AE Stories

Fires in Australia, floods in Venice, windstorms in Flanders and rising sea levels all over the world: there is no doubt in most people’s minds that the recent natural disasters are not just a random series of events. Yet we still tend to forget that climate change concerns each of us, demanding concrete actions and investments from nations, organizations and citizens alike. The task at hand is definitely not an easy one, but here’s the upside: climate change and the need to lower CO₂-emissions in particular spark entrepreneurship, drive research and innovation, and even create new jobs (albeit it in other domains than the traditional ones). If successfully tapped into, the war on climate change will lead to better and healthier lives for all. But where to start? No worries. We got this!

Dreaming of a way to deploy technology to let children cycle to school safely, BAM Belgium and AE recently joined forces. The result of this interesting collaboration? Read all about Allride, an innovative platform that allows youngsters to map their route to school by means of a smart bicycle lamp and/or an app.

Last week our Transformation & Innovation experts co-facilitated the Hack Utilities event at Brussels, a 2-day innovation event for the utilities sector organised by Hack Belgium Labs. During these two days they guided the participants from brainstorm to team formation, business model validation and finally pitching their ideas.

In my previous blog I explained why it is important for any organisation to think about its ecosystem and develop a platform strategies. I’ve dived deeper into the two main platform strategies. Developing a strategy is one thing, at least as challenging it is, to implement it and secure one’s position in the platform business of the future.

If you ask yourself why companies like Google, Amazon and Apple are so successful, it is because they were the first to understand about platform strategies and how to best implement them.