We will explore the world of business ecosystems as introduced by Julian Kawohl. He believes that the future of businesses lies in ecosystems and that the world in 2030 will be more digitally connected and sustainable.
One of the key takeaways from Julian's discussion is that companies can create and capture more value through ecosystems. He predicts a shift from traditional B2B or B2C businesses to Ecosystem-To-Human (E2H) models, where businesses make their solutions available to support the daily life of human beings. This requires industry players to work together and adopt ecosystem-driven business models.
The shift away from the Digital Economy with platform companies like eBay, Facebook, and others to an Ecosystem era in 2020 is also highlighted. In the next twenty years, we can expect to see the emergence of dynamic and largely independent players who understand the power of complementing each other. These players offer interconnected solutions that provide more value than traditional integrated solutions and experiences can achieve.
An example of this is Amazon Web Services (AWS) which started as a cloud offering service but has now become an advisor in digital factoring and collaborates with partners such as VW Group and Siemens.
The Ecosystemizer toolset, designed by Julian and his team, helps businesses with the strategy, design, and implementation of an ecosystem based on the E2H paradigm. The strategy map contains 10 Life Areas where businesses can work on their value creation in the E2H ecosystem. Businesses also define their relation to their final customer as an Enabler, Realizer, or Orchestrator.
The example of Ping An is used to illustrate the setup and success factors for ecosystem business models. Ping An has integrated three Life Areas – Work, Health, and Living – and progressed in all of them as an Orchestrator with the help of partners, and as a Realizer (service provider) in multiple aspects of Chinese people's lives. The strategic roles in the ecosystem – focus, expansion, integration, and dominance – are also considered, which contributes to greater clarity in strategic thinking when defining collaboration intentions with partners.
Lastly, Julian Kawohl also discussed an energy case study to demonstrate how businesses can project themselves into the future, foster collaboration across multiple industries, and bring clarity to their business strategy. The case study showed how decarbonized heating offers could look like in 2030, including the involvement of external players.
In conclusion, Julian Kawohl's discussion on business ecosystems highlights the importance of ecosystems for the future of businesses and the shift towards Ecosystem-To-Human (E2H) models. The Ecosystemizer toolset and the strategy map provide businesses with a framework for creating and capturing value in the E2H ecosystem. The examples and case studies used in the discussion provide insight into the setup and success factors of ecosystem business models.