Leverage Hidden Potential in Your Current Technology Setup for Maximum Benefit
In today's fast-paced business landscape, companies are increasingly recognising the importance of deriving value from their existing technological assets. One such example is Axiata Group, a Malaysian company providing data pipes, mobile communication systems, billing, messaging, and location data. By creatively experimenting with their assets, they have transformed their business and opened new revenue streams.
Axiata's innovative platform, Ideamart, now boasts over 70,000 small businesses transacting. This initiative offers a concrete illustration of how companies can leverage their technological assets to foster innovation, expand their customer base, and unlock additional value.
**Opening Up Platforms for Third-Party Innovation**
Axiata's Ideamart serves as a platform where external developers can create new products and services using Axiata’s APIs, such as SMS, USSD, or billing systems. This approach turns Axiata’s existing telecom infrastructure into a sandbox that fosters innovation beyond the company's internal teams.
**Monetizing Data and Analytics**
Telecom companies like Axiata can utilize the vast amounts of data they collect from technology systems to provide insights or new services. By offering targeted advertising or predictive services to businesses, Axiata can unlock additional revenue streams.
**Extending Product and Service Offerings**
Through Ideamart, Axiata enables small and medium enterprises (SMEs) or startups to develop mobile solutions, effectively extending the company’s reach into digital services without heavy investment. This broadens the customer base and increases customer stickiness.
**Enhancing Internal Efficiency and Capabilities**
Repurposing existing technology assets to improve internal workflows, reduce costs, or speed up time-to-market is another effective strategy. Axiata uses the same APIs and platforms internally for rapid prototyping or automation in customer support.
**Creating Strategic Partnerships and Ecosystems**
Collaborating with startups, academia, or other enterprises that can add value using your technology is essential. Ideamart's developer community creates a network effect, attracting innovative startups that complement Axiata’s offerings, accelerating innovation and opening new markets through partner synergies.
**Lessons from Axiata Group’s Ideamart Initiative**
| Approach | Description | Value Derived | |------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------| | Platform for Developers | Open APIs for third-party app development | New revenue streams, innovation boost| | Data Monetization | Using customer/network data for insights | Additional income, targeted marketing| | Service Extension | Enabling SMEs to build mobile services | Market expansion | | Internal Efficiency | Using platforms for internal projects | Cost savings, faster innovation | | Partnership Ecosystem | Building a developer community | Synergies, ecosystem growth |
**Final Thought**
By treating existing technological assets not just as static infrastructure but as dynamic platforms and ecosystems, companies can unlock enormous additional value. Initiatives like Axiata Group’s Ideamart demonstrate how embracing openness, collaboration, and innovation can transform a traditional telecom asset into a vibrant engine for growth. This approach is not limited to the telecom sector and can be applied across various industries to drive growth and innovation.
- Engaging in third-party innovation, as demonstrated by Axiata Group's Ideamart platform, allows companies to leverage their technological assets, fostering innovation, expanding their customer base, and unlocking additional value, particularly within the finance, industry, and technology sectors.
- By monetizing their data and analytics, companies like Axiata can create new revenue streams, providing targeted advertising or predictive services to businesses in various industries, such as finance, business, or technology.
