A platform business provides/enables an omni channel tailored experience through which it facilitates the exchange of value. The technology used to enable such a platform business model are, in many cases, the same foundational technology elements that we find in a technology platform but orchestrated in a different way to deliver value through a different business model or typically in an ecosystem.
It started with the launch of internet banking and applications that allowed customers to do more self-service using electronic channels. Soon each financial services provider had a set of multi channel engagements that were giving access to a quickly ageing legacy technology platform. The expansion of telcos towards financial services to explore alternative revenue streams is something we are all very familiar with.
The Service model is centered around delivering a superior customer experience that makes offerings easy to implement, adopt, renew and expand. When it comes to designing the customer experience, traditional businesses tend to use the waterfall approach that is common in the technology industry, where a product Is built for what It can do, instead of what customers need It to do.
Another advantage of this purpose-built subscription infrastructure is that it makes it easier to integrate acquired SaaS or subscription software companies into the company’s transaction systems, which can eliminate a lot of unwanted manual processing. It is critical to incorporate security and compliance into the service delivery platform, as well as a robust disaster recovery capability, and to consistently manage to the Service Level Agreement (SLA) that has been defined with the customer.