Accenture’s Product and Platform Engineering Services team helps clients navigate through the new wave of platforms. With more than three decades of experience, our deep engineering-skilled workforce of over 8,000 professionals has grown out of the development of our own commercially-available software and platforms. With expertise across more than 40 industries and all business functions, we deliver transformational outcomes for a demanding, new digital world.

1. BUILDING NEXT
GENERATION
PLATFORMS
Keeping Pace
with Ever-Evolving
Customer Needs

2. Core Factors for Deploying a Successful Platform
Adopting a Platform-Centric Approach in
Your Organization
A Platform-Centric Future
Authors
Connecting the World Through Platforms 3
Adapting to the Connected World 5
Becoming Platform-Centric 6
Evolution: Platforms as a Technology Strategy 7
‘Next Generation’ Platforms 8
Sound Platform Strategy: Reimagine, Open-up, 9
Attract, Free Flow
10
17
20
21
Contents

3. The Platform Economy has
emerged as one of the most
powerful manifestations of
the digital revolution.
3 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
Thanks to rapid advances in cloud, mobile and analytics, and the falling
cost of these new technologies, next generation platforms have created a
new wave of disruption—growth and breakthrough innovation.
A recent and well-known example includes Audi’s pilot project—in
partnership with DHL and Amazon—to develop an innovative logistics
delivery service: Audi Connect Easy Delivery.1 The service allowed
participants to receive parcel deliveries from Amazon (fulfilled by DHL)
to the trunk of their Audis using keyless access technologies. This
platform enabled the consortium to digitally deliver convenience to an
array of recipients.
1
https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/press-releases/audi-dhl-and-amazon-
deliver-convenience-347
CONNECTING THE WORLD
THROUGH PLATFORMS

4. The benefits of a platform-centric strategy:
New
Partnerships
Innovative
Business Models
Bringing in More
Customers
Faster
Time to Market
With Reduced Cost
Access to
New Markets
The Opportunity
to Establish
Leadership
Positions
Clear benefits of such
collaborative platform
innovations have allowed
organizations to:
4 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
• Cross the boundaries of their traditional pipeline business
• Move from asset-heavy business models to asset-light ones
• Build transaction economies
• Connect with end users digitally
In addition, next generation platforms are rooted in ‘network effects,’
meaning: the more products or services desired by end users that the
platform offers, the more users it will attract, and the more valuable the
platform becomes. The concept also underpins the Sharing Economy,
which relies on platforms to facilitate shared services.
CONNECTING THE WORLD THROUGH PLATFORMS

5. The Digital Economy, coupled with the progression of technologies, has led
to the identification of multiple new avenues to innovate across a user’s
experience. Disruptions through innovative business models and new product or
service offerings have become common. Maintaining leadership in this
environment requires consistent and fast-paced innovation, and there remains a
dominant question facing every enterprise today: how can we consistently
innovate and keep pace with ever-evolving consumer needs?
We are currently at a technological
inflection point where incremental
changes to products and services are
no longer enough to act as a security
blanket from disruption.
Digital native users are shifting to providers with better network creation and
transaction enablement resources. Incumbents, together with ambitious
disruptors, have recognized this market shift, and early movers are leveraging
new access points along the value chain to: build new services, enable new
consumption models, and add fresh monetization opportunities.
5 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
ADAPTING TO THE
CONNECTED WORLD

6. Platforms enable better user
engagement through enhanced
value creation, and enterprises
are increasingly adopting platform-
centric approaches.
Typically, a company engages in a pipeline business to develop a product
or service, and then competes with other contenders. However, in today’s
highly competitive market, this often results in a few winners and many
losers. Industry leaders recognize that no single company can possess
all the innovative capabilities that the market summons, and therefore, to
maintain leadership positions they employ platform-centric approaches by
opening their businesses to other companies with multiple end user types.
BECOMING
PLATFORM-CENTRIC
6 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS

7. Traditionally, the technology infrastructure used by a company
for building a series of products for its users was called a platform.
The beneficiaries were often restricted within the product or service to fulfill
a task. However, the evolution of technology has led to a proliferation of
innovative business models and cross-industry vertical partnerships, which
has brought about a complete evolution in platform thinking.
7 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
EVOLUTION: PLATFORM
IS A TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY

8. Next generation platforms have two fundamental differences from the
current roster of platforms. They provide a common foundation of core
technology that a company can reuse in product variations:
8 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
ECOSYSTEM
ENABLING PLATFORMS:
Next generation platforms create ecosystems, where standalone they may
have relatively lesser value to consumers, but when considered as part of
these ecosystems, these platforms lead to the creation of complementary
and ancillary offerings by ecosystem participants.
Amazon, Airbnb and Uber are well-known examples of these integrated,
transactional platforms that have yielded strong ecosystems.
DISINTERMEDIATION OF
INFORMATION SERVICES:
Next generation platforms may function as part of technology infrastructure
whose components may come from various parts of the same company. In
this instance, they distinguish themselves by having everything connected
through the platform, while allowing third parties to consume APIs.
NEXT GENERATION
PLATFORMS
Both are extremely important for any organization that seeks to democratize data,
create a network effect, and perform analytics at scale.

