Digital Services and Business Models Viewpoint

The world is changing very fast. Every thing is becoming integrated whether it’s a human being, company, organization, city, nation, man-made system or natural system is becoming interconnected, instrumented and intelligent. This has put a lot of opportunities for organizations to think and act in new ways. But on the other hands it is compelling them to change the way they do the business and this change is economical, social and technical.

These days we see there are so many business models existing on the web. All are output of the new ways of doing business on the web. Some famous models covering a broad range of doing business include Brokerage, Advertising, Infomediary, Merchant, Manufacture (Direct), Affiliate, Community, Subscription and Utility.

Where do these models come from?
In my opinion they are just the output of company’s strategy and goals, especially when our focus is on the digital services. When we talk about services we always need to have vision, vision about how the service will function and what value it will create (for organization and for customers). If we are clear about these two questions, we would surely come-up with some business model, existing or creating a new one, after all digital services are the area of opportunity and provider of open business models.

When we talk about service innovations we do not have any predetermined business models and we come-up with one after the service is live. But on the other hand its also true Dumb Business Models and Dumb Businesses Get Eaten and we do not think about business models in advance. Is it because we are just too technology & device focused?

Think differently
Bus Shelters – a new type of business model
In the 1980’s, a manufacturing company made and sold bus shelters to communities in the United Kingdom.
Their bus shelters were high quality; pricing was considered reasonable and had a virtual monopoly on the bus shelter market.

Adshel’s business model
Within a few years, Adshel came into the market, and drove the existing firm out of business.
Adshel’s bus shelters were of no better quality, but their business model was entirely different. They provided the bus shelters to communities FOR FREE and charged advertisers for wall space on the shelters.

We also have a very good example of Britannica encyclopaedia replaced by Wikipedia.

So, in this interconnected, instrumented and intelligent world those who survived will be only those who are innovative and have foresight to see the future and are able to figure out the possibilities.

~ by zuhebhussain on October 23, 2009.