Information technologies, mature markets, relentless demand for innovation, environmental concerns and the uncertain economy are combining to drive the emergence of new growth scenarios, which are spurring companies to fundamentally rethink their growth strategies. The vision of an economy as a set of independent industries –each serving its own customers, with its own suppliers and its own innovation chain—is in many ways outmoded. New collaborations are emerging that stretch well beyond historical industrial boundaries, nurtured by mobility, payment systems, open information, energy management and infrastructure development. This new breed of cooperation is all about unlocking synergies and exploring fresh opportunities. Although in recent years numerous factors have combined to encourage cross-collaboration among different industries, this trend has yet to gain any real traction. The main question is which enablers are missing to spur the development of new cross-industry ecosystems?

1. Cross-industry
collaboration:
Creating the enablers
for disruptive models

2. 2

3. Information technologies, mature markets, relentless demand for
innovation, environmental concerns and the uncertain economy
are combining to drive the emergence of new growth scenarios,
which are spurring companies to fundamentally rethink their
growth strategies.
The vision of an economy as a set of independent industries –
each serving its own customers, with its own suppliers and its
own innovation chain—is in many ways outmoded. New
collaborations are emerging that stretch well beyond historical
industrial boundaries, nurtured by mobility, payment systems,
open information, energy management and infrastructure
development. This new breed of cooperation is all about
unlocking synergies and exploring fresh opportunities.
Although in recent years numerous factors have combined to
encourage cross-collaboration among different industries, this
trend has yet to gain any real traction. The main question is
which enablers are missing to spur the development of new
cross-industry ecosystems?
3

4. Growth is increasingly captured
outside a company’s immediate,
natural environment
According to a series of convergent What’s more, the intimate knowledge a 3 | Environmental concerns are no
Accenture studies, the growth of tomorrow company has of its own customers’ needs – longer viewed as a hindrance to
will increasingly come from beyond a through analytics management, for example – business growth, but rather
company’s immediate, natural environment. might prove very useful to another company, development opportunities that
In particular, our research has identified five providing an asset that can be developed in can be pursued with partner
growth territories, each requiring disruptive addition to the company’s core business. enterprises.
approaches and collaborative models: The new sources of growth being created
Information systems based on open by environmental issues very often need
1 | Information technologies and platforms facilitate collaboration between a collaborative strategy across different
increasingly vast pools of data discrete ecosystems or environments. industries, such as energy, technology
offer gateways to link previously or construction. For example, energy
distinct ecosystems and bring 2 | Emerging markets are pivotal performance contracts might be based
them closer together. to future growth, but present on cooperation between an insurance
The surge of information technologies has serious obstacles that can be company, a bank, a construction firm
made them indispensable to designing and overcome with forward-thinking and an energy equipment installer.
marketing new products or services. Rapidly disruptive approaches.
changing technologies are opening up If they expect to see a satisfactory return
myriad paths to innovation, while stimulating on their investment, companies have to
the development of capabilities that cannot operate differently in emerging markets
always be sourced internally. than in mature ones. Developing an offer
targeted to emerging markets also means
reinventing the right business models,
which very often requires cross-industry
cooperation.
Common or shared information systems figure among the most powerful levers to drive interaction between two ecosystems
Extended Ecosystem
Rare Interactions Rare Interactions
Potential Interactions Potential Interactions
Financial
Markets
Regular Interactions Regular Interactions
Regulators
Clients
Key Industry Common Technology Industry Regulators
suppliers
A Clients
or information Key
B Financial
Markets
suppliers
Prospects NGO
NGO
Prospects
Industry A Ecosystem Industry B Ecosystem
4

