Ecosystems

Topics: Strategy & Innovation

Mads Kunø
Strategy Director
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The business landscape has changed. The once linear path from demand to supply has been replaced by constantly evolving and complex systems of connected value-generating services, activities and entities.

Future-proof your business through ecosystem thinking

For businesses to succeed, they need to take action and adopt an ecosystem mindset to ensure the continued creation and enablement of value.

To do so, tools, methods and processes are needed in order to act at scale and with speed.

Below, we'll provide you with an introduction to how we design and strategise at the forefront of the ecosystem-economy, shaping everything that's next in business innovation.

"A business ecosystem is an environment-specific community or group, consisting of internal and external connected entities, collaborating in numerous configurations in a circular value exchange."

How we define a business ecosystem Manyone

Designing Ecosystem Strategies Masterclass at Service Design Days 2022 in Barcelona

A strategic force

Business in the connected world

The complexity of today's markets radically alters the core tenets that shape a successful business. Competition is no longer only found within a specific industry, but more often than not, it emerges from players in other industries.

The rapid evolution of technology and new business models also plays a big part in the perception of competitive advantages – most advantages are short-lived, putting a larger impetus on a business to stay adaptable at scale.

Add that consumer expectations are changing at speed. Increasingly, consumers value those businesses that can meet their rapidly shifting expectations. A recurring expectation is a mantra of integrating sustainability into everything. No business today will stay relevant unless sustainability forms a core part of a businesses value.

Case: Google research study

Ecosystems as a key strategic force

In a study for Google, we interviewed twenty-five top-tier CEOs across the biggest Brazilian corporations to discover what is top of mind for them. A major finding was that their industry boundaries are becoming contested and redrawn as the traditional sector-based view reaches its limits. A more systemic approach or strategy was identified as a key factor that is important for them to adapt to the change in the organisational landscape. Three key insights were:

Insight 1: A strategic lever

They all believed that as boundaries become blurred, there is a need for a strategic approach that is more flexible. They see ecosystems as a common mindset solution for preparing for the future, internally and externally.

Insight 2: Vague definitions

Across their businesses, interviewees stated different definitions and purpose of use, pointing towards a shared outline and common language as to why and how to adapt to ecosystems strategies.

Insight 3: No clear next steps

All interviews pointed towards the challenge of moving from idea to execution. Visualising the future state and how to get there is difficult. A clear plan for long-term impact and short-term action is needed.

Design process

Democratising futures thinking with ecosystem design

Businesses that engage in futures thinking are able to address long-term problems and innovate - not just react, but navigate and thrive in the future. An ecosystem approach gives you a big picture view.

It helps you understand the existing landscape to identify directions for further study and experimentation using signals and trends to predict the future.

The ecosystem design process

The ecosystem design process has four phases, moving from the initial understanding of a need, to the final execution of ecosystem entities, all with different focuses, specific actions and assets.

1 – Recognise & mobilise

Understanding of the purpose to change, and a need for a new approach – ecosystem thinking.

2 – Understand & prepare

Execution of research and internal analyses to start the transition – what does status-quo look like?

3 – Design & probe

Visualise and prototype the future-state to establish a testable vision – a fast visual representation.

4 – Strategise & execute

Detail the elements of the vision state, prototyping to validate assumptions and detail the roadmap.

Ecosystem design toolkit

We have created a series of specific and tangible and workshop with the sole purpose of understanding, designing and strategising business ecosystems.

The toolkit consists of

+ The Blueprint Canvas
+ The Vision Canvas
+ Worldview Drivers
+ Participant Inspiration
+ Brain-questions

Manyone's ecosystem services

How we help organisations approach ecosystem design

Inspiration sessions

Establishing the fundamentals of the ecosystem mindset and its implications for business, its participants, and the environment. An introduction to the Ecosystem Design Process and how to get started.

Ecosystem design

What does the future look like? Based on an established collective intuition, we tailor a process for embarking on a full-scale strategic ecosystem design, shaping a future vision and strategic plan of execution.

Masterclass workshop

Using a "teach-the-teacher" approach, we get hands-on and start utilising the Ecosystem Design Toolkit based on an actual case or scenario. Learning the process, its methods and how to start execution.

Collaboration workshop

Joining forces allows us to address more significant problems than we can alone. In this co-creation workshop, businesses from various sectors come together to address complex problems and craft joint solutions.

Explore more of our services

Ecosystems white paper

Adapt, shape, evolve: Designing ecosystem strategies

In a fluctuating landscape, we believe a business can grow and stay relevant by adopting an ecosystem strategy. A strategy designed to help businesses adapt and evolve to the constantly changing expectations. A strategy to help businesses understand, leverage and reconfigure internal as well as external connections to the benefit of the business, consumers and users, and the environment.

To get started with an ecosystem strategy, we’ve collected tools and insights to help your business take action in our white paper. The framework presented in the white paper can be used as a diagnostic tool to assess the current state of the business, and as an actionable approach to combine strategy and design to reveal gaps and potential opportunities for continuous change and growth.

The ecosystem white paper is structured so it can be used by most businesses. For those businesses that are taking their first steps into adopting an ecosystem mindset, and for those where it comes as second nature. Depending on their level of integration into an ecosystem mindset, we share a model based on four stages of action – each focusing on how to navigate a specific level of ecosystem integration.

The models are seconded by the Worldview Design Principle, an actionable approach to help businesses build a collective intuition that can help them navigate the business landscape of today.

Click the download button below for a free copy of the white paper: Adapt, shape, evolve: A framework for designing ecosystem strategies.

Download the white paper

Our work in ecosystems

The fiber roll-out in Germany by 2030 is an ambitious project with a goal of nationwide coverage. Deutsche Telekom AG aims to deliver the main part of fiber coverage for this goal and take the opportunity to further provide an outstanding user experience.

A production-ready electric vehicle and a brand new business model. Defining the mobility ecosystems of the future. Delivered in 18 months, an unprecedented short time frame for the automotive industry.

Designing ecosystem strategies – shaping future businesses