No product is an island anymore. In this connected environment, business ecosystems have started to play an increasingly important role in the manufacturing industry. Competition from within the industry and from nontraditional players outside the industry are ushering in structural changes. Technologies such as next-gen automation, AI, IoT, and cloud play the role of positive catalysts to accelerate the change. Manufacturers with a product-only focus are giving way to platforms with considerable digital service components. Players from within the industry and often outside are joining hands to coevolve into a platform economy, also enabling the transformation of business processes such as product innovation, a new revenue stream, and a superior customer experience. IDC believes that tomorrow's manufacturers will have to embrace collaboration in a business that is fast evolving from being "product oriented" to "service oriented" and "platform oriented." IDC Manufacturing Insights: Worldwide Manufacturing Business Ecosystems Strategies will give guidance and best practices on collaboration and automation in manufacturing business ecosystems.

This advisory service develops unique analyses, recommendations, and thought leadership based on comprehensive data and insights through IDC Manufacturing Insights' proprietary research projects, along with ongoing communications with industry experts, manufacturing executives, and service providers that support companies developing and executing manufacturing business ecosystem strategies. To ensure relevance, our analysts work with our manufacturing line-of-business clients to identify and prioritize specific topics to be covered in research reports. Our analysts are also available to provide individualized advice for manufacturing executives.

Throughout the year, this service will address the following topics:

• Existing drivers and future trends of manufacturing ecosystems and their impact on enterprises
• Best practices and case studies of manufacturers engaging in business ecosystem strategies to generate additional revenue streams, increase transparency and efficiencies, and reduce costs or gain competitive advantage
• Maturity framework for manufacturers to assess their individual maturity with regard to its business ecosystem collaboration readiness
• The role of technologies such as analytics, AI, IoT, and cloud to support ecosystem collaboration in a number of ways including by means of leveraging digital twins, industry clouds, or digital platforms

Our research addresses the following issues that are critical to your success:

1. How do manufacturers today collaborate in business ecosystems, and how will they do this in the future and to what benefits?
2. What are examples of business ecosystems for different manufacturing subsegments and their key drivers?
3. What will be the role of digital industry platforms in manufacturer's business ecosystems?
4. How will next-gen automation and intelligence impact manufacturing ecosystem processes?
5. What will be the impact of manufacturing ecosystem strategies on supply-side and demand-side manufacturing-specific processes?
6. How do systems integrators support manufacturers in executing their business ecosystem strategies?

IDC Manufacturing Insights: Worldwide Manufacturing Business Ecosystems Strategies is ideally suited to support the needs of:

• Manufacturing companies that are interested in the best practices of peers and would like to understand the capabilities of automation providers, IT vendors, and C&SI providers to help them execute business ecosystem strategies
• Industrial automation providers that want to align with changing business and operating models of manufacturers and that want to understand the IT side of the market and the IT vendor landscape for areas of partnering
• Technology providers (including platforms, connectivity, and security) that deliver the foundation for collaboration in business ecosystems (e.g., IT infrastructure and cloud providers or application providers such as for PLM, SCM, ERP, EDI, and APIs)
• IT software and service providers (e.g., systems integrators) that want to develop a road map for a solution portfolio for manufacturing business ecosystem strategies
• Consulting firms that deliver digital transformation strategies and business process consulting services