Transforming the world of business with digital ecosystems
There can be no doubt that we are living through an era of immense digital transformation, headlined in recent months by the dawn of generative AI.
Businesses across the globe are scrambling to invest in innovative and increasingly essential technology in the hope it will give them a competitive edge and ensure the smooth running of their operations.
It begs the question as to whether there has ever been a more important time to establish a properly-functioning digital ecosystem.
Gartner defines a digital ecosystem as an “interdependent group of actors”, including enterprises, people and resources, “sharing standardised digital platforms to achieve a mutually beneficial purpose”.
The sooner an efficient ecosystem is established, the better, especially in terms of collaboration and productivity.
“No matter where in the digital journey an organisation is, an established digital ecosystem is essential to improve performance and assist with interactions outside of the company,” asserts Sridhar Iyengar, Managing Director for Europe at Zoho. “Seamless interoperability is crucial to success.
“Digital ecosystems play an important role in allowing an organisation to focus its energy on facilitating business value by removing frustrations linked to outdated legacy B2B services. They also add value to customer relationships by helping companies consistently meet service-level agreements, as well as providing fast fixes and quickly setting expectations.”
Digital ecosystems ‘increasingly taking centre stage’
As a leading software developer, Zoho uses its own management system, Zoho One, which offers a consistent user interface across all applications and breaks down data silos with a unified repository.
The suite of software covers almost every business category, from finance, HR and sales to marketing, customer service and analytics.
“We own the full stack, which means our software apps run on our own servers, and we built the platform on which all of our apps run,” explains Iyengar.
“We also built our own services which run through many of our applications, such as AI, to enable our customers to run their businesses more effectively and efficiently.”
Zoho’s belief – as it enables various organisations to digitally transform – is that a platform-based, rather than application-based strategy, should be deployed to help them realise their potential.
However, there is recognition of the need to ensure integration with competitive products, giving businesses the option to run on more than one platform and enjoy the benefits of applications running harmoniously with each other. That’s where a digital ecosystem comes in.
“Digital ecosystems are increasingly taking centre stage when it comes to businesses looking to improve workflow efficiency and working relationships with customers and partners,” says Iyengar
“They play an important role in fostering innovation by facilitating the rapid development and deployment of new digital products and services, and encourage experimentation and adaptation to changing market conditions – helping businesses identify and react to trends.
He adds: “An integrated and streamlined digital ecosystem eases the collection and analysis of vast amounts of data, which can in turn be accessed and used to make better-informed decisions and personalise offerings to customers.
“By eliminating duplicate systems and optimising processes within a digital ecosystem, companies can reduce costs associated with IT infrastructure, maintenance and labour.”
Creating value for enterprises
Digital ecosystems are creating additional value for enterprises across numerous industries.
A big plus-side of well-designed ecosystems is how easily they can be scaled as a company grows, making them ideal for startups and small businesses looking to expand quickly.
Organisations also stand to improve supplier and partner relationships as their collaboration with stakeholders in the digital ecosystem becomes more effective, leading to better strategic alliances and supply chain management.
What’s more, through data analysis, companies are able to gain valuable insights into customer behaviour, preferences and needs, helping them to tailor offerings and marketing strategies.
On the topic of supply chains, digital ecosystems are also prompting their transformation.
“Supply chains that originally functioned in separate markets are now coming together to support the development of new products and services, creating supplier ecosystems,” Iyengar continues.
“Although the traditional supply chain is still the foundation of most companies, the new model – digital ecosystems – is transforming the world of business by creating linear paths between suppliers and customers, thus creating new business opportunities.”
Driving commercial growth
Naturally, by enhancing companies’ ability to thrive in today’s rapidly-evolving business landscape, functioning digital ecosystems offer plentiful benefits from a commercial growth perspective.
A prime example is the facilitation of faster tech adoption in ways that were previously too complicated and unmanageable, allowing firms to take full advantage of cloud services and SaaS. Enabling this level of innovation often serves as a boost to both revenue and profitability.
Ecosystem integration, says Iyengar, can also create new revenue streams and allow organisations to track and analyse wide-ranging data flowing through the business.
“This data can then be analysed to create new products and services tailored to customer preferences, increasing their value,” he continues. “It can give an early flag to potential problems which can be dealt with before they grow and can present potential opportunities.
“Overall, the ability to see a complete overview of data right across the business in real time means informed decisions can be made on business strategy.”
Furthermore, new markets can be reached through digital ecosystems and customer segments enhanced by tailoring offerings to different demographics or industries.
It goes almost without saying that this expanded market presence can lead to a spike in revenue and growth opportunities.
Iyengar concludes: “An effectively-run digital ecosystem can enable an organisation to be truly flexible, agile and adaptable which increases resilience – something greatly needed in these uncertain times.”
