In the digital economy, platforms are becoming an essential part of how we do business.
At the Digital Economy Department in the Surrey Business School, we’re among the first to put platform strategy at the centre of business education. Our new ‘Digital and Business Model Strategies’ module is a key offering in the new-design Executive MBA and Full Time MBA core course. This module joins the time-honoured and established modules on:
- Digital Fundamentals;
- Innovation Management and Design Thinking; and
- Strategic Entrepreneurship
The world is becoming digital. As part of this process of digitalisation we find that digital platforms are playing a larger part in our day to day lives. When we think of our encounters with platforms we tend to think of interactions with our smartphones running Android or iOS as well as the way we maintain our social networks through Facebook.
However, platforms and extends well beyond smartphones and keeping in touch with our networks, and is increasingly pervasive in industries such as banking, media, and retailing. Furthermore, as technologies such as the internet of things and artificial intelligence become realised, platform thinking will increasingly affect traditional and professional industries, and this will in turn impact upon us.
Understanding platform thinking, the principles of how platforms and platform industries work and the business models that they use, will help business negotiate and navigate the unpredictable road ahead.
At CoDE, and the Digital Economy Department, digital is our niche. This makes us a unique and pioneering force in executive education, delivering vital digital skills to businesses.
The module is co-taught by Professor Annabelle Gawer, who focuses on the strategic, economic angle, and Dr Ben Eaton, who tackles the business/technical ‘architecture’ question of changing business models in a digital world.
Find out more here about our Surrey MBA – it just may prove the smartest five weeks you’ve ever spent.
