historically between 2019-2022 and for

86、ecasted for 2023-2024 based on analyst reports)and Enterprise Value/Invested Capital multiple(for the 2019-2022 time period).The data source was S&P Capital IQ.Non-financial performance.We followed Accentures Resilience Index framework to evaluate performance across a companys functional value chain

87、.Data sources included Arabesque,Factiva,FactSet,IDC,Oxford Economics and S&P Capital IQ in the period of Q4 2021-Q3 2022.We tested whether platform adopters are more likely to act for collective value through two dimensions:ecosystem value mentions and partnerships formed.Ecosystem value.We examine

88、d the mentions of collective value by using natural language processing(NLP)analysis to G2K companies earning calls in the period of 2017 to 2022.Partnerships.We calculated the percentage of companies forming new partnerships based on FactSet dataset in the period of 2018 to 2022.We also looked at t

89、he average number of new partnerships formed outside their own industry for our sample companies.We tested whether platform adopters spend more on technologies in comparison to non-platforms,by calculating the technology spending to revenue ratio based on IDC data in 2022.About the researchValue of

90、platformsPlatform adopter characteristics20Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy The authors would like to thank Chris Kasten,Senior Vice President,Common Platforms at PayPal for his insights and perspective.The authors would like to acknowledge the following contributors for their

91、 work on the research:Xiao Chang,Hugues Codron,Pritesh Karnawat,Ankita Mathur,Himanshu Patney,Athena Peppes,and Olivier SchunckReferencesAcknowledgmentsAccenture Platforms study,June 2023;Research analysis of top 30 companies from 12 industries in the Global 2,000 companies list.Unless otherwise ind

92、icated,all data within this report is attributed to Accenture Research insights and analysis from the Accenture Platforms study,June 2023.Research interview with Chris Kasten,July 6,2023.Accenture,“Pulse of Change”,2024.Accenture,“Reinventing for Resilience,”April 2023.Accenture,“Strategy at the Pac

93、e of Technology,”August 2023.Shell,“Shell,Accenture and Amex GBT launch one of the worlds first blockchain powered digital book-and-claim solutions for scaling sustainable aviation fuel(SAF),”June 2022.Johnson Controls,“OpenBlue:The blueprint of the future for smart buildings.”1 2 34567 8 9 10 11121

94、314 15Petronas,“Petronas,Accenture,Amazon Web Services Collaborate to Commercialise Digital Logistics Platform,”November 2022.Reuters,“Comcast,Walmart team up to sell smart TVs with the media firms software,”October 2021.Research interview with Chris Kasten,July 6,2023.Walmart,“Walmart Marketplace.”

95、Walmart,“Marketplace Newsletter,”July 2023.Harvard Business Review,“Turn Your Customers into Your Community,”January 2020.Sangeet Paul Choudary,”Ecosystem business models:A teardown,”Medium,June 18,2022.21Level up:Elevate your business with a platform strategy About Accenture Accenture is a leading

96、global professional services company that helps the worlds leading businesses,governments and other organizations build their digital core,optimize their operations,accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services creating tangible value at speed and scale.We are a talent and innovation led co

97、mpany with 743,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.Technology is at the core of change today,and we are one of the worlds leaders in helping drive that change,with strong ecosystem relationships.We combine our strength in technology with unmatched industry experience,functional exp

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100、ogo are registered trademarks of Accenture About Accenture Research Accenture Research creates thought leadership about the most pressing business issues organizations face.Combining innovative research techniques,such as data science-led analysis,with a deep understanding of industry and technology

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