"Your profit is my opportunity for growth"
The Internet is disappearing: it sounds strange, but digital density
The business environment today is at the forefrontdigitalization: companies of the previous generation are being replaced by new corporations that are building their business models according to new, digital principles. According to MIT professors Peter Weil and Stephanie Warne, there are at least four business models for next-generation organizations. They differ in their proximity to the user, work to create a better customer experience, and participation (or, conversely, non-participation) in the ecosystem.
An ecosystem, according to MIT, is a collectionproducts and services in non-overlapping verticals: mobile communications, banking, food tech, streaming, e-commerce, and so on. In turn, they benefit from the network effect of a single customer base, cross-selling, brand and digital technology. The growth of digital density has already led to the fact that the share of ecosystems has surpassed traditional industries: the total capitalization of the top 10 ecosystems in the world (Apple, Amazon, Google, etc.) is three times higher than the capitalization of the top 10 oil and gas corporations (BP, Shell and others).
The consumer paradigm is also changing:the user now wants to get everything in one place, and if possible, then with one click on a smartphone. The business model that best reflects this approach is called an “ecosystem driver” and combines full integration into the ecosystem and maximum proximity to the user.
Ecosystems scale easily withoutpractically no physical limitations, and most importantly, they keep up with the "digital user" who is characterized by "windy behavior": "Today I want this, tomorrow I want that." This is how online companies begin to go offline in order to satisfy the growing needs and appetites of shareholders, to “capture” more and more segments of the economy and to occupy even industries that are not typical for themselves. The huge financial reserve and consumer confidence lead to the fact that large IT players (digital ecosystems) monopolize entire industries, subordinating their business strategies to the simple truth, which was voiced by the permanent Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos: "Your profit is an opportunity for my growth." ...
Everyday interface: everything in one button
Amazon's dominance is easily explained ifconsider it not from the point of view of an ordinary company (even a large and global one), but from the point of view of a commercial platform, an ecosystem that has become an intermediary between manufacturers of various goods or services and end consumers. And Bezos's main "trick" is that as it grows and expands, absorb or neutralize more traditional intermediaries - regular offline stores or supermarkets. The other side of Amazon's success: investment and data.
The main goal is to neutralize all competitors -even if it brings losses to Bezos in the short term, it ends up making Amazon even more ubiquitous. Due to the analysis of data (they are collected using various programs that are offered to the user as profitable subscriptions, conditions, etc.), the company already knows the habits of its consumers, which means that it may be one step ahead of its even potential competitors (they simply do not have the opportunity and access to such a huge amount of information). In essence, Amazon sees the future - services that are likely to appeal to their customers (or attract new users to the platform).
Another Amazon direction is attractionretailers. Small companies can integrate with the platform, sell their products on their own behalf, but inside Amazon. It seems that the IT giant is thus enabling small companies to do their thing. The flip side of such cooperation is all the same data that the platform collects. Ultimately, small retailers are simply pushed out because Amazon is able to meet all the needs of their customers and also offer them something new.
At the end of August 2020, Amazon received official permission to deliver packages using drones. Thus, Bezos’ brainchild acquired the status of an air carrier.
Although the US FAA approval does not mean the start of mass air cargo delivery, it does allow Amazon to provide this service on a commercial basis.
The next major step in commercialOperation of courier drones will be finalized by the FAA air traffic regulations for them, expected by the end of the year. In particular, the requirements for transponders and flights over people will be specified.
Traditional investment activity in thisThis is the perfect match for Amazon's technology savvy to build and upgrade digital retail infrastructure - both online and now offline.
Comparing Jeff Bezos's platform to otherscommercial platforms - Uber, Airbnb and Facebook, Amazon is distinguished by an impressive range of industries that the platform has already captured (and even partially monopolized): cloud technologies, e-commerce, the geek platform Amazon Mechanical Turk for outsourcing employee search, digital media, offline - retailing and much more. And Bezos started out trading books, but who will remember that now?
One of the success factors is the integration of software andhard. Thanks to the Kindle, Echo, Alexa and, in fact, Amazon.com, the company has created such a global consumer ecosystem that its customers may not even look at other players in the retail world.
Not just a bank
On the eve of the largest in the history of Sberbankconference "SberConf" on September 24, 2020, within the framework of which the bank plans not only to announce a full-fledged transformation of its own ecosystem, but also to present several new products and services, the network received information that the Sberdevices company, part of the bank's ecosystem, will present a smart set-top box with your own voice assistant. Thus, Sberbank will officially become one of the companies that operate in the Internet of Things and smart technologies industry, and a new competitor to Alice, Marusya and Oleg will appear on the Russian market.
The new set-top box will be able to manage personalfinance with the help of voice - the version of such an assistant in smartphones allows bank customers to make payments, transfer money to each other, change card PIN-codes, check account balances, find out exchange rates, etc.
As the sources explained, the device will have a gesture control function, with which the user will be able to adjust the operation of the column, navigate the menu and select content.
Experts have already noted that devices withThere is no full-fledged voice assistant in such a form factor as Sberbank will have on the Russian market, the main advantage of the device is deep integration with TV and video.
Creating our own ecosystem Sberbankhas been operating for several years, absorbing other players in various segments and offering, through collaborations, new services that were previously unavailable to bank clients.
According to the head of Sberbank German Gref, the speechis about creating a very convenient system around a person for providing a range of services necessary for his life. "A set of services that is completely seamless, very convenient for you - with minimal loss of time, in very high quality and for little money - can be provided by one company."
Sberbank also has its own vision of bezosstrategy. In the Russian version, it sounds like this: "Your problem is our opportunity." At the same time, German Gref emphasizes that this is not about creating an ecosystem for Sberbank, but for its clients.
“This is a system where the client is the main person andthe main conductor of this ecosystem. We are secondary to the client. <…> If we see that you have some kind of problem, then we are already figuring out how to solve it,” says Gref.
Indeed, today the assets of Sberbank have a wholea range of services that in the traditional sense can already be considered a full-fledged ecosystem, which simply does not have analogues: SberFood, SberMobile, SberAuto, SberProfile, SberMarket, Okko online cinema, Sberbank corporate university, Internet publications Lenta.Ru, Gazeta.Ru, Rambler, Afisha.Ru portals and others.
In the next two years, Sberbank plans to increasetheir profit from non-bank assets up to 10% (today it is about 2-3%). By comparison, Netflix's market value is nearly half of JPMorgan's total assets, although their profits are incomparable. Therefore, for Sberbank it is not just a matter of profit, it is a matter of assessing the company's value.
For four years the management of Sberbankhas invested over $ 1 billion in non-financial assets ranging from e-commerce to recruitment and healthcare services. The bank intends to develop advanced technologies and enter new areas to ensure the successful development of the company in the future.
“We want to be a high-tech company, butwith a banking license, ”said Lev Khasis, First Deputy Chairman of the Bank's Management Board. He also stressed that the bank is distinguished by an exceptionally conservative approach to investment, so money is invested only in proven and promising assets.
From laptops and smartphones to charity and the internet of things
In 2019, the Apple App Store ecosystem broughteconomy of more than $ 500 billion. And a study by independent economists from the Analysis Group showed that the largest sources of income were applications for mobile commerce, e-commerce of goods and services, and in-app advertising. According to experts, the rapid innovative activity of the apple corporation has led to the fact that in 175 countries of the world the ways of teaching, working and communicating have completely changed.
Apple direct payments to developersaccounted for only a small fraction of the huge total revenue from various sources, such as profits from the sale of physical goods and services. Apple only receives commissions for payments related to electronic goods and services, so over 85% of the total comes from third-party developers and companies of all sizes.
“The App Store has become where innovatorsand dreamers can turn their ideas into reality, and users can find reliable and safe tools to solve any problem, ”said Tim Cook, Apple CEO. “In these turbulent and turbulent times, the App Store provides sustainable opportunities to earn money, stay healthy, educate yourself and create jobs. It helps people quickly adapt to the new conditions of a changing world. We will continue to support the global App Store community, from individual developers in nearly every country in the world to large companies with thousands of employees. They all embody new ideas every day, create jobs and ensure long-term economic growth. ”
The COVID-19 pandemic and socialdistancing only played into the hands of the IT giant: people began to spend more time with their mobile devices, and social networking applications allowed people to stay connected even in self-isolation. Demand for food delivery applications has increased, and demand for applications for businesses that face constraints or require face-to-face interaction has plummeted. Many offline companies have switched to mobile commerce, and without an alternative digital platform, many of them would have to close.
The App Store opened in 2008. Today it is the world's largest and one of the safest app stores in the world, with nearly 2 million apps available and half a billion visitors in 175 countries every week.
One of the main success factors for the Apple ecosystemthey call it isolation: the company itself produces devices, develops the OS itself, and if a device (accessory) from a third-party brand appears in the ecosystem, then Apple will certify it (HomeKit gadgets, for example).
One of the Chinese IT giants - Xiaomi, moremost famous for its smartphones, has long gone beyond its traditional segment. In addition to numerous IoT devices and work in research, science, and medicine, the corporation recently announced its entry into the self-help industry. The Xiaomi Huzhu platform, which was presented in June 2020, allows its subscribers to request financial assistance for the treatment of complex and serious diseases. As such, Xiaomi has competed with other Chinese tech companies that have already launched their crowdfunding platforms.
Business processes of the platform are managed by XiaomiFinance, the financial technology arm of the smartphone vendor. In addition, the smartphone maker will make the platform available through the app and the company's official WeChat account.
According to company representatives, people canjoin the platform without prepayment and request up to 500,000 yuan ($ 70,647) for the treatment of serious illnesses, including children. In addition, participants will be able to receive 24/7 real-time medical advice, seven days a week.
The list of diseases that will be approved forassistance, 82 basic diagnoses and 10 serious ones were included. However, it is not yet clear how much revenue the platform will bring to the company, as well as how its implementation will affect the segment of Internet services in China, which grew by 5.1% in annual terms alone to 2.5 billion yuan.
Korean corporation Samsung remains in the centerits ecosystem of smartphones, which still remain the flagships and main competitors for Apple products. But at the same time, Samsung makes a lot of different devices: tablets, headphones, smart watches, TVs, and laptops in some markets. Various services, virtual reality, development of applications and visual content, emphasis on the creation of photo and video products - all these are elements of one Samsung ecosystem. It is convenient to interact with each of the devices using the entire line.
You can control the watch wearable from your smartphonedevices, headphones, write some notes, and then continue working on them already on the Samsung Galaxy Tab. At the same time, all synchronization is seamless. The Koreans still have gaps in the diversification of verticals that would bring them profit, but judging by the large-scale development of the corporation, more and more new services will appear soon. The competition between ecosystems is intensifying, so the one who comes to the unoccupied segment first wins.
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