The value of technology ecosystems

Building a tech ecosystem means more than creating partnerships and compiling an app stack. It means creating effective and functional technology threads that can fulfil the entire spectrum of customer needs.
As such, it comes to no surprise that technology partnerships and integrations are more and more a reality of the tech industry. In simple terms, there is no need to reinvent the wheel when someone else already has the blueprints to it.

The disruption is digital and the struggle is real

Developing solutions that shift the paradigm is no longer enough. No matter how strong your solution is, if you want to gain a strategic advantage you need to have an open and agile technology. Who you partner with and what integrations you can enable have become crucial factors in deciding your success.
Taking a look at the most successful examples of vertical integrations, we have FinTech, one of the greatest European market disruptors, followed closely by MarTech and GreenTech.
We even have examples of unlikely partnerships, like Spotify and Waze. They are both marked leaders in their respective fields and, at a first glance, they seem to have nothing in common. However, they spotted a common goal in keeping the driver engaged. They found a specific value within each other, covered the needs of their common customers, and increased the influx of new customers.

The era of monolithic siloed solutions is on its last legs. The future belongs to tech ecosystems: solutions capable of interacting and interoperating with third parties and vendors.

Best of both worlds

Digital agencies have the choice between best-of-suite and best-of-breed solutions. While there are some clear advantages with best-of-suite solutions, like straight-forward integration, more stability and security, and most of the time, a single point of contact, the more long-term, beneficial choice is best-of breed. Agencies do gain flexibility, reduced costs in the long run, scalability etc. there still are some drawbacks when it comes to integration.

When you build a tech ecosystem you can offer your clients the best of both worlds: stability, security, flexibility, scalability and, above all, seamless integrations. In essence, a technology ecosystem is an integrated best-of-breed solution.

Reduced customer acquisition costs

The cost of getting a customer to buy your solution is visibly reduced for both you and your technology partners. When you sell an integrated solution the sales cycle and the costs per lead are decreased, and it automatically reduces the costs of acquiring and onboarding new customers.
The math is simple, the more integrations you can offer, the more you can increase your possible customer base and revenue opportunities.

Open the door for coopetition

Today’s tech consumers have reached a maturity that changed their objectives to growth, improvement and overall evolution. Offering an individual solution is no longer sustainable and far from enough.
Partnering and building integrations can foster an environment of competition and collaboration. This in turn enables the stimulation of innovations, new technology development, obtaining complementary resources, and, in the end entering new markets.

Where to start

We recently launched our own tech ecosystem at Storyblok and we can impart some advice from our journey.

First things first, starting a tech partnership begins with a clear understanding of both parties about each other’s unique strengths and competitive advantages.
Great partnerships are defined by these 3 crucial factors: mutual trust, mutual need, and a vision for a long-term relationship. This shared vision consists of an alignment in terms of objectives and desired outcomes.

Inevitably, just as important as having a strategic plan is also a plan for the possible end of that relationship.
Lastly, don’t be afraid to think outside the box and add to your ecosystem integrations with solutions outside your field.