Digital business models are all about companies creating, delivering and capturing value in our world’s digital economy. Such models transcend mere relevance and stand as a strategic necessity across multiple sectors and scales. In our current dotmagazine issue, we tap into factors that make such models exceptionally successful – including artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, infrastructure, security, domains and data flows – and simultaneously showcase how digital ecosystems can make all the difference in generating business values.
Driving innovation via AI
One of the primary technologies for digital business models in today’s world is clearly AI. This is highlighted by Saskia Steinacker from Bayer, who exemplifies her company’s focus on applying AI to address challenges in healthcare and agriculture, with practical examples including AI tools for medical imaging and Climate FieldView for precision farming. But Saskia also notes how Bayer has “moved to the cloud, ensuring the establishment of a robust ecosystem with a focus on high-quality and secure data.”
Unifying cloud ecosystems
With cloud increasingly serving as a core foundation for business models, there’s a rising recognition of the imperative to integrate data and workloads across multiple cloud environments. To this end, Dr. Christoph Dietzel from DE-CIX specifies how a multi-cloud ecosystem optimises connectivity to reduce latency and enhance security, with DE-CIX offering associated solutions such as Cloud Exchange and cloud-routing services. Such approaches foster healthy, diverse cloud ecosystems which enable both smaller and larger stakeholders to interact and generate value. This ethos is also echoed at CloudFest, the world’s top cloud computing event. An interview undertaken by eco’s Michael Hase with CloudFest’s organisers reveals how this year’s CloudFest event in Germany further elevated the ecosystem under the motto of “Uniting the Nations of Cloud,” with “collaboration” spelt out as the magic word in addressing cloud’s acceleration.
Pioneering the future of business ecosystems
Side by side with cloud providers, managed service providers (MSPs) also play a key role in supporting today’s businesses, given that MSPs deliver essential initiatives such as network, infrastructure and security. As reported by Thomas Amberg from ynvolve, 50 per cent of MSPs are now working in a collaborative ecosystem of other partners and vendors, thereby outperforming others by a wide margin. In offering core tips for unlocking the full potential of MSP ecosystems, Thomas underscores how embracing this approach is not just a trend but a strategic imperative for delivering value and cultivating trust in the years to come.
How ecosystems build trust
All in all, building trust is an essential format for all digital business models, with ecosystems maximising such trust to drive unparalleled success. For example, in utilising domains such as ccTLD (Country Code Top-Level Domains), businesses can gain a trustworthy and competitive advantage by establishing themselves as local entities, as reported by Simone Catania from InterNetX. He proceeds to explain how European ccTLDs play a significant role in the digital landscape, serving as trust and local presence markers for businesses operating online. In highlighting trends such as the affordability of acquiring European ccTLDs, Simone indicates a dynamic market where businesses may strategically choose their domain extensions based on factors like cost and regional relevance.
Fostering trust is also a vital structure for smooth data flows in businesses. In this context, Jasmin Jabbarpour from the Lisbon Council showcases TANGO’s innovative ecosystem solution which facilitates secure and sustainable cross-sector data management. As Jasmin points out, through a robust framework encompassing technology, data governance and user experience, TANGO seeks to empower digital business models while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
As has been showcased by this month’s dotmagazine, collaborative ecosystems for all digital business models navigate the complexities of the digital landscape with confidence and innovation. For each and every company out there, these digital business models and ecosystems stand as the clear path to the future.