5. 4 | Projects are now subject to the therefore become a necessity for both and expectations emerge once basic or
availability of financial resources, private and public sector companies, which “natural” needs have largely been met, then
spurring the emergence of new in turn calls for creative business models, companies have to identity new needs and
models. increasingly based on cooperation. new solutions capable of capturing growth
Burgeoning public debt is forcing elsewhere. Also, globalization has vastly
governments to reposition themselves as 5 | The maturity of Western expanded both the competitive arena and
initiators and no longer as sole specifiers markets is encouraging companies the corporate ecosystem. Consolidation is
for public sector procurement. Indeed, the to define new sources of no longer enough to allow companies to
growth of public-private partnerships is due competitive differentiation retain a hold on a position or a market.
mainly to the dearth of state and municipal Although innovative and disruptive Alliances between companies from different
funding for infrastructure projects. At positionings are often risky and difficult industries can guarantee differentiation and
the same time, the current instability in to achieve, they remain the ones that create novel, distinctive offers.
financial markets has made access to fresh generate the most growth. When the
capital more complicated for many private market becomes more competitive and
sector firms. Sharing costs and risks has when new business and consumer needs
Examples of cross-industry collaboration
Mobile Intelligence Commodity
Digital Consumer Retailisation New Energy
Commerce Infrastucture training
Travel &
Banking Retail Retail Agri-business Cap Markets
Transport
Retail Consumer Utilities Consumer Energy Energy
Comms EHT Energy Banking Automotive Utilities
EHT Comms Automotive Postal
x-Industry Networks
• Health and Life Sciences
Banking Sustainability Comms • Aerospace and Defence
• Digital Citizen and Consumer
• Manufacturing
Public
Energy
Service
EHT
These cross-industry collaborations are • Enable technological and economic banks and insurance companies. Some
structured to meet multiple objectives: leapfrogging: the Better Place initiative 30% of financial transactions in Kenya
• Introduce new financing models based proposes an innovative electric vehicle are now managed via mobile phones.
on flexibility and partnership, including solution by federating a large ecosystem • Create greater value and differentiation
public-private vehicles. For example, to that includes financial partners, utilities in mature and extremely competitive
promote initiatives to reduce its carbon and automakers. markets: energy performance contracting
footprint, the city of Amsterdam has • Develop new markets and opportunities is an area that combines the skills of an
created a federated ecosystem comprising in emerging economies: in Africa, insurance company, a bank, a construction
energy grid manager Alliander, the telco m-payment solutions have created a whole firm and an energy equipment installer.
KPN and Accenture. new financial services industry thanks to
partnerships among telecom operators,
5

6. Cross-industry initiatives are
leading markets forward
Today, there are two main types of cross- as somewhat of a positive byproduct of the capture new growth in demand for transport,
industry collaboration, both clearly focused original contract. Moreover, today PPP accelerating the transition to an economically
on the long-term, but with different contracts are considered to be too complex
1
responsible personal mobility model. The
objectives: and inflexible. They lock participants in for Better Place battery leasing initiative is
• Collaborations formed to secure financing. extended periods (often 20 to 60 years) structuring a new ecosystem, from the
• Collaborations designed to invent new and are unable to integrate major shifts in development of EVs with removable batteries
business models. technology or environmental concerns. by automakers to the installation of a
network of charge and swap stations. The
Collaborations formed to secure PPPs in search of a second wind. innovative system is further differentiated
financing are becoming more In the area of municipal services, however, by a flat-rate billing system, with inclusive
flexible and focused on partnering. an entirely different approach is emerging. mileage for a given period. This allows
Originally, this type of cooperation mainly In the Netherlands, the city of Amsterdam customers to lease an EV equipped with
concerned public-private partnerships, has teamed up with energy grid manager high-performance batteries that can be
although this broad category in fact Alliander, telecom operator KPN and conveniently charged or replaced. In this
encompassed a wide variety of different Accenture to create an experimental way, Better Place wants to introduce a
models. Over half the PPPs set up in emerging ecosystem propitious to initiatives that will totally new transportation business model by
countries between 1990 and 2001 were reduce the city’s carbon footprint. Looking positioning itself as the provider of an end-
concessions or privatizations where beyond the basic commitment to funding to-end network and services solution for
cooperation between the government deployment or redeployment of clean electric vehicles. This includes developing
and the private sector was limited to the infrastructures, Alliander and the municipality and maintaining a smart grid infrastructure
founding contract . These agreements have created a platform where a diverse and deploying the underlying hardware and
obviously included technical and quality array of different sized companies can share software solutions. However, the company
objectives, but they appear to have been expertise and jointly lead a certain number of behind the project does not itself have all the
secondary to the initial issue of financing, projects to improve mobility and the expertise needed for the different components.
environment, thereby benefiting the entire Instead, it has structured the ecosystem
community. Amsterdam is but one example interlinking public authorities (who support
among the “smart city” initiatives that reflect development through tax credits),
renewed interest in both public-private and automakers Renault, Nissan and Toyota (who
private-private cooperation based on simple develop and maintain the EV technology),
and innovative collaborative business battery suppliers, energy suppliers and
models. investors (VantagePoint Venture Partners,
HSBC, Israel Corporation). This is a largely
The motivation behind today’s cross-industry unprecedented approach that is very much
collaborative models goes much deeper than aligned with new sources of growth.
just arranging financing and is shifting to the
co-construction of disruptive business At the same time, Accenture’s work on the
models. future of rail transport has confirmed the
emergence of disruptive initiatives involving
Cross-industry ecosystems drive multiple industries that are transforming the
major technological leaps and way we travel, notably with intermodal
business transformations. integration and geo-location services like
Electric vehicles offer a compelling journey planners. For example, geo-location
illustration of how cross-industry ecosystems could play a new role in managing passenger
can usher in major paradigm shifts. As seen traffic in train stations. Tools like these have
in Israel, Australia and Denmark, EVs hope to already been successfully deployed in
1
Marty, Frédéric; Trosa, Sylvie; and Voisin, Arnaud, Les
partenariats publics privés, Paris: Editions La Découverte,
2006.
6

7. A rich and extensive ecosystem of companies to develop smart cities
Equipment Providers
• Alstom • Schneider
• Bombardier Electric
• Bosch • Siemens
• Nissan • Thales
Energy Providers
Finance
• Alliander • GDF SUEZ
• CITI • EDF • Veolia
• Enel
Analytics/IT integration
Providers A rich and extensive Construction Providers
• Accenture • Microsoft ecosystem of companies • ACS
• IBM to develop smart cities • BECHTEL
• CISCO • VINCI
IT Solutions Providers IT Hardware Providers
• IBM • IBM
• CISCO
• Microsoft
Close-up on the Amsterdam SmartCity ecosystem
Initiators Active partners Interested
• Alliander • Alliander • Cisco • Albert
• AIM • Far West • GVB • Essent
• Favela Fabric • Telematica • Plugwise
• Accenture • Rabobank • KPN
• JC Decaux • Universiteit van • Google
• Philips Amsterdam • Powermatcher
• Nuon • IBM • Eneco
• ING
Time
7

8. airports, as seen in “My Way Aéroport de much denser network than any bank can necessary refurbishment or upgrades to
Paris”, which geo-locates a passenger in offer, and transfer funds with reduced fees. reduce consumption and instilling behavioral
the airport and suggests itineraries. This M-Pesa enjoyed robust growth by leveraging changes to reduce consumption even
base could be used to develop new services the telecom operator’s customer base and a below the owner’s target. The company or
in collaboration with other stakeholders, migratory population. For telecom operators, ecosystem managing the contract then
such as GAP Mobile 4U, which sends Gap mobile payment is an additional revenue receives a performance fee based on the
customers text messages with personal stream due to both network use and the difference between the owner’s target and
offers for deals at the nearest store. More offer of new transaction services. For the the even lower level of actual consumption.
generally, very diverse segments of the banking partners, mobile payment provides
population have now come to expect a low-cost channel to enter a market Here, value can only be created by forming
uninterrupted connectivity and virtual with a low-income population and still an ecosystem focused on results rather than
interaction. Travel is no longer perceived as generate a profit. resources, and capable of deploying expertise
a solitary experience, and families, business in construction and energy installations
travelers and teens all want to be accompanied Health services is another area characterized (provided by both large and small
throughout their trip. Transportation by an innovative development model that contractors), a financing solution (with the
providers, ISPs and, thanks to an open model, integrates information and communications investment repaid by the resulting energy
a vast array of different businesses can technologies and healthcare. Solutions for savings), and an insurance solution (given the
collaborate to enhance the travel experience remote reading of X-ray images at regional uncertainty of the gains). Germany has been
and address this emerging trend. hospitals have been implemented in Mali. In a pioneer in this type of contract, which is
Egypt, Orange has developed teledermatology now being adopted in other countries.
Emerging markets offer particularly solutions to offset the shortage of doctors by
fertile ground for developing eliminating travel and enabling them to These approaches remain experimental
cross-industry ecosystems focus on diagnostics and advice. The Pesinet insofar as the viability of the models cannot
The fast growth in mobile payment solutions service in Mali, Senegal and Niger provides be fully guaranteed from start-up. But this
in Africa – notably Kenya, where 30% of all remote access to primary healthcare for type of ecosystem necessarily has a positive
transactions use mobile phones – is the children by capturing data and transmitting impact on its environment since energy
result of an alliance between telecom it over the GSM mobile network2. efficiency is the primary, if not the only,
operators and banks. This eloquent example source of compensation. This makes it
of cross-industry convergence addresses the Cross-industry collaborations essential for the service providers to develop
very low percentage of the population with must create greater value and innovative tools, techniques and expertise
access to conventional banking services, differentiation in mature and that will further reduce the customer’s
coupled with the local retail banks’ lack of extremely competitive markets energy consumption. A virtuous dynamic
geographic coverage. M-payment solutions Energy performance contracts, for example, emerges that reaches beyond the limits of an
leapfrog the infrastructure development add value in situations where at first glance individual project to have a positive long-
stage, made possible in Western nations by the market seems static; e.g. when buildings term impact on the community ecosystem.
the industrial revolution, and simply create are already constructed, customers already
a market economy. M-Pesa, the mobile have contracts with a utility, and Even though cross-industry initiatives are
banking service introduced by Safaricom in consumption levels are recurrent. With a manifestly a viable and dynamic means of
Kenya in 2007, topped 13 million customers performance contract, however, an capturing future growth, they are not yet
in 2011. The service lets customers deposit ecosystem of partners commits to reducing widely deployed. Below, we take a closer look
money in their account, withdraw cash via a an owner’s energy bill, carrying out any at some of the factors that could encourage
their development.
2
TIC et systèmes de santé en Afrique, Note de l’IFRI,
juin 2010
8

9. How to drive faster emergence
of cross-industry ecosystems
Develop greater entrepreneurial Constantly focus on proactive systematized approach and tools are
spirit and open project platforms coordination essential for key project components,
The entire enterprise should be infused with A significant share of project resources must such as management of the business case.
an entrepreneurial dynamic, tearing down be allocated to forging links among partners,
walls and desiloing the organization. In which means much more than simply In particular, project management must
particular, this requires a “test & learn” ensuring that everyone is aligned with facilitate the emergence and implementation
philosophy, which sees trials as a learning common objectives or resolving conflicts. of forward-facing business models aligned
opportunity, with an exploratory mindset, At each stage, project management needs with the interests of all stakeholders.
to gauge usage or technical feasibility, for to leverage the wealth of expertise from the
example. Exploring means accepting that stakeholders to multiply the value created Build and maintain open, modular,
several possible scenarios may be pursued at and address issues as they arise. Project cross-functional IT platforms
once, welcoming new ideas and innovative management must also ensure open access Beyond project management per se,
concepts, and acquiring the knowledge to data and find innovative ways to use the information systems play a fundamental
needed to implement them. The key to a data storehouse. A balanced collaborative role in deploying and operating these new
successful disruptive strategy lies in the project management model is facilitated by ecosystems. In conjunction with leading
ability to manage the different aspects of several factors. Objectives and timelines technology vendors, for example, Accenture
these explorations and to chart a course must be clear and shared, the remuneration has developed a platform comprising
to concrete, viable results. of certain partners must be based entirely standardized information services for key
or partly on results, and trials and pilot infrastructure (housing, energy management,
Accenture’s Intelligent City network is a initiatives must be authorized. Also, a transportation, e-health, etc.). Developed
strategic initiative to support ecosystems
aligned with the environmental and urban An open information platform can integrate
planning objectives of modern cities. It has and make interoperable the critical
identified key best practices that enable components of an Intelligent City
effective day-to-day collaboration among Office and
partners. The Amsterdam Smart City Residential
platform spans a range of urban planning Buildings
and environmental projects initiated by Public Natural
the municipality and energy grid supplier Administration Resource
Alliander. A pivotal clause in the partnership and Services Management
agreement stipulates that the platform must
act as a vehicle to cascade best practices
among partners, SMEs, industrial companies Open, interoperable
and local authorities. The platform is “open” platform with
not only because it encourages information intelligent
exchange and participant involvement, but Education and infrastructure
functionality Transportation
also because it continually monitors the Culture
degree to which engagement and
interdependencies are truly effective. The
open platform thus becomes the host for the
different spaces impacted by the initiative.
Waste Health and
Management Security
9

10. with the end user in mind, this standard suite data on their common end customers. There are any number of possible alliance
can be easily adapted to the specific features As a result, the information system is no structures, each with a more or less greater
of each sector. The cross-functional infor- longer simply a function, but rather a impact on their member organizations.
mation platform is hosted in the cloud and customer-centric growth driver. Integrating an appropriate, flexible
available as a service. This approach has ecosystem can represent the first step
multiple advantages: new features and Being part of an extended, open ecosystem towards this new strategy, avoiding the
services can be deployed much faster, and supports a shift from a sense of ownership – often costly process of fully meshing with a
the platform’s partner companies do not of customers, suppliers, innovations – to a partner that might have a fundamentally
need to build their own systems. What’s collaborative, networking mindset that different culture and operating model.
more, they can all access cross-industry wants to develop ideas and share successes.
Cross-industry collaboration structures vary in the degree of integration among the member companies
Number of players
Alone Several
Integrate an appro-
Local energy sector
priate ecosystem
Organic investment Energy leaders
Strategic alliance Energy leaders
Network of partners Energy leaders
Network of partners Automotive equipment,
diversified in services, rail,
Dedicated subsidiary electricity networks
Joint Venture Oil Industry
Investment fund Captive funds of industrials
Incubator Telecom leader
M&A Global energy specialist
Impact on the organization, disruption
10

11. Accenture’s viewpoint
Accenture believes that cross-industry Our DNA and culture make us a natural knowledge of global and local players,
collaboration is a fundamental, vector and facilitator for the creation, applying these capabilities to form multiple
long-term trend. deployment and joint operation of these collaborative models.
ecosystems. Accenture boasts global and
This has led us to create dedicated units national networks, is developing and We are convinced that this new approach
to address the challenges faced by these sharing expertise across every industry to satisfying customer needs by working
new ecosystems in areas such as mobility and works closely with multiple stakeholders. in cross-industry networks offers a real
or m-payment. We have also invested Every day, we are exploring new ways to alternative to more costly conventional
in new solutions based on modular IT share knowledge, structure cooperation growth models. This new paradigm
platforms, which are designed to facilitate among businesses, integrate complex nevertheless requires robust change
cooperation between different industries value propositions for our clients and management capabilities and a significant
and to support their business models. manage large-scale projects. Accenture organizational shift so that operating
brings these clients the benefits of models and corporate cultures can create
unparalleled innovation research and and nurture these new opportunities.
11

12. About the author
Cédric Vatier is Director of Strategy and Sustainability, Accenture
Management Consulting France. Cédric Vatier works on growth
strategies, innovation, definition and implementation of new
Business Models.
cedric.vatier@accenture.com
About Accenture
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become high-performance businesses and
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