Accenture rises to unique challenges of platform businesses

Six of the world’s top 10 companies by market capitalization are “platform businesses”—born-digital tech companies that provide a platform for multiple businesses to trade with consumers. Uber, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Spotify are all platform businesses.

Platform businesses have become an irresistible customer segment for IT and business process services (BPS) providers. However, few providers have been able to crack the code required to work with them. Accenture has spread its tentacles far and wide in this space, capitalizing on an early-mover advantage, tailored offerings, an agile mindset, and management consulting chops. It successfully works with hundreds of platform tech leaders and disruptors worldwide, achieving outcomes such as securing VC funding, making companies IPO ready, expanding into new geographies, and developing platform strategies to help place technology bets.

Platform businesses are often associated with a business ecosystem in which the ecosystem members can access a platform’s capabilities, functions, and customers. Uber provides a well-known example. The producers (the Uber drivers) use Uber’s technology platform to find and serve customers (their passengers).

Platform businesses need providers that can keep up with their rapid growth and diverse needs

Compared to traditional companies, platform businesses grow much faster (up to 20X). Customer acquisition, new feature introduction, and regional expansion are often non-linear. They need providers with offerings that can scale at speed.

Although tech is the core strength of platform businesses, they require help with tasks like running day-to-day operations, expanding in new geographies, taking new technology bets, maintaining integrity, and enhancing customer experience. Platform businesses’ outsourcing requirements transcend those of traditional companies to include services such as IPO readiness, trust and safety, platform adoption, and platform enablement. Here players such as Accenture enter the fray with a large scale of operations, targeted offerings, and technology acumen.

Accenture has a mature platform practice and deep competencies

Accenture is establishing a leadership position in this space. For example, no other provider has a dedicated business practice or unit for the platform economy.

Accenture has been working with platform businesses for almost a decade. It formally established its Software and Platforms business practice seven years ago. Clientele includes ride-sharing companies, social media platforms, internet firms, fintech, edtech, high-tech, e-commerce players, and marketplaces. It has 275 tech providers supporting its engagements with the platform economy.

Accenture has helped 10 unicorn clients expand into 15 global markets, and its top 30 unicorn clients have raised tens of billions of dollars in VC funding supported by Accenture’s investment strategy work.

Accenture has formulated platform business offerings spanning growth, customers, products, marketing and sales, operations, and people. The primary offerings include

• Platform strategy, including data-driven market analysis, competitive analysis, international expansion, ecosystem planning, M&A, and transformation.
• Platform engineering, including building the product, data services, and infrastructure required to operate a platform.
• Platform adoption, including identifying, attracting, and engaging the ecosystem players required for a successful multi-sided platform.
• Platform integrity, including trust and safety, operational integrity, platform security, and platform enablement.
• Other offerings include IPO readiness, large language models and generative AI solutions, and metaverse strategy and solutions.

The Bottom Line: During the hypergrowth phase, platform businesses may be ill-equipped to handle scaling challenges. That’s when help from service providers makes sense.

Historically, platform businesses have followed an insourcing model, retaining most of their tech and business operations. However, over the past five years, they realized that while they were great at innovation, there were multiple tech-cum-business aspects, such as trust and safety, where they required support. HFS expects to see more service providers further committing to this space with dedicated business units and tailored offerings.