Based on the international best-selling book Platform Revolution and the top 10 ranked HBR article, this keynote explains the shift from a world of linear pipelines to a world of networked platforms. Taking examples from multiple industries, it lays out the key drivers for this shift and a set of design principles that separate the successful platforms from the unsuccessful ones. Topics covered, in particular, include platform openness and governance decisions, launch and monetization strategies, and factors that lead to competitive advantage.

A topic requested often in board meetings and C-level offsites, this keynote is based on our extensive work with clients across different industries transforming to platform models. The keynote lays out a disruption spectrum and the factors that are powering the rise of platform-based models in industries like Energy, Healthcare, Finance, Mobility, and Manufacturing. It also lays out the structural inefficiencies that exist across industries that allow platforms to create alternate business models and pull user activity to themselves, eating away business from incumbents. The keynote explores impact of platform models across the value chain for a particular industry and patterns in cross-industry competition.

A topic frequently requested by our banking and manufacturing clients, this keynote lays out a framework of different positions that asset-heavy incumbent companies can take in the platform economy. It explains which parts of the business should transform to becoming platforms and which parts should choose to participate on other platforms. The keynote also lays out predictions on which firms are likely to get commoditized next.

China has rapidly emerged as not merely an imitator but an innovator in the platform economy. This keynote lays out the strategies of the successful BAT trio of platforms (Baidu-Alibaba-Tencent) as well as lesser known names like Toutiao and PingAn. It also explores the unique market and regulatory context that have helped these platforms take very different paths as compared to their Western counterparts. This keynote is frequently requested in Western Europe where companies and regulators alike are keen to understand the factors driving the dominance of Chinese platforms.