What is a collaborative business ecosystem?
The term “collaborative business ecosystem” describes many types of groups, generally composed of companies, academic and research institutions and government organizations that focus on a common area of interest and engage in inter-entity collaboration to bring solutions to market. Ecosystems are also often called Industry Alliances, Special Interest groups (SIGs) , Forum and Consortium. They exist in many markets including high-tech, clean/green energy, health care, safety and construction. The solutions can be take the form of a cause, an industry standard, a common development platform and community, a methodology to test and certify products or simply promote solutions that are already available.
Why would anyone do this versus going it alone?
There are many situations where going it alone makes sense. But new initiatives generally carry higher success risks, so it can often make just as much sense to bring key players together to develop or support a major building block, and build a market around that foundation. Companies still compete with each other on price, features, ergonomics etc. And buyers have greater assurance that products based on a foundation supported by the industry at large will work together. The Internet is a great example of how this approach benefits everyone.
Who are some of the member companies of Inventures' clients?
Our engagements add up to more than 10,000 private and public sector entities around the world, and include start-ups, tech heavyweights, academic institutions and government bodies. To get a better idea of who makes up our client communities, go to Client Profiles.
What services does Inventures provide to collaborative business ecosystems?
In a nutshell, we offer all the services you would need to develop, launch, manage and grow industry ecosystems around a structured collaborative framework. The ecosystems we create and structure are led by busy people who are typically taking time away from their paid jobs to provide volunteered effort. We provide people, a menu of services, and best practices to optimize the efforts of a volunteer army and help take an initiative from a blank piece of paper to a thriving market.
Why should I outsource instead of hiring staff?
You don’t have to. Plenty of organizations choose to have their own staff. But there are several main advantages Inventures offers. The first is experience. Since we manage many collaborative business ecosystems and have years of background, we have developed best practices that short-cut the learning curve. Secondly, we are able to share staffing across multiple clients, making Inventures less expensive than hiring full-time dedicated staff in many situations. Finally, like in any outsourced arrangement — whether it is a law firm, ad agency, accountancy or IT provider — managing a single vendor is more efficient.
What's unique about you and your services?
One key difference is our Life Cycle Management approach. We know ecosystems are subject to the same life cycle movements that apply to products and organizations. Different programs and strategies are necessary as organizations and products cycle through the Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline/Reset stages. We bring this approach to bear in all our engagements.
Our clients also benefit from our 15+ years of experience in this space and our involvement with more than 30 different ecosystems. We’ve "been there and done that." We know what works and, just as importanly, what doesn’t. Our solutions have been refined iteratively over the years
Finally our senior people come from many industries, with experience that cuts across technologies, markets and functions. This diversity of experience adds more operational and program management value that benefits all of our clients.
How do you engage with your clients?
We have a staged engagement that begins with development and structure and moves to market launch and finally ongoing services. We recognize that ecosystems have differing needs. That’s why we offer the flexibility to engage with us in full service or a la carte modes. In the a la carte mode, we offer our clients the option of consuming one or more of the services we offer on a standalone basis. In the full service mode we mix and match varying combinations of our services based on need and define predictable fees.
Do you only work with forming initiatives?
No. We are often approached by existing organizations seeking a new partner for specific things- consultation, ecosystem development, executive management, marketing services, technology and certification programs, virtual business operations, or the full range of services. Often, we help fill interim needs for these organizations, prior to their hiring their own staff. And we also work as extensions of organization staff.
Do you make anything?
No. We’re a pure play professional services company.
How do I get more information?
Call us at +1-925-275-6690 or send us email
