What we offer today needs a change in emphasis of thinking out the evolution of platforms, into ones that are designed for building out thriving business ecosystems for all to collaborate around and build together.

I argue today, we need to change our stories into ecosystem thinking ones.

We need to shift our platform rhetoric into a vastly different one, one based on building the Ecosystem story, well defined in its understanding that requires a very intense focus on what it means within Industry design and expected outcomes.

Over the past three or more years, I have been studying and researching platforms and ecosystems. I feel we are at an inflexion point of significant business change from embracing ecosystem principles in the business world.

The key message from my reflection was, at the time, two years ago, “we do need to change our story; it is simply not about platforms“. It is thinking for the design for ecosystems, into “ecosystem mobilization.”

We need to think more about Ecosystem principles and design

We need to evolve our present IIoT platform position. Today, a change from the IIoT partner attempting to dominate requires a balanced approach for opening up to a greater collaboration and co-creation platform.

It moves from one-with-one to many-to-many through a specific platform hosted by the right IIoT platform provider.

My view of where we need to go:

Establishing an ecosystem of design allows a network of cross-industry players to work together through their chosen common platforms.

The depth and breadth of the collaboration undertaken between the participants can deliver a different value proposition to new consumer solutions or extend necessary capabilities through the cooperation and discoveries that combine and come together.

The value of this ecosystem generates solutions that when the combined parties collaborate, each of the parties involved gain greater value beyond operating as a single entity.

How providers can evolve through the three stages of IIoT platforms will be critical to success or failure.

The first trigging point of disruption occurs around IIoT platforms and what needs to move into the next phase of exploring and changing the value proposition.

I would content it is to refocus away from the platform message onto the ecosystem one; we are coming towards the second disruption point.

In these recent years, I have attempted to explain the new value proposition points in embracing ecosystem thinking. On this posting site, you see many of those thoughts.

Now the word “ecosystem” comes in multiple flavours and understanding.

One part of our new story needs to define and structure a ‘real’ ecosystem that manages not just creation but encourages evolution, as well as that essential need for some necessary destruction.

Ecosystems are full of adoption or adaption, rapid growth, growing maturity, and this inevitable decline.

We build the new story around collaboration, knowledge exchange and networks that combine their skills and expertise to find new value and business impact.

Ecosystems are not today’s story of partners that ‘simply’ sell, deliver and service the offering‘; it is about mobilizing, creating, designing a network of partners that have formed their ecosystem, one that is built on an open, shared value model.

Do I have a clearer picture of what is an Ecosystem design?

In my work and research, especially in the past three years plus, I have given it a depth of exploring and validation.

I believe the current IIoT platform providers value proposition is wrong, pure and simple, the market needs have changed. The proposition was based on their needs.

This outdated model needs replacing with the requirements of everyone looking for changing their value proposition and can see the real value and future impact in being open to exchange, collaboration and cooperation, as central to building a new business model validation.

A value in new designs built around those principles of co-creation, collaboration and networking relationships with careful consideration of the platforms that can help facilitate this

Let’s create and rejuvenate with Ecosystems?

Any ecosystem has to be carefully nurtured; it needs balancing and a shared value; otherwise, it will die. I like ‘ecosystem thinking’ in the business world because its very nature can shift us from linear thinking into more holistic.

The richness of diversity needs to come together, offering that ‘combining effect.’ We are creating value in combining technology and relationships in any ecosystem design.

The ability to delve into or broaden out our thinking gives us these opportunities to extend what we have or create something new. In any ecosystem evolution, ‘something’ or ‘someone’ will exploit a gap, a niche, and utilize this.

We often limit our capabilities and capacity because we do not ‘stray’ from the knowns into the unknowns. Ecosystems provide different business thinking that encourages and pushes frontiers.

The change into ecosystem thinking can lead us to find that unexplored point that gives new value and growth to our business. The combined realms of digital and physical meeting points allow us to do this in faster ways than ever before.

We can reach wherever we want to go if we embrace the value of business ecosystem thinking.