Only 48% of digital initiatives meet or exceed their business outcome targets,” found a recent Gartner survey.
Seen in light of analyst observations that digital strategy and business strategy have now become “one and the same,” this success rate is hardly desirable.
In our experience working with enterprise CTOs, we see that the digital transformation landscape is fraught with challenges. A large bank that began its transformation journey with point solutions stumbles to integrate them effectively. A global retailer using legacy e-commerce struggles to scale.
In the above cases—and many others—a robust platform strategy is one of the few effective approaches. Yet, ‘platform’ is one of those words that has warped itself into confusion.
Before we get into why, when and how to use a platform strategy, let’s first be clear on what it is.