Which Ecosystem Modelling Tool Do You Use?

Which Ecosystem Modelling Tool Do You Use?

We all know that business ecosystems are complicated constructs. So my question to ecosystem practitioners and consultants is: Which Ecosystem Modelling Tool (as defined by Gartner) do you use?

One possibility is the Transformation Accelerator Tool from Tr3dent

This picture for example shows the key stakeholder map for the Uber Ecosystem. As you can see it allows senior management to view the ecosystem holistically immediately they can see:

• Which types of partners are involved?
• How does value flow through the system and to whom?
• How do each of the ecosystem participants interact with each other, and
• What services and / or products do each of the ecosystem players provide?

An Ecosystem Modelling Tool in Action

And here is a short overview video from the creator of the system @Kevin McCaffrey showing how easy and quick it is to create such maps and visualise individual relationships within the whole ecosystem.

A recent report from Gartner identifies the need for visually attractive roadmaps to engage business leaderships in dynamic discussions concerning ecosystems.

It goes on to make the point that :

The ability to refresh strategies and innovation options with changing inputs demands more than paper or productivity tools, since such tools do not scale. - Gartner Inc Market Guide for Strategy and Innovation Roadmapping Tools - ID: G00436312

Gartner has long supported the idea that alliances are critical to the success of business ecosystems. See for example the 2019 Gartner report entitled 'Build Alliances to Thrive in Business Ecosystems' in which analyst Kasey Panetta noted:

No matter the reason for the partnership, in the digital world, it’s important that CIOs understand the role of alliances in business ecosystems to turn economic connections into competitive advantages. CIOs must balance trust and control when creating a diversified engagement strategy. Building successful alliances in business ecosystems will position the CIO as orchestrator of the digital agenda.

Alliance Best Practice Ltd (ABP) has a very simple view on the development and increasing use of Ecosystem Modelling Tools which is:

1. Ecosystems are an established trend not a passing fad
2. Consequently ecosystem architects will need sophisticated tools to help them design, model and manage their ecosystems
3. Excel and Powerpoint are not up to the job.

So if you haven't assessed the value of ecosystem modelling tools yet, you may be interested in an online discussion that ABP is running with one of the foremost providers of ecosystem mapping and modelling tools? The company is called Tr3dent and the Tool is called Transformation Accelerator. You can register for the event here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/events/6922124408329273344/about/

We look forward to seeing you at the event!

About Alliance Best Practice Ltd (ABP)

Alliance Best Practice Ltd is a research and benchmarking company specialising in business to business collaborations. We have benchmarked over 800 alliances during the last 20 years and maintain a database of alliance best practices at?www.alliancebestpractice.com?The database is available to anyone who wishes to run alliance best practice assessments. If you would like to talk to us about your assessment and its implications please feel free to contact us here: [email protected]