How to build a platform business using data? (Part 2)

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“Data intelligence is crucial towards driving growth.” 

This is a continuation of the previous article on how to build a platform business.  

How to build a platform business using data is through the synergy of utilizing your business networks and data. These are what allows your business to be smart and powerful in this digital age. When you conquer a solid working stream within these two activities, you then become very powerful and dangerous for your competition who has not done so yet!

Building the Yin and Yang of your business

As mentioned before by Dr. Ming Zeng, who is currently the Chairman and Academic Council of Alibaba Group, the combination of this in and yang of business will drive growth via new innnovations. 

New innovations like advancements from Artificial Intelligence to innovations in coordination based technology like blockchain will definitely spread and reinforce the importance of having data intelligence for your network coordinated activities. 

Managing Data Intelligence for your Coordinated Networks

Machine learning, large-scale computing and lots of data intelligence which have been gathered by your business should now operate continuously throughout your business ecosystem.

If data is collected properly from your coordinated networks, you should then be able to catch patterns to improve consumer experience, increase production efficiency, and hopefully your merchant margins too. 

For the Alibaba group, most of Alibaba’s data intelligence are spreading beyond their core e-commerce business to associated core platforms like the players of logistics and also payment and finance solutions.

Their core B2c e-commerce platform, Taobao, is said to be able to benefit these platform’s growth as they grow smarter and more coordinated. The double helix as mentioned earlier will continue to rotatet onward and upward as the various elements of data intelligence improve.

Examples of data intelligence activities

• Comprehensive AI Technology : Modern day solutions incoporates AI which greatly improves personalized search and recommendation on social media and search engines. Security and fraud protection and various customer services like chat bot managements are already there to benefit your business.

• Finance: From Ant Financial’s smart microloan business to  a comprehensive credit score system done by chinese companies, lots of overseas ecosystem have seen unprecedented growth through automated decisions of these platforms. On a local front, GRAB themselves are already looking towards offering services to help businesses like these. 

• Logistics: Alibaba’s affiliated data-driven logistics platform, the Cainiao Network, is currently able to work through a network of fulfillment partners, therefore enforcing smarter and more efficient operations.

Investing into Artificial Intelligence

Image Taken from Straitstimes.com

Some companies are dead serious into growing this part of their business, because they believe with data, only then you can conquer your market. 

Going back to my previous article on how much to spend for all these, always conduct your transformation step by step, and investing directly into building a network for your data intelligence should also be done incrementally. 

Figure out which are the crucial network coordination aspects of your business, then only figure out how to collect and store data from that activity.

Small steps towards growth is always better than investing in large sums of money that floods into the unknown.

Afterthoughts of Part 2

The opportunities to grow your business into a platform that has seamless coordinated network with other players is very much possible in this modern day due to digitization of many things. 

Notes on this article was adapted from  this book “Smart Business: What Alibaba’s Success Reveals about the Future of Strategy”, do check it out from your local bookstores! I highly recommend pouring the attention into it.

To read more in the Digital Transformation Series (Stay Tuned for More!)

1. Digital Transformation : An Introduction
2. Digital Transformation : How Much Should I Spend?
3. Digital Transformation : How to Build a Platform Business? (Part 1, Network Coordination)
4. Digital Transformation : How to build a Platform Business Using Data? (Part 2, Data Intelligence)

This will be a series of articles in regards to “Digital Transformation”  with BFM! Thanks to Jeff from BFM for this. We believe that businesses in Malaysia is still at it’s trial and error period, and hopefully with this series, we are able to bring more light towards pushing your business ahead in this digital era!

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