Staying ahead of the curve is crucial to long-term business success. According to a recent survey by management consulting firm Deloitte, 57 percent of CEOs plan to implement new technologies into their business models to find growth opportunities.
If you want to help your company grow in a dynamic market, a digital platform course can provide the strategic insights and practical skills to harness technology, drive innovation, and compete.
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DOWNLOAD NOWWhat Are Digital Platforms?
Digital platforms are business models that use online infrastructure to facilitate interactions between groups. They generate value and revenue through:
- Transaction fees
- Advertising
- Data monetization
Platform businesses are prevalent across industries. For instance, social media channels like Facebook and YouTube connect billions of users, while online marketplaces like Amazon facilitate millions of transactions.
“Some of the largest, most valued companies today are platforms,” says Harvard Business School Professor Feng Zhu, who teaches the online course Winning with Digital Platforms, “and you need to know why they’re so successful and how to work with them to stay competitive.”
If you’re interested in transitioning to a platform business model or want to launch your own, here are four benefits you can expect from taking a digital platform course.
4 Benefits to Expect from a Digital Platform Course
1. Streamlined Digital Transformation
Starting a platform company can bolster your digital transformation strategy—but managing that strategy isn’t always easy. A digital platform course can prepare you to communicate your vision and business goals to gain employee buy-in.
It can also enable you to lead digital transformation initiatives by providing insights into platform companies' strategic, operational, and technological aspects.
“Companies transition to a platform model for many reasons,” Zhu says in Winning with Digital Platforms. “For one thing, the fact that more and more companies are becoming platforms means that you could lose ground to competitors who’ve capitalized on the benefits of platform transformation if you fail to make the jump.”
2. Enhanced Decision-Making
Beyond streamlining digital transformation, taking a digital platform course can enhance your leadership decision-making.
For example, studying data network effects can help you focus on attracting users and enhancing your offerings. Consider how Netflix became one of the most successful global media companies. By analyzing viewing habits, search queries, and ratings, it identified users’ preferences and created a successful content recommendation system.
Each business faces unique challenges in the digital age. A digital platform course can equip you with the insights and strategies to address those challenges and make impactful, data-driven decisions.
3. Improved Business Growth
Understanding how platform business models generate growth can pay dividends for your organization.
For example, in Winning with Digital Platforms, Zé Delivery CEO Rodolfo Chung explains how the beverage delivery platform expanded into new markets with the help of its parent company, AB InBev, to meet increased demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Using AB InBev’s established infrastructure and sales teams, Zé Delivery tapped into over 300 cities throughout Brazil in a matter of weeks. That swift expansion ensured the platform could meet home delivery demand, maintain high service levels, and capture market share during a critical period.
Zé Delivery is just one real-world case that demonstrates how platform partnerships can significantly impact business strategy.
Related: What to Expect from HBS Online’s Winning with Digital Platforms Course
4. Demonstrated Leadership Potential
Transitioning from an individual contributor to a leadership role can be challenging in today’s digital platform landscape. An effective way to demonstrate your potential and commitment to developing digital leadership skills is by taking a course that teaches you how to:
- Use network effects to overcome the chicken-or-egg problem
- Define the most important characteristics of economies of scale
- Explain dynamic pricing’s benefits and drawbacks
One of the most important aspects of a digital platform course is the emphasis on taking calculated risks and fostering innovation in the workplace. Both are crucial to effective leadership because they enable you to drive growth, adapt to changing market conditions, and pursue opportunities.
Enroll in a Digital Platform Course
If you’re ready to take the next step in your career, a digital platform course is an effective way to prepare.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur or early-career professional, an online course like Winning with Digital Platforms offers the flexibility to learn from industry leaders on your schedule from anywhere in the world.
Are you considering enrolling in a digital platform course? Explore Winning with Digital Platforms—one of our online digital transformation courses—and download our free online learning success guide to take the next step in your educational journey.