9. SOUND PLATFORM
STRATEGY: REIMAGINE,
OPEN-UP, ATTRACT, FREE FLOW
9 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
The formulation of a platform strategy is a complex endeavor that requires CSOs,
CIOs and CTOs to align toward a common goal. Such platform management further
requires the creation of functionality that may span multiple business offerings. Those
leading platform strategies need to understand the large strategic vision well enough
to make both short and long- term trade-offs across different offerings. A sound
platform strategy ultimately requires a four-prong approach:
REIMAGINE: platform managers
must fundamentally reshape their
thinking about the ecosystem in
which their company operates,
together with its competitors,
suppliers, buyers, and/or end users.
OPEN-UP: They must enable third
parties to contribute to and
consume from the platform.
ATTRACT: They must connect
customers, partners, products and
platforms to create an integrated
ecosystem that offers value greater
than the total value created by its
component parts.
FREE FLOW: They must enable a flow
of information across the platform value
chain. But, in doing so, they should
consider what data should (and should
not) be exposed if private APIs become
candidates for partner or publicAPIs.
1 2 3 4

10. CORE FACTORS: FOR DEPLOYING
A SUCCESSFUL PLATFORM
BUILD APIs
TO BRING YOUR
PLATFORM TO LIFE
BRING FORESIGHT
AND RESILIENCE
TO BUSINESS
DECOUPLE
ASSETS FROM
INTELLIGENCE
10 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS

11. As businesses contend with constant
change in mobile technologies, as
well as ever-increasing customer and
enterprise expectations, a well-
designed platform should deliver
resiliency and foresight for the
overall business.
11 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
While the adoption of a platform-centric approach requires a shift in a
company’s core beliefs and approaches, next generation platforms foster an
environment of inclusive innovation, meaningful feedback, and value-based
benchmarking.
Collectively, these benefits naturally lend foresight to the business, while
preparing it for uncertainties, risks, and opportunities.
BRING FORESIGHT AND
RESILIENCE TO BUSINESS
CORE FACTORS: FOR DEPLOYING A SUCCESSFUL PLATFORM

12. RESILIENCE THROUGH
RISK MINIMIZATION
12 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
Business planning and strategy development places a great focus on risk
handling and placing future bets. Market fluctuations have caused many
organizations to fall from their zenith in a short amount of time.
A sound platform-centric strategy addresses this and allows
companies to prepare themselves to avoid situations where
they might:
• Become less relevant and subject to changing market needs
• Lose market share to compelling, competitive offerings
• Face a completely new business model from an emerging disruptor
Platforms further offer a level of added security from these
challenges, while building resilience for companies against
unfavorable conditions; thus, delivering considerable benefits
in terms of:
• Newer monetization strategies
• Process stability, and
• Minimized risk
CORE FACTORS: FOR DEPLOYING A SUCCESSFUL PLATFORM

13. A lot of platform companies born as
digital natives own no assets, and
next generation platform builders
should endeavor to decouple assets
from business intelligence.
Leading digital natives have effectively designed and developed transaction
points to enable more efficient creation and use of assets. Incumbents are
also creating more transaction points to enable greater interaction with
external stakeholders. The goal in creating these transaction points is to
spread innovation across the value chain and limit individual risk.
In this vein, APIs are the fundamental enablers of the emerging Asset-Less
Economy. Today, industry leaders account for a majority share of public APIs.
For example, over a 12-year period, Google has submitted 228 APIs to the
ProgrammableWeb Director of APIs.6
6
https://www.programmableweb.com/category/all/apis
13 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
DECOUPLE INTELLIGENCE
FROM ASSET
CORE FACTORS: FOR DEPLOYING A SUCCESSFUL PLATFORM

14. Currently, both the Sharing and Platform Economies are currently highly-
fragmented, as many platforms operate on local markets. This provides new
opportunities for disruptors, who seek to remove the barriers that prevent the
Sharing Economy from transforming into a truly global, all-embracing
phenomenon. An example of the ambitious disruptors in this realm include
ShareRing, whose blockchain technology has ambition to become a
marketplace for the Sharing Economy by enabling people to access any
asset available for share via a single platform.7
PLATFORMS BOLSTERING
COMPANY VALUATIONS
New entries in the S&P 500 over the last 10 years include a large number of
platform-centric companies, such as Facebook, PayPal, Netflix, and others.
Successful platform companies have seen their valuation grow much faster
than competitors. Netflix has experienced exponential growth in its valuation
over the past five years, while for other incumbent leaders it has remained
mostly flat.
7
https://www.nasdaq.com/article/blockchain-solutions-are-changing-the-sharing-economy-
cm965635
CHART SOURCE: All the market cap values were sourced from here http://www.macrotrends.net
Netflix: http://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/NFLX/market-cap/netflix-inc-market-cap-history
CBS: http://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/CBS/market-cap/cbs-corp-market-cap-history
Time Warner: http://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/TWX/market-cap/time-warner-inc-market-cap-history 21st
Century Fox: http://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/FOXA/market-cap/twenty-fst-cf-a-market-cap-history Disney:
http://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/DIS/market-cap/disney-walt-market-cap-history]
Market Capitalization for top 5 Media Companies
180
150
120
90
60
30
0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Year
Netflix CBS Time Warner Twenty First Century Fox Walt Disney
MarketCapitalization($Billion)
CORE FACTORS: FOR DEPLOYING A SUCCESSFUL PLATFORM
14 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS

15. In today’s smart, digital world, voluminous amounts of data are created at a
phenomenal pace. While historically most data remained confined within the
boundaries of pipeline business models, today’s APIs bring data to life and act
as the biggest disintermediator of products and services. Their disruptive
impact lies in the fact that they can sit at any point along the data value chain
and help companies open-up a broader world of consumers, third-party
developers and other platform providers. The resulting discoverability effect
can lead to the creation of new offerings and business partnerships. Therefore,
APIs are the core building blocks of platforms, and constantly hasten the
proliferation of the PlatformEconomy.
The ProgrammableWeb directory
of APIs surpassed the 19,000 mark in
January 2018. It’s growth in the past
decade has been exponential.
Chart Source: [https://www.programmableweb.com/news/research-shows-interest-providing- apis-
still-high/research/2018/02/23]
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Year
No.ofAPIs
API Growth Over Last Decade
19,000
15 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
BUILDING APIs TOBRING
YOUR PLATFORM TO LIFE
CORE FACTORS: FOR DEPLOYING A SUCCESSFUL PLATFORM

16. Recent history of API deployments
offers a rich collection of industry
leaders, including:
The Alexa Voice Service API avails the direct feed of Alexa data over which
third-party developers build cross-functional services. For example, at CES
2018, Panasonic announced a partnership with Amazon to integrate Alexa
features with their next-generation infotainment systems.2 This allow users to
interact with Alexa in online and offline mode while they are in their cars.
The DS GEO suite of APIs empowers Airbus partners and resellers to
promote satellite imagery online and create applications for end users.
Apollo Imaging used their Catalog API to create an end user-focused
service, which allows end users to develop and share highly up-to-date
maps online.3
2
https ://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/panasonic-announces-new-alexa-integration-for-
automobiles-300579169.html
3
http://www.geoapi-airbusds.com/
4
https://developer.ford.com/pages/applink
5
http://s08.static-shell.com/content/dam/royaldutchshell/documents/corporate/shell-
connected-car-api-brochure-2016.pdf
AppLink—a suite of APIs—provides mobile developers with the ability to extend
control of mobile applications to the in-vehicle infotainment system.
A sample use case of AppLink offers the control of an audio system (volume,
source, station, sound settings, etc.) to people in rear passenger seats.4
Shell’s Connected Car API5 is committed to enhancing customer
experiences while refueling cars. The API covers four key areas:
•Station Locator: it allows users to find the nearest fuelingstation
•Fill-Up and Go: it enables users to simply fill fuel and pay without entering
Shell shop locations
•Shell Drive: it allows users to test their driving skills and earn rewards for
efficient driving
•Loyalty: Shell’s motorist loyalty program allows them to earnreward points
from Shell stores
CORE FACTORS: FOR DEPLOYING A SUCCESSFUL PLATFORM
16 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
Amazon Ford
Airbus Shell

17. A platform-centric approach is rooted in the reimagination of the entire
business. A platform-based network becomes a sustainable ecosystem that
summons consistent innovation and growth at pace. As participants in the
Platform Economy, companies must ask themselves:
What business assets do they own?
Virtually every company has interconnected assets along the industry
value chain and internal product development lifecycle. They should be
reevaluated as opportunities for value creation.
What are attractive areas for exchange?
Reimaging a business gives it an idea about what areas within the value
chain can be leveraged for new value creation.
What capabilities are needed to start
driving transactions?
Companies should evaluate their existing infrastructure and their
competencies to enable the API strategy—scalability, security, etc.
17 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
ADOPTING A PLATFORM-
CENTRIC APPROACH TO YOUR
ORGANIZATION

18. Through these transactions, platforms have enabled entire new business and
monetization strategies. To visualize network enablement in an ecosystem
surrounding a company, we distinguish the players as Internal Teams, Suppliers,
End-Consumers, and Competitors. Each node appearing to the right provides an
additional and different value once connected through anAPI.
A SAMPLE ENTERPRISE ECOSYSTEM
Buyer Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/26/alibaba-and-ford-unveil-car-vending-ma-
chine-in-guangzhou.html
Supplier Source: https://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2016-17/doc/
sr16-abf-suppliers-factsheet.pdf
Buyer
Ecommerce platforms
like Alibaba
Internal Teams
IT, Marketing, Sales,
Engineering, etc.
Competitor
GM, Toyota, BMW, etc
End-Consumer
Supplier
Tier 1 suppliers like
Bosch, Delphi
ADOPTING A PLATFORM-CENTRIC APPROACH TO YOUR ORGANIZATION
18 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS

19. Automotive companies have been at the forefront
of platform-centric approaches and next
generation platforms.
Since it is an engineering-heavy industry vertical, API use cases mayseemingly
be less evident. Yet, in the immediate network of buyers, end-consumers,
suppliers, competitors, and internal teams around an enterprise, the following
use cases exist:
Buyers: Enterprises succeeding OEMs in the automotive value chain can
leverage APIs to obtain car offerings, accessory details, prices, reviews,etc.
End-Consumers: Connected cars yield a lot of use case examples for end
consumers. Theft and impact alerts can warn owners and enable them totake
prompt action.
Competitors: Smart traffic solutions can become highly-efficient with
connected cars. Different OEMs can enable their cars to interact throughAPIs.
Suppliers: Infotainment systems already offer a lot more than just stereo
systems. Automakers can collaborate with these suppliers to buildapplications
that deliver voice-enabled services.
Internal Teams: Supply chain management’s efficiency depends a lot on the
real-time update of inventory status. The IT infrastructure can provide a closer
partnership between procurement and manufacturing.
ADOPTING A PLATFORM-CENTRIC APPROACH TO YOUR ORGANIZATION
19 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS

20. A PLATFORM-CENTRIC
FUTURE
20 BUILDING NEXT GENERATION PLATFORMS
Industry leader and Cisco CEO,
Chuck Robbins, has noted that
he “. . . believe(s) that no one
company can deliver the full
breadth of technology solutions
that customers need at the pace
the market requires.”
Source: [https://www.inc.com/nathan-furr/innovating-at-the-intersections.html] Mr. Robbins
viewpoint is a testament to the broader industry perspective that the hastened adoption of next
generation platform has become the strategy of choice.
We have witnessed this platform-centric view become increasingly espoused
by CTOs, CIOs and CSOs alike, as they become frontline players to advance
this movement and as enterprises orchestrate this shift by reimagining their
businesses in terms of: monetization models, asset utilization, cross-industry
partnerships, and consumer use cases. The result is a completely new view
of the ecosystem(s) surrounding any organization, coupled with a mandate
to innovate that requires the establishment of connections within the
ecosystem(s). At its heart, APIs then emerge as the most important facilitator
for the establishment of those connections.
Platform-centric approaches further yield the opportunity to build strong
resilience towards risks and uncertainties. They offer an ability to identify
opportunities for innovation that can prove to be incredibly valuable to
consumers, who increasingly expect their products and services to be
connected. As consumer products and services become more connected each
day, the conditions for thriving network effects multiply as more users engage
platforms; ultimately, yielding previously unimaginable value and competitive
advantage, while reshaping how we all work, socialize, and compete for profits.

21. AUTHORS
Ram Ramalingam
ramadurai.ramalingam@accenture.com
In conjunction with Zinnov
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a
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About Zinnov
Zinnov is a global management and strategy consulting firm with core
expertise in globalization, product engineering advisory & digital
transformation services. Our insights leverage Zinnov’s proprietary Draup
Platform and our recommendations are easily actionable.
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