Harnessing ecosystems for growth and innovation

Companies need to exploit emerging tech to accelerate growth and stay competitive in a turbulent world. But many realize they can’t do it alone.

Instead, they’re designing ecosystems of third parties to help. In a recent survey of senior leaders by KPMG in the US, 83 percent said they plan to increase their partner network, including new alliances to improve innovation, market penetration, profitability, customer reach, and competitive agility. 

With advanced technology, talent, and leading practice, modern providers bring the top capabilities that companies say they want to partner on: digital transformation and risk management. Managed services providers deliver knowledge-intensive processes — from cloud platform management and employee learning to cybersecurity and regulatory compliance — on a multi-year, as-a-service subscription with predictable costs.

In the US survey, 75 percent of companies said ecosystem partnerships such as managed services are helping to accelerate growth through impacts such as:

• Navigating industry shifts: One of the hallmarks of modern managed services is embedded, industry-specific domain expertise. Whether it’s the changing anti-money-laundering regulations for financial services or the expanding cyberattack surface in industrial manufacturing, leading providers help organizations tackle the challenges that stand in the way of growth.

• Accelerating innovation: Few organizations have the internal resources to create or acquire robust tools that integrate generative AI, cloud, and analytics meaningfully, nor do they have the required talent to operate them. However, with digital triage from managed services and other providers in an ecosystem, companies can get into action more quickly while continuing to evolve with the market.

• Reducing cost: Companies are also looking to ecosystem providers for cost reduction; many find them in managed services. According to the global KPMG and HFS Research Managed Services Outlook Survey, 88 percent of buyers say enterprise-wide deployment of managed services will create a long-term cost advantage. 

A thoughtful approach to ecosystems is about long-term strategy, not short-term solutions for efficiency or technology. That means orchestrating numerous providers to drive a company’s growth objectives and, importantly, continually evolving the ecosystem to meet changing requirements.

In an environment of constant flux, when organizations need to build business functions that pivot at the speed of the market, managed services can be a critical part of the mix.