What do Airbnb, Uber, Amazon and Alibaba have in common? Their digital platforms are their biggest competitive advantage. Driven by an API-first philosophy, these digital adversaries tap into a global ecosystem of platforms and data with unparalleled growth potential. The rise of the sharing economy has demonstrated that APIs are the way forward if you want to have scalability, data agility and speed.

Architecting for a digital age means that IT organisations are willing to adopt a new mindset and culture. The IT department of the future is a digital visionary in domains such as architecture, applications, data and processes. It sees technology experimentation and open platforms as crucial enablers for business innovation.

In the new playbook, the governance model has fundamentally changed and the CEO – as Chief Architect – takes full ownership of the organisation’s business and IT architectures. In this constellation, the enterprise architect becomes the CEO’s primary wingman. He is in charge of continuously scouting the emerging tech landscape and on boarding new partners with the right capabilities to turn the business vision into a sustainable platform strategy

Digital is rewriting the playbook of both business and IT. With the right digital technologies, firms can develop alternative business models and tap into new revenue streams.
This, however, means entering an arena where digital adversaries have the capacity and sophistication to cause major disruptions in business operations and affect bottom line performance. Internet start-ups are outperforming traditional players thanks to technological advantages, deep data insight and a culture where agility rules and innovation is business as usual.