Page 103 - Transforming an Idea Into a Business with Design Thinking

82 ◾ Transforming an Idea Into a Business with Design Thinking

happening to other products. Some examples include Software-as-a-
Service, Platform-as-a-Service, Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Book-as-a-
Service, Car-as-a-Service, Jet Engine-as-a-Service, Fuel-as-a-Service.
Every industry is exploring and experimenting with As-a-Service
business models.
– Digitalization of physical products is also presenting novel business
model ideas. Those products which used to be physical are now
becoming digital. Examples include encyclopedias, books, maga-
zines, home keys, medical records, training and education.
– Data-driven business models will dominate the future of every
industry. The human race has produced more data in the past two
years than was produced cumulatively since the first homo sapi-
ens walked on Earth. With the advent of massive social network-
ing platforms enabling users to share not just text but multimedia
content, the rise of internet-enabled devices (often called the
Internet-of-Things or IoT) and online systems, the amount of data
generated every minute is staggering. It is going to continue grow-
ing at an exponential pace, generating massive amounts of data.
Start-ups and enterprises are investing massive amounts of capital
in gaining insights from this data and enabling data-driven busi-
ness models where the revenue is generated from selling insights
from the data rather than the data itself.
◾◾ Competition. You must look at the current and future competitive trends
that will be impacting your business model. Remember that competition
is not considered just as a direct product substitute. Instead, your com-
petition is anything that replaces the need to use your solution to solve
the user’s problem. For example, for McDonald’s, competition is not
just Burger King, Carl’s Junior or other fast-food chains; competition for
McDonald’s is every restaurant, grocery store and home kitchens that
serve or help users cook not just the three meals a day but also snacks
and drinks.
◾◾ Industry. It is also important to consider the emerging trends in the
industry you are playing. From the business model discussion earlier,
you can appreciate that your industry is likely going to be encroached
by players and dynamics outside your industry domain. Having a wider
lens to understand industry trends inside and outside your industry will
be beneficial to crafting your business model.
◾◾ Macroeconomic. Business models aren’t crafted in vacuum. Your com-
pany, your team, customers, partners and offices are all part of the