Companies that share data with partners can increase profitability

Organisations are looking to expand their industry ecosystems as the next phase of digital transformation, technology sector analysts International Data Corporation (IDC) said this week predicting the future of the industry, both in terms of the coming year, and beyond.

This expansion would build on the investments that they have made in recent years, realising that opportunities, disruptions, and delivering upon customer needs quickly with a high level of quality are complex pursuits, the company said in a report.

“Having a flexible industry ecosystem of partners – an on-demand set of talent, resources, and capabilities, if you will – is an important element of the digital-first organisation and necessary to support the resource-constrained organisation,” it added.

According to the report, which cites global survey data, CEOs and leading executives acknowledge the critical supporting role that industry ecosystem partners play in ensuring the growth and stability of their businesses.

Moreover, the report noted that the first steps have been taken by many organisations to expand their industry ecosystems, establishing a network of capability, capacity, support, expertise, and knowledge that can be “scaled up and down as required”.

“Extending and opening innovation, collaboration, and operation with partners across an ecosystem inside and outside any given industry has become a critical strategy for executives and their organisations,” research vice president of future of industry ecosystems Jeffrey Hojlo said.

“The world and each industry landscape are too complex, dynamic, and disruptive for any one organisation to address on its own – the pace of innovation makes it difficult for organisations to keep up; as such, every organisation needs an external source of data, insights, applications, operations, and expertise to complement and grow their business,” he added.

In addition, Hojlo explained that expansion, collaboration and innovation with industry ecosystems have become the next phase of digital transformation for every organisation.

Among the company’s predictions is that by the end of the coming year, organisations that share data, applications or operations with their ecosystem partners through joint ventures will increase profitability by five per cent.

Further to their predictions for 2023, the company said that only 20 per cent of metaverse experiments for industry ecosystems will succeed, noting that organisations will continue to adapt and change their ability to offer their products and services in a way that combines physical and digital channels.

In the longer term, the company expects that “80 per cent of global organisations will leverage on-demand resources in industry ecosystems to improve supply chain logistics”, however, “only 40 per cent will improve profitability”